ᐅ Floor Plan of a Single-Family Home with a Secondary Suite
Created on: 22 May 2017 10:40
Z
zwei&vierzig
Hello everyone,
We are in the process of building a house and, after much deliberation, have decided on the floor plans. I’d like to share the plans with you and look forward to your objective opinions.
Please do not comment on the kitchen layout. We are currently in the middle of kitchen planning, and the kitchen as shown on the plan will almost certainly not be implemented as is.
The plot has a steep slope from north to south (there is an 8-meter (26 feet) difference between the street and the lower boundary of the property) and a slight slope from east to west (this is the street side, with a 2-meter (6.5 feet) difference). Only the tenant of the basement apartment has access to the garden. Since the house turned out quite large, we decided to include a basement apartment to rent out. It has a separate entrance.
It was important for us to separate the living room from the kitchen and dining area because we have three cats, and I want to buy a nice sofa without worrying about destructive cat claws. Upstairs, we wanted a large hallway as a second living room. I’m not a fan of having TVs or computers in the children’s rooms.
There is no building permit/planning permission for the site. The garage will be built directly on the property boundary.
Building plan/restrictions
Plot size: 630 sqm (6,780 sq ft); plot width: 18 m (59 feet)
Slope: yes, steep south-facing slope
Building envelope, building line, and boundary:
Number of floors: basement/souterrain, two full floors, attic
Floor height: 2.80 m (9.2 feet)
Roof type: 25-degree hip roof
Architectural style: Swedish house (timber frame construction)
Orientation: south
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults and two children (not yet born)
Office: home office
Open or closed architecture: modern, but rather closed architecture
Open kitchen, kitchen island: large open kitchen with island; living room separate
Fireplace: planned
Balcony, roof terrace: large balcony with garden access and a small balcony on the bedroom
Garage: double garage
I hope I’ve covered all the important points upfront.
Best regards from the galaxy!
We are in the process of building a house and, after much deliberation, have decided on the floor plans. I’d like to share the plans with you and look forward to your objective opinions.
Please do not comment on the kitchen layout. We are currently in the middle of kitchen planning, and the kitchen as shown on the plan will almost certainly not be implemented as is.
The plot has a steep slope from north to south (there is an 8-meter (26 feet) difference between the street and the lower boundary of the property) and a slight slope from east to west (this is the street side, with a 2-meter (6.5 feet) difference). Only the tenant of the basement apartment has access to the garden. Since the house turned out quite large, we decided to include a basement apartment to rent out. It has a separate entrance.
It was important for us to separate the living room from the kitchen and dining area because we have three cats, and I want to buy a nice sofa without worrying about destructive cat claws. Upstairs, we wanted a large hallway as a second living room. I’m not a fan of having TVs or computers in the children’s rooms.
There is no building permit/planning permission for the site. The garage will be built directly on the property boundary.
Building plan/restrictions
Plot size: 630 sqm (6,780 sq ft); plot width: 18 m (59 feet)
Slope: yes, steep south-facing slope
Building envelope, building line, and boundary:
Number of floors: basement/souterrain, two full floors, attic
Floor height: 2.80 m (9.2 feet)
Roof type: 25-degree hip roof
Architectural style: Swedish house (timber frame construction)
Orientation: south
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults and two children (not yet born)
Office: home office
Open or closed architecture: modern, but rather closed architecture
Open kitchen, kitchen island: large open kitchen with island; living room separate
Fireplace: planned
Balcony, roof terrace: large balcony with garden access and a small balcony on the bedroom
Garage: double garage
I hope I’ve covered all the important points upfront.
Best regards from the galaxy!
Z
zwei&vierzig22 May 2017 21:07ypg schrieb:
I’m still missing a cross-section!
With hillside houses, you don’t just plan a normal additional floor without windows; you have options to stagger the levels.
Personally, I would never consider accessing my own garden only via a staircase, especially since land and property are so expensive. The stairs pose too many risks for children – using the garden would be more like going on an outing to the playground or park, always carrying a picnic basket to keep the kids and yourself energized.
I read something about an 8-meter (26 feet) height difference and a 2-meter (6.5 feet) slope on the side, so shouldn’t it be possible to create several garden levels?
In this design, it would also make more sense to place the exit for the granny flat near the entrance (east side?) so that the residents from upstairs don’t always have to pass by the tenant’s outdoor seating area. The terrace downstairs isn’t really usable without disturbances at the moment. The granny flat itself lacks some storage space. I would plan the kitchen near the entrance and the bathroom closer to the bedroom.
Since the granny flat is pretty compact in size, you could arrange it so that half is on the upper floor and the other half is the parents’ area. The ground floor could then be for the children’s bedrooms, and the basement for living and household areas.
Surely, there are more options than just “either-or.” What exactly do you want a cross-section of? The house? The plot?
We actually don’t have the option to stagger the floors. The plans were preceded by three months of discussions with the building authority/planning department, and three architects have tried (and failed).
There are multiple garden levels, and one will be built up to create a flat area. The storage space issue for the tenants is indeed a problem. The idea was once to create storage space under the stairs. Otherwise, the room under the garage (which will only be half-height) could be used as storage. Or what do you suggest? The bathroom is located on the side where the kitchen and the utility connections are. I personally don’t like your idea of splitting the granny flat and parents’ area in half; it feels too close. Also, children are planned but not yet present, and for very young children, I would prefer them to be near the parents’ bedroom. The granny flat doesn’t have to be rented out for the next 20 years.
Z
zwei&vierzig22 May 2017 21:10matte1987 schrieb:
A basic question:
How far along are you with your plans? Have you only been experimenting on your own so far, or have you already been in contact with architects or other professional planners?
If the former, I would highly recommend the latter, especially for building on a slope. We worked with three architects who each tried to help. These are the plans we are now satisfied with and that have been approved by the building authority (building permit / planning permission). The building shell is complete. There is no more space available here.
I was just very curious about any comments or ideas you might still have.
Z
zwei&vierzig22 May 2017 21:20I hope this section helps....
Something positive for a change
What I like about the hallway is that it’s not too large but still spacious. On the right-hand wall, you can fit a generously sized closet that will hold lots and lots of bags and shoes [emoji151].
I can also imagine the large kitchen very well, but only with an extra TV.
I also like the upstairs living corridor (we have one too ).
Without dimensions, I also like the access from the dressing room to the bedroom, but unfortunately, that doesn’t really fit here.
The bathroom is not my taste, too much unused space; I don’t mind the corners of the other rooms. The bay window on the north side looks terribly old-fashioned (also in the Swedish house). The route to the washing machine would be far too long and winding for me.
As a homeowner, I wouldn’t want that staircase to the garden, and as a tenant, I wouldn’t want it to be used.
A width of 18 meters (59 feet) is actually not much, but I wouldn’t put a square villa on a narrow, elongated plot either. I also can’t imagine a freelance architect putting this idea on paper.
The design looks like a square villa made by a designer working for a volume home builder who must not upset clients with more appealing designs. The second apartment is probably meant to qualify for a second KfW loan That’s perfectly legitimate!
The upper floor has potential to be unfolded. However, I must burst your bubble about the two living levels: where do you keep the mop? Where is the laundry done? Where do you store beverage crates? You also have a huge barrier to the garden, meaning yet another staircase— but I don’t want to keep repeating myself.
Regarding the second apartment: there is no room for a washing machine, drying clothes, vacuum cleaner, or cleaning supplies. You could make the bathroom smaller and carve out a storage room there, but that doesn’t make the open-plan living area any easier to furnish. I still think the kitchen should be where the bathroom is, the bathroom by the bedroom, and smaller... Also, consider privacy from the bedroom to the external staircase.
Did I mention that a narrow, elongated house would probably fit much better here? You would also have more side space for stairs, exits, and the like.
Just some suggestions—build however you like [emoji847]
Greetings, Yvonne
What I like about the hallway is that it’s not too large but still spacious. On the right-hand wall, you can fit a generously sized closet that will hold lots and lots of bags and shoes [emoji151].
I can also imagine the large kitchen very well, but only with an extra TV.
I also like the upstairs living corridor (we have one too ).
Without dimensions, I also like the access from the dressing room to the bedroom, but unfortunately, that doesn’t really fit here.
The bathroom is not my taste, too much unused space; I don’t mind the corners of the other rooms. The bay window on the north side looks terribly old-fashioned (also in the Swedish house). The route to the washing machine would be far too long and winding for me.
As a homeowner, I wouldn’t want that staircase to the garden, and as a tenant, I wouldn’t want it to be used.
A width of 18 meters (59 feet) is actually not much, but I wouldn’t put a square villa on a narrow, elongated plot either. I also can’t imagine a freelance architect putting this idea on paper.
The design looks like a square villa made by a designer working for a volume home builder who must not upset clients with more appealing designs. The second apartment is probably meant to qualify for a second KfW loan That’s perfectly legitimate!
The upper floor has potential to be unfolded. However, I must burst your bubble about the two living levels: where do you keep the mop? Where is the laundry done? Where do you store beverage crates? You also have a huge barrier to the garden, meaning yet another staircase— but I don’t want to keep repeating myself.
Regarding the second apartment: there is no room for a washing machine, drying clothes, vacuum cleaner, or cleaning supplies. You could make the bathroom smaller and carve out a storage room there, but that doesn’t make the open-plan living area any easier to furnish. I still think the kitchen should be where the bathroom is, the bathroom by the bedroom, and smaller... Also, consider privacy from the bedroom to the external staircase.
Did I mention that a narrow, elongated house would probably fit much better here? You would also have more side space for stairs, exits, and the like.
Just some suggestions—build however you like [emoji847]
Greetings, Yvonne
zwei&vierzig schrieb:
I was actually referring to @Tentakel when asking how he would plan it.
The plot is only 18 meters wide. If I plan a double garage (6 meters wide) next to the house, the house becomes too narrow. It was important to us to have the kitchen, dining, and living areas next to each other. We consciously decided to live on two floors to avoid living on the staircase, which is unavoidable when living over three floors.
Moving the basement forward would cause problems with the slope. It would also create a half level, and supporting that would be costly.
The issue with the staircase is the 3-meter (10 feet) clearance from the property boundary. This has already caused us many sleepless nights.
"Move walls on the upper floor, possibly put the guest room in the basement area under the garage." I like that idea. However, that should be my room and I don’t want to be so far away from everything. You end up living over three levels anyway. Kids are outdoors almost every day of the year. Every drink, etc., has to go down the stairs. If you want to quickly do something, like cook, you don’t have the kids in the
zwei&vierzig schrieb:
I was actually referring to @Tentakel when asking how he would plan it.
The plot is only 18 meters wide. If I plan a double garage (6 meters wide) next to the house, the house becomes too narrow. It was important to us to have the kitchen, dining, and living areas next to each other. We consciously decided to live on two floors to avoid living on the staircase, which is unavoidable when living over three floors.
Moving the basement forward would cause problems with the slope. It would also create a half level, and supporting that would be costly.
The issue with the staircase is the 3-meter (10 feet) clearance from the property boundary. This has already caused us many sleepless nights.
"Move walls on the upper floor, possibly put the guest room in the basement area under the garage." I like that idea. However, that should be my room and I don’t want to be so far away from everything. So you are still living over three levels. The garden suddenly becomes heavily used with children. Laundry is also in the basement and the mountain of laundry grows with kids.
I find it a shame to make compromises on the upper floor to use nice living spaces as a separate apartment, in-law flat, etc., or leave them empty.
One level for parents sleeping and children’s rooms, maybe later an office and guest room, laundry
One level for cooking, living, dining, with easy access to the garden
One level for guest, office, small bathroom, open living area, later the teenagers’ domain.
It’s a pity about the staircase. I can imagine that this could cause issues with renting or splitting the garden. Do you already have exterior views?