ᐅ Floor plan design ~138 m² of living space, two full stories, urban villa

Created on: 11 Apr 2017 01:25
R
rfrey
Hello everyone,

For weeks now, we have been gathering ideas from model home parks and our local area. In our opinion, the result is now good. However, since I am concerned that we might be missing some common pitfalls, I kindly ask for your honest feedback. Unfortunately, we will only work with an architect to create a detailed plan with measurements later on.

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 393 m² (4,226 ft²)
Slope: no
Floor space ratio (FSR): 0.4
Gross floor area ratio (GFAR): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: 3m (10 ft) to all property boundaries, garage can be built on the property line
Number of parking spaces: 1 garage + 1 open
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof, 22° pitch, square footprint
External house dimensions: 9.50m x 9.50m (31 ft x 31 ft)
Maximum heights/restrictions: none
Other specifications: none

Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: urban villa
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 2, both 30 years old
Space requirements on ground and upper floors: approximately 140 m² (1,507 ft²) in total. Large open living/dining/kitchen area
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guest bedrooms per year: rare
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 4–6
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage extra long to provide additional storage space (min. 7 m / 23 ft)
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions

House design
Who designed the plan: DIY

What do you particularly like? Why?
- Kitchen and dining area on the south side
- Large living/kitchen/dining space
- Walk-in closet with direct access to the bathroom
- Shower recessed into a niche
- Storage room under the straight concrete staircase

What do you not like? Why?
- Distance between sofa and opposite wall (TV wall) only 3.50 m (11.5 ft)
- Bedroom on the north side, while the garden will be on the south side
- We are considering adding a small open space between the children’s room and the bedroom, directly adjacent to the doors of both rooms. It should not be too large. Windows would be planned at the top and bottom. Any opinions? We are aware of potential noise and odor disturbance.
- I would like a direct access from the garage into the house.
- The plot is not optimally utilized.

I can provide necessary wall dimensions on request.
Perhaps you also see a better way to position the house on the plot in combination with the garage.

Thank you in advance!

Best regards,
Raphael

Clear plot plan with building area, boundary lines, and north-south orientation.


Top-down floor plan: parking on the left, open living kitchen with dining table, living room, stairs, bathroom on the right


House floor plan: stairs in the center, bathroom on the left, two bedrooms, main bedroom on the right.
R
rfrey
16 Apr 2017 16:12
Thank you for your effort.
However, the proposal has likely been rejected because the lady does not want a quarter-turn stair landing.

I find it inconvenient to have the staircase in the entrance area, as we prefer it to be more of a "central feature."
RobsonMKK16 Apr 2017 16:15
rfrey schrieb:
If solid walls are built with stones between 11-17cm (4-7 inches) thick (all interior walls are planned with 15cm (6 inches) thickness in the plan).

Then it’s better to plan completely with 18cm (7 inches), or even 20cm (8 inches). That way, you’ll get a more realistic picture and quickly see how narrow the hallway will actually be.

For the shower upstairs, I would leave out the wall entirely—it doesn’t add any value. Better to use only glass, so the corner doesn’t become too dark.
RobsonMKK16 Apr 2017 16:16
rfrey schrieb:
I find it inconvenient to have the staircase right at the entrance area, as we prefer it more in the "center"

But are you aware of the noise that will always travel upstairs?
I also don’t like having a staircase directly by the door, but I find it even less convenient in the living area.
R
rfrey
16 Apr 2017 17:00
RobsonMKK schrieb:
Then it’s best to plan completely with 18 cm, or even 20 cm. That way, you get a more realistic picture. And you’ll quickly see how narrow the hallway will actually be.

For the shower upstairs, I would leave out the wall—it doesn’t help at all. Better to go completely with glass, so it won’t get so dark in the corner.

Okay, I’ll go with 20 cm (8 inches).

Regarding the shower wall, we had also considered just using glass as a divider.
RobsonMKK schrieb:
But are you aware of the noise that will always travel upstairs?
I also don’t like having a stairway right next to the door, but in the living area, I find it even less ideal.

Yes, we are aware of that, but it’s better than walking past the front door in pajamas. The stairway is approved in the living area.
Y
ypg
16 Apr 2017 17:05
Hmm, it works for me without any drip marks as well.

Best regards in short
RobsonMKK16 Apr 2017 17:05
The question is also, what is supposed to drip there?