ᐅ Floor plan design with some specific requirements – any ideas?
Created on: 29 Dec 2017 00:54
A
AnitraHello everyone,
the development of "our" new residential area is almost complete, and hopefully, we will be able to buy the plot soon.
I would really appreciate it if you could take a critical look at our planning:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 740 sqm (about 8,000 sq ft)
Slope: gentle slope
Floor area ratio/Gross floor area ratio: no information in the development plan
Building area, building line, and boundary: see image, plot width according to the plan is unfortunately only 21.5 m (about 70.5 ft). We planned cautiously with 21 m (about 69 ft) width. So, it’s a very narrow, elongated plot...
Edge construction: garage
Number of parking spaces: unknown
Maximum number of floors: 2
Roof type: mono-pitched roof (10-25 degrees) or flat roof max. 5 degrees
Orientation: street to the north, garden to the south, main ridge direction must be parallel to the street; to the west is farmland, with probable expansion of the residential area soon
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height max. 6.5 m (about 21 ft)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, floors: no basement, preferably 2 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 3 children (2, 5, 6 years old)
Space requirements on the ground floor: master bedroom, children’s room, bathroom, guest toilet, kitchen/dining, living room, staircase with enough space for a platform lift to the upper floor, storage room (with space for utilities, washing machine, dryer, freezer)
Space requirements on the upper floor: 2 additional children’s rooms, bathroom, office, guest room, shower bathroom, technical room including mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, storage space; ideally a small separate room for sorting, washing, and drying laundry
Office: used by the family
Guests per year: roughly 1-2 guests once a month for 1-2 nights
Open or closed architecture: rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: mainly practical
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with plenty of storage, elevated plot, lots of workspace and room for a dining table extending to at least 2.40 m (about 7 ft 10 in)
Living room should preferably be separated but challenging to arrange
Number of dining seats: at least 5 for everyday use, sometimes 10-12 people
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage, max width according to plan 6.5 m (about 21 ft)
Kitchen garden yes, greenhouse rather no
Additional Wishes / Special Features / Daily routine; also reasons why something should or should not be included. Our daughter (age 2) has multiple severe disabilities and cannot operate her wheelchair independently. At night, she should be close to us. During the day, she usually does not stay in her room but with us. However, we need space for various assistive devices.
House Design:
Planner: architect from a construction company together with my ideas
What do you especially like? A direct view at night from my bed into hers. All rooms are well arranged according to the cardinal directions.
What do you not like? Living room is too long and narrow: a floor mat (1.25 x 2.0 m (about 4 ft 1 in x 6 ft 7 in)) is shown in the living room. In the long term, we want to build a raised platform with a border for her in the living room. This is difficult in the current plan. An additional utility room would be nice. Possibly the kitchen is too small.
On the upper floor, I’m not yet satisfied with the technical room/shower bathroom/office corner area.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment:
Preferred heating technology: gas, solar (?), mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
If you had to give up something, on which details or extensions could you do without?
- Can give up: the door from the garage will not lead into the house but under the front roof; bathtub on the upper floor (maybe a good place for a drying rack?)
- Cannot do without: wheelchair accessibility
Why was the design created as it is? Many considerations
What do you think is especially good or bad about it? Everything is already quite well arranged.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters? How could the open plan be redesigned, preferably with a better-separated living room? Where do you see room for improvement? Can circulation areas be further minimized?
A big thank you in advance!
Best regards
Anitra
the development of "our" new residential area is almost complete, and hopefully, we will be able to buy the plot soon.
I would really appreciate it if you could take a critical look at our planning:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 740 sqm (about 8,000 sq ft)
Slope: gentle slope
Floor area ratio/Gross floor area ratio: no information in the development plan
Building area, building line, and boundary: see image, plot width according to the plan is unfortunately only 21.5 m (about 70.5 ft). We planned cautiously with 21 m (about 69 ft) width. So, it’s a very narrow, elongated plot...
Edge construction: garage
Number of parking spaces: unknown
Maximum number of floors: 2
Roof type: mono-pitched roof (10-25 degrees) or flat roof max. 5 degrees
Orientation: street to the north, garden to the south, main ridge direction must be parallel to the street; to the west is farmland, with probable expansion of the residential area soon
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height max. 6.5 m (about 21 ft)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, floors: no basement, preferably 2 floors
Number of people, ages: 2 adults, 3 children (2, 5, 6 years old)
Space requirements on the ground floor: master bedroom, children’s room, bathroom, guest toilet, kitchen/dining, living room, staircase with enough space for a platform lift to the upper floor, storage room (with space for utilities, washing machine, dryer, freezer)
Space requirements on the upper floor: 2 additional children’s rooms, bathroom, office, guest room, shower bathroom, technical room including mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, storage space; ideally a small separate room for sorting, washing, and drying laundry
Office: used by the family
Guests per year: roughly 1-2 guests once a month for 1-2 nights
Open or closed architecture: rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: mainly practical
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with plenty of storage, elevated plot, lots of workspace and room for a dining table extending to at least 2.40 m (about 7 ft 10 in)
Living room should preferably be separated but challenging to arrange
Number of dining seats: at least 5 for everyday use, sometimes 10-12 people
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage, max width according to plan 6.5 m (about 21 ft)
Kitchen garden yes, greenhouse rather no
Additional Wishes / Special Features / Daily routine; also reasons why something should or should not be included. Our daughter (age 2) has multiple severe disabilities and cannot operate her wheelchair independently. At night, she should be close to us. During the day, she usually does not stay in her room but with us. However, we need space for various assistive devices.
House Design:
Planner: architect from a construction company together with my ideas
What do you especially like? A direct view at night from my bed into hers. All rooms are well arranged according to the cardinal directions.
What do you not like? Living room is too long and narrow: a floor mat (1.25 x 2.0 m (about 4 ft 1 in x 6 ft 7 in)) is shown in the living room. In the long term, we want to build a raised platform with a border for her in the living room. This is difficult in the current plan. An additional utility room would be nice. Possibly the kitchen is too small.
On the upper floor, I’m not yet satisfied with the technical room/shower bathroom/office corner area.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment:
Preferred heating technology: gas, solar (?), mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
If you had to give up something, on which details or extensions could you do without?
- Can give up: the door from the garage will not lead into the house but under the front roof; bathtub on the upper floor (maybe a good place for a drying rack?)
- Cannot do without: wheelchair accessibility
Why was the design created as it is? Many considerations
What do you think is especially good or bad about it? Everything is already quite well arranged.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters? How could the open plan be redesigned, preferably with a better-separated living room? Where do you see room for improvement? Can circulation areas be further minimized?
A big thank you in advance!
Best regards
Anitra
First of all, welcome back to the discussion. We have exchanged a few private messages in the meantime, so some aspects of the current design might not be entirely clear to the community. From my perspective, it hasn’t been an easy process so far, but now I see the design as being in the final approach stage.
As mentioned in private messages, the upper utility room is still not quite my ideal, but overall the compromises made to the "optimum" seem acceptable, since the plan still reflects a good portion of the dream home. It can be a comfortable place for the whole family, even though budget constraints require some simplicity. The additional space needed for movement areas appears to be well accounted for.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
As mentioned in private messages, the upper utility room is still not quite my ideal, but overall the compromises made to the "optimum" seem acceptable, since the plan still reflects a good portion of the dream home. It can be a comfortable place for the whole family, even though budget constraints require some simplicity. The additional space needed for movement areas appears to be well accounted for.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Thank you,
yes, I have been inactive for some time.
In case anyone is wondering: I had to delete the floor plans in the old thread because it was explicitly stated that they were not allowed to be published. Unfortunately, this was written in very small print, so I did not notice or read it beforehand.
I am also concerned that the open-plan area might become uncomfortable due to the lack of separation. For me, coziness is especially important for a sense of well-being.
yes, I have been inactive for some time.
In case anyone is wondering: I had to delete the floor plans in the old thread because it was explicitly stated that they were not allowed to be published. Unfortunately, this was written in very small print, so I did not notice or read it beforehand.
I am also concerned that the open-plan area might become uncomfortable due to the lack of separation. For me, coziness is especially important for a sense of well-being.
Ok, after reviewing this three times since yesterday, I can now express one or two concerns and offer a suggestion for improvement.
Overall, I think it is well planned, with minimal wasted hallway space on the ground floor, and few corners where a wheelchair could get stuck.
1. I would consider whether the connecting door between the parents’ and child’s room is really necessary, or if the hallway alone is sufficient for access. Only you can decide that.
2. The open-plan living area is not too small to be uncomfortable. For the chill-out zone, you could place a room divider like a Kallax shelf next to the sofa.
However, I only see a usable space of about 3 meters (10 feet) wide for the couch. This doesn’t really seem suitable for a family sofa seating 4–5 people.
Thinking back to how we searched for a comfortable sofa a few years ago... hardly any sofas were less than 300 cm (118 inches) wide, and even 280 cm (110 inches) tends to make the area feel cramped: floor lamp, side table, shelves... all that gets very tight.
I don’t see any other option besides swapping the TV and sofa positions.
Alternatively, you could consider swapping the kitchen and chill area. In that case, I would place the sofa along the outer wall without windows, and the TV on the back wall of the staircase. The kitchen would then provide enough storage space and could be adjusted slightly along with the dining table. I would recommend sketching out your furniture arrangement at least to see how it fits.
3. Check the length of the staircase. It looks very short, but that might just be because it is wider.
4. Personally, I would consider mirroring the house: garage in the north, with the child’s and master bedrooms facing west (southwest). On the upper floor, place the utility room to the north.
Best regards
Overall, I think it is well planned, with minimal wasted hallway space on the ground floor, and few corners where a wheelchair could get stuck.
1. I would consider whether the connecting door between the parents’ and child’s room is really necessary, or if the hallway alone is sufficient for access. Only you can decide that.
2. The open-plan living area is not too small to be uncomfortable. For the chill-out zone, you could place a room divider like a Kallax shelf next to the sofa.
However, I only see a usable space of about 3 meters (10 feet) wide for the couch. This doesn’t really seem suitable for a family sofa seating 4–5 people.
Thinking back to how we searched for a comfortable sofa a few years ago... hardly any sofas were less than 300 cm (118 inches) wide, and even 280 cm (110 inches) tends to make the area feel cramped: floor lamp, side table, shelves... all that gets very tight.
I don’t see any other option besides swapping the TV and sofa positions.
Alternatively, you could consider swapping the kitchen and chill area. In that case, I would place the sofa along the outer wall without windows, and the TV on the back wall of the staircase. The kitchen would then provide enough storage space and could be adjusted slightly along with the dining table. I would recommend sketching out your furniture arrangement at least to see how it fits.
3. Check the length of the staircase. It looks very short, but that might just be because it is wider.
4. Personally, I would consider mirroring the house: garage in the north, with the child’s and master bedrooms facing west (southwest). On the upper floor, place the utility room to the north.
Best regards
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