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&vierzig23 May 2017 21:28Steffen80 schrieb:
In expensive areas, very large houses certainly sell like hotcakes... For us, that was also one of the reasons to build here. Because I know I could sell our house in a snap. Our house is probably too big for retirement, so we didn’t build it age-appropriate but are already planning to sell it in 20 to 25 years (whenever that may be). Location, location, location… that’s the decisive factor.As a buyer of our house, I could definitely imagine having a tax advisor’s office or something similar. Office on the ground floor, living space upstairs.
In the end, though, in my opinion, only the location matters. The buyer will renovate anyway. This property has a cool location. Actually, a very good location.
Honestly, I feel like the house concept is missing something...
You want a granny flat, but you actually don’t plan to rent it out for now.
You’re not interested in KfW funding either.
So why spend money on the granny flat? With KfW loans, it makes sense because you can get the repayment subsidy for two living units. Fine, if you’re planning a granny flat anyway, you might as well take advantage of it.
But if you don’t want a KfW loan and don’t really plan to rent out this granny flat, why is it being built?
Is it for eventually opening a cat breeding business in the distant future? Although I wonder if the layout of a granny flat would really suit that, but that’s a completely different question...
Or perhaps, maybe, potentially, to have the in-laws as tenants someday?
Maybe, possibly, and under certain circumstances... I still don’t see why the granny flat has to be there.
For me personally, that’s not enough reason to spend quite a lot of money on it.
You want a house for a planned 4 people, without knowing if your hoped-for children will actually come.
And what if the last child arrives as a twin? Then the room layout doesn’t fit again...
Well, that applies to many here and it always gives me a bit of unease.
Then I see a house design that seems more suited for a flat building plot, which is now just being pressed onto a slope.
There are truly great solutions for building on a slope!
I don’t want to go into details on the room layout right now. For me, the whole concept just doesn’t work. So I’ll just throw a few points out there for you to consider — or not:
Slope location! That’s a challenge, no question. But there are also very creative solutions. Here I don’t see a single idea where the POSSIBILITIES of such a condition were even remotely explored. For example:
- Gallery! Kitchen and dining area downstairs and then a gallery leading upstairs to the living area. This would also better suit the narrow floor plan than placing the living areas side by side. In addition, it allows you to make optimal use of the often unobstructed view a slope location offers.
Possibly plan children’s and parent’s areas on two different levels. Parents behind the living area, children behind the kitchen or downstairs, and maybe a small room near the parents that can be used as a nursery and later converted into an office.
Drywall construction offers many possibilities; maybe I wouldn’t fully finish all rooms right away. A large room (or even two) for kids can be made flexible and later divided depending on how many children arrive (or don’t). The advantage is that you can redesign this area if life takes a different turn (and instead of a baby boom, maybe the cat breeding idea actually takes off).
The same goes for the granny flat: if you don’t want to use it fully as such now, I would plan it only in the layout but not fully build it. If the number of children doubles from 2 to 5, for example, you can adapt accordingly and keep all options open.
Just some food for thought.
I think this house doesn’t quite fit the plot. It’s narrow and steep. That needs to be taken into account to get the best out of it.
This design is still miles away from that optimum for me; but if your heart is set on it, then go ahead.
You want a granny flat, but you actually don’t plan to rent it out for now.
You’re not interested in KfW funding either.
So why spend money on the granny flat? With KfW loans, it makes sense because you can get the repayment subsidy for two living units. Fine, if you’re planning a granny flat anyway, you might as well take advantage of it.
But if you don’t want a KfW loan and don’t really plan to rent out this granny flat, why is it being built?
Is it for eventually opening a cat breeding business in the distant future? Although I wonder if the layout of a granny flat would really suit that, but that’s a completely different question...
Or perhaps, maybe, potentially, to have the in-laws as tenants someday?
Maybe, possibly, and under certain circumstances... I still don’t see why the granny flat has to be there.
For me personally, that’s not enough reason to spend quite a lot of money on it.
You want a house for a planned 4 people, without knowing if your hoped-for children will actually come.
And what if the last child arrives as a twin? Then the room layout doesn’t fit again...
Well, that applies to many here and it always gives me a bit of unease.
Then I see a house design that seems more suited for a flat building plot, which is now just being pressed onto a slope.
There are truly great solutions for building on a slope!
I don’t want to go into details on the room layout right now. For me, the whole concept just doesn’t work. So I’ll just throw a few points out there for you to consider — or not:
Slope location! That’s a challenge, no question. But there are also very creative solutions. Here I don’t see a single idea where the POSSIBILITIES of such a condition were even remotely explored. For example:
- Gallery! Kitchen and dining area downstairs and then a gallery leading upstairs to the living area. This would also better suit the narrow floor plan than placing the living areas side by side. In addition, it allows you to make optimal use of the often unobstructed view a slope location offers.
Possibly plan children’s and parent’s areas on two different levels. Parents behind the living area, children behind the kitchen or downstairs, and maybe a small room near the parents that can be used as a nursery and later converted into an office.
Drywall construction offers many possibilities; maybe I wouldn’t fully finish all rooms right away. A large room (or even two) for kids can be made flexible and later divided depending on how many children arrive (or don’t). The advantage is that you can redesign this area if life takes a different turn (and instead of a baby boom, maybe the cat breeding idea actually takes off).
The same goes for the granny flat: if you don’t want to use it fully as such now, I would plan it only in the layout but not fully build it. If the number of children doubles from 2 to 5, for example, you can adapt accordingly and keep all options open.
Just some food for thought.
I think this house doesn’t quite fit the plot. It’s narrow and steep. That needs to be taken into account to get the best out of it.
This design is still miles away from that optimum for me; but if your heart is set on it, then go ahead.
Accessory apartment: This makes sense if you plan to do so. It is completely legal and by no means borderline. Karsten
Tax Tip for Landlords
A house with an accessory apartment can also serve as a tax-saving model, provided you rent out the accessory apartment. As a landlord, you must declare rental income for tax purposes, but in return, you can deduct mortgage interest as an expense. Therefore, the advice is: allocate as many construction costs as possible to the rented accessory apartment and fewer to the part of the house you occupy yourself. Practical tip: Separate the two housing units clearly by signing two separate construction contracts and taking out two different loans, each clearly and objectively assigned to one of the two units. Instead of two construction contracts, the purchase deed can also specify exactly which portion of the total price applies to each apartment. To maximize deductible mortgage interest on the loan for the rented accessory apartment, this part of the house is fully financed with a loan. The equity is applied entirely to the owner-occupied part.
Tax Tip for Landlords
A house with an accessory apartment can also serve as a tax-saving model, provided you rent out the accessory apartment. As a landlord, you must declare rental income for tax purposes, but in return, you can deduct mortgage interest as an expense. Therefore, the advice is: allocate as many construction costs as possible to the rented accessory apartment and fewer to the part of the house you occupy yourself. Practical tip: Separate the two housing units clearly by signing two separate construction contracts and taking out two different loans, each clearly and objectively assigned to one of the two units. Instead of two construction contracts, the purchase deed can also specify exactly which portion of the total price applies to each apartment. To maximize deductible mortgage interest on the loan for the rented accessory apartment, this part of the house is fully financed with a loan. The equity is applied entirely to the owner-occupied part.
As much as I agree with Climbee on many points, I am surprised that in this design there is any doubt about whether the planned children will actually move in. I have read that 80% of the house designs presented here include two children's rooms, even though there are no children yet. This mostly applies to houses larger than 159 square meters (1713 square feet).
It is never questioned whether the planned children’s rooms make sense, even when additional rooms like offices or hobby rooms are included. I often have my own thoughts on this, but if the desire for two children exists, the children’s rooms should be planned accordingly. Just as here – in a new build with a medium-term plan, I would not start by leaving out walls only to build them as planned after 5 years.
I have reconsidered other options for the house, but I believe the original poster no longer has the time or inclination to change their concept. The accessory apartment is set, as are the 4 stairs.
Best regards in brief
It is never questioned whether the planned children’s rooms make sense, even when additional rooms like offices or hobby rooms are included. I often have my own thoughts on this, but if the desire for two children exists, the children’s rooms should be planned accordingly. Just as here – in a new build with a medium-term plan, I would not start by leaving out walls only to build them as planned after 5 years.
I have reconsidered other options for the house, but I believe the original poster no longer has the time or inclination to change their concept. The accessory apartment is set, as are the 4 stairs.
Best regards in brief
Similar topics