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!
ypg schrieb:
Washing machines and dryers turn a comfortable bathroom into a wet room where dirty laundry piles up. What comfortable bathroom? Judging by the size of the "hall," it looks more like a public bathhouse at the moment.
RobsonMKK schrieb:
The landing upstairs is probably a nice idea, but do I really want teenagers making a mess there in my stairwell afterward? If you like that. This seems like a mistake in the floor plan design—20 sqm (215 sq ft) of stair landing left over in the square villa; so they just placed sofas there. A cleaning area without any real purpose. I should frame that we actually agree on something.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
zwei&vierzig schrieb:
So far, I have only heard people complain about too little living space (not too much). Food for thought: I know more than one couple living in a house that’s too large, and the children just don’t come, no matter what. You can’t just pick them up at the supermarket, which is often forgotten.
Personally, I find the house simply monstrous.
With its current state, it is probably livable, but considering you’re likely to face construction costs of around three-quarters of a million, the result seems too compromised to me.
My recommendation: Go to architect number 4 and start completely from scratch.
zwei&vierzig schrieb:
You don’t find our floor plan successful. That’s okay. But the way you present yourself here and give advice on how a floor plan should be developed, in your opinion, comes across as condescending and inappropriate.My introductory comment simply and objectively pointed out that, in my opinion, it makes little sense to discuss a finalized drawing of a sketch as if it were already a building permit / planning permission plan. The plan may have all the “authentic” features of a “finished” plan, but in terms of quality it is still at the “round of 16” stage.
And I’m certainly not the only one who has also pointed out which two flaws lie at the “foundation” of the design: namely, an excessive focus on a specific house type as the desired outcome, and conversely, ignoring the topography of the building plot. It is not just about the width: many other families with multiple children and cars also have to manage not being able to spread their building complex out like CinemaScope on plots narrower than 20 meters (65 feet).
The approach I recommended in Ev-Marie86’s thread — by the way also my mantra in our private messages — does not claim to be a universal solution, but it has actually proven effective in helping planning beginners get up to speed more quickly.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
apokolok schrieb:
Thought-provoking: I know more than a few couples living in houses that are too big, and the kids just keep wanting more and don’t adjust. You simply don’t find them in the supermarket, which is often forgotten. That’s the point 75% of childless prospective homeowners forget.
Z
zwei&vierzig23 May 2017 18:0511ant schrieb:
My introductory remark was simply a neutral observation that, in my opinion, it makes little sense to discuss a final draft of a sketch as if it were already a submission plan. The plan may have all the "authentic features" of a "finished" plan, but qualitatively it is still at the "round of 16" stage.
And I am certainly not the only one who has pointed out the two fundamental weaknesses underlying the planning: namely, an excessive focus on a specific house type as the desired outcome, and conversely, a disregard for the topography of the building plot. It is not just about the width: many other families with multiple children and cars have to manage without being able to spread their building ensemble out in Cinemascope style on a plot narrower than 20 m (65 feet).
The approach I recommended in Ev-Marie86’s thread—by the way, also my mantra in our private messages—is not meant as a one-size-fits-all solution, but it has proven effective in helping beginners to planning to learn more quickly.This is not a final draft. We have also tried and discarded other house types. I have taken note of your comments but do not share them.
Z
zwei&vierzig23 May 2017 18:10apokolok schrieb:
Thought-provoking comment: I know more than a couple who are stuck in a house that’s too big, and the kids just keep coming—they don’t want to adjust. They don’t just come from the supermarket, which is often forgotten. Personally, I find the house simply monstrous. With the current state, it’s probably livable, but considering you’re likely looking at around three-quarters of a million in construction costs, the result seems too compromised to me. My recommendation: go see architect number 4 and start FROM SCRATCH.I won’t comment on the costs, nor on family planning.
Whether the house is monstrous is certainly a matter of opinion. Personally, I don’t find it too large for a family of four, and after all, that’s who’s supposed to live there eventually.