ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home of Approximately 150 m²
Created on: 12 Feb 2018 18:09
C
chrisw81
Hello,
After a long search, we signed the notarized contract for the land purchase at the end of December. We are now actively planning the floor plan. Unfortunately, the plot is somewhat awkwardly shaped (not rectangular), which creates some limitations for the layout from our perspective. We already have a first draft, but there are several areas we don’t like and are unsure how to improve. Maybe you have some ideas; we would appreciate your input.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 601 m² (6465 sq ft)
Building envelope, building line, boundary: Building line with the house on the west side
Peripheral setbacks: 7 m (23 ft) from the street (north), otherwise the usual 3 m (10 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 2 desired
Number of floors: 1 full story allowed
Roof style: Gable roof
Design style: open construction method
Orientation: South
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height max. 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional requirements: Max. 100 m² (1076 sq ft) of built-up area
Client Requirements
Style, roof form, building type: Solid construction house, rectangular, no bay windows, no projections, etc., gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement; 1.5 stories
Number and age of residents: 2 people, age between 30 and 40, possibly children later
Space needs on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor – living/dining room, kitchen, guest toilet, utility room, office
Office: family use or home office?: family use
Guest stays per year: 20 days
Open or closed architecture: open living area, closed hallway
Conservative or modern style: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, island without cooktop
Number of dining seats: 2-4
Fireplace: yes, chimney planned
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes, special features, daily routine, and reasons for preferences:
- A wardrobe area on the ground floor is important where coats can be stored relatively out of sight.
- On the upper floor, it would be nice to have an open gallery with a desk or similar (not a must and not necessarily next to the stairs).
- A walk-in closet would be nice but not essential.
- A storage room on the upper floor is very important since we do not have a basement.
House Design
Who created the design:
- Basic design by the construction company (FIBAV Stadthaus Vision Studio)
- DIY modifications based on online floor plans (especially Viebrockhaus Maxime 330)
What do you particularly like? Why?:
- Layout of the living/dining area and the narrowing kitchen reduces the hallway effect a bit
- Many windows in the living/dining area
- Wide hallway on the ground floor
What do you dislike? Why?:
- Few options to place furniture (dresser, wardrobe) in the ground floor hallway due to many doors
- Very large hallway upstairs, considered wasted space
- Bedroom is quite small; should be the largest room upstairs (preferably 16 m² (172 sq ft), children’s rooms rather 14 m² (151 sq ft))
- Stair placement limited by chimney location
- Door placement upstairs limited by chimney
- A staircase rotated 90 degrees (entrance next to front door) would appeal more
- Difficult to align windows upstairs and downstairs on the gable end vertically
- Floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs; wider windows with a sill height around 100 cm (40 inches) would be preferred
Price estimate by architect/planner: 200,000 €
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 210,000 €
Preferred heating technology: gas heating
What details or expansions could you give up?
- Can do without: gallery next to stairs upstairs. Living area could also be narrower (e.g., 4.20 m (14 ft) instead of 4.47 m (15 ft))
- Cannot do without: storage room upstairs, shower in guest toilet, extra natural light in the ground floor hallway (e.g., side panel on front door or window)
Why was the design made this way? For example, standard plan from planner?
- Since the house has very little space on the south side, the house should be very narrow in order not to waste more space to the south. It should be wider so that living, dining, and kitchen areas face south as much as possible.
Were corresponding wishes from the architect implemented? No architect meeting has taken place yet.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor hallway be better designed to fit a wardrobe? Can the stairs be positioned better or replaced? Should the hallway be enlarged and living space reduced? How can the upstairs hallway be better utilized? Can the bedroom be enlarged? Is it possible to swap the bedroom with another room, e.g., move it to the southeast to allow a walk-in closet?
Thank you very much in advance for your criticism and suggestions!
After a long search, we signed the notarized contract for the land purchase at the end of December. We are now actively planning the floor plan. Unfortunately, the plot is somewhat awkwardly shaped (not rectangular), which creates some limitations for the layout from our perspective. We already have a first draft, but there are several areas we don’t like and are unsure how to improve. Maybe you have some ideas; we would appreciate your input.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 601 m² (6465 sq ft)
Building envelope, building line, boundary: Building line with the house on the west side
Peripheral setbacks: 7 m (23 ft) from the street (north), otherwise the usual 3 m (10 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 2 desired
Number of floors: 1 full story allowed
Roof style: Gable roof
Design style: open construction method
Orientation: South
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height max. 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional requirements: Max. 100 m² (1076 sq ft) of built-up area
Client Requirements
Style, roof form, building type: Solid construction house, rectangular, no bay windows, no projections, etc., gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement; 1.5 stories
Number and age of residents: 2 people, age between 30 and 40, possibly children later
Space needs on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor – living/dining room, kitchen, guest toilet, utility room, office
Office: family use or home office?: family use
Guest stays per year: 20 days
Open or closed architecture: open living area, closed hallway
Conservative or modern style: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, island without cooktop
Number of dining seats: 2-4
Fireplace: yes, chimney planned
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes, special features, daily routine, and reasons for preferences:
- A wardrobe area on the ground floor is important where coats can be stored relatively out of sight.
- On the upper floor, it would be nice to have an open gallery with a desk or similar (not a must and not necessarily next to the stairs).
- A walk-in closet would be nice but not essential.
- A storage room on the upper floor is very important since we do not have a basement.
House Design
Who created the design:
- Basic design by the construction company (FIBAV Stadthaus Vision Studio)
- DIY modifications based on online floor plans (especially Viebrockhaus Maxime 330)
What do you particularly like? Why?:
- Layout of the living/dining area and the narrowing kitchen reduces the hallway effect a bit
- Many windows in the living/dining area
- Wide hallway on the ground floor
What do you dislike? Why?:
- Few options to place furniture (dresser, wardrobe) in the ground floor hallway due to many doors
- Very large hallway upstairs, considered wasted space
- Bedroom is quite small; should be the largest room upstairs (preferably 16 m² (172 sq ft), children’s rooms rather 14 m² (151 sq ft))
- Stair placement limited by chimney location
- Door placement upstairs limited by chimney
- A staircase rotated 90 degrees (entrance next to front door) would appeal more
- Difficult to align windows upstairs and downstairs on the gable end vertically
- Floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs; wider windows with a sill height around 100 cm (40 inches) would be preferred
Price estimate by architect/planner: 200,000 €
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 210,000 €
Preferred heating technology: gas heating
What details or expansions could you give up?
- Can do without: gallery next to stairs upstairs. Living area could also be narrower (e.g., 4.20 m (14 ft) instead of 4.47 m (15 ft))
- Cannot do without: storage room upstairs, shower in guest toilet, extra natural light in the ground floor hallway (e.g., side panel on front door or window)
Why was the design made this way? For example, standard plan from planner?
- Since the house has very little space on the south side, the house should be very narrow in order not to waste more space to the south. It should be wider so that living, dining, and kitchen areas face south as much as possible.
Were corresponding wishes from the architect implemented? No architect meeting has taken place yet.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor hallway be better designed to fit a wardrobe? Can the stairs be positioned better or replaced? Should the hallway be enlarged and living space reduced? How can the upstairs hallway be better utilized? Can the bedroom be enlarged? Is it possible to swap the bedroom with another room, e.g., move it to the southeast to allow a walk-in closet?
Thank you very much in advance for your criticism and suggestions!
chrisw81 schrieb:
Yes, that corner bothers me a lot too. It's probably really hard to fix... unfortunately Nonsense. Just extend the kitchen wall downwards. However, one does have to wonder whether such tips actually help or just create more confusion.
chrisw81 schrieb:
In the niche "inside" the guest room, if it really measures around 80 x 90 cm (31.5 x 35.5 inches), I wouldn’t install a cabinet there, just a rail for jackets. There is also a dresser/tall cabinet in the other corner for gloves, shoes, etc. I also find 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) quite small for wardrobes. Jackets take up about 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) in depth if you don’t want them to be squashed. That’s why a fully enclosed wardrobe for jackets is rather unsuitable.It’s hard to follow your explanation. It’s best if you draw it out. In the guest room, I only see a shallow niche with a depth of maybe 20 cm (8 inches)? If you are planning a walk-in closet (i.e., fixed walls with a rail inside), it’s best to also draw the walls with closet doors; otherwise, no one will understand what you have in mind.chrisw81 schrieb:
The storage room was omitted in many drafts from other forum members. One cabinet would be for jackets. Otherwise, only small items would go in there, like Christmas decorations, vacuum cleaner, etc. I will add the upper floor plan later.Actually, all the drafts were mine and I included the room in every one. It is generally called the utility room in our area. Once I called it a walk-in closet because it was connected to the bedroom. You can name it however you like. What matters is that the space for the cabinets is available.Here are your wishes again...
You also mentioned that you could do without about 50cm (20 inches) of width in the living room.
Okay, I recommended a built-in wardrobe opposite the stairs, which you somewhat mocked. That’s fine with me.
Another request that was then somewhat downplayed:
I had the impression things were moving in the right direction.
Now the whole ground floor is completely messed up. Sorry, but that’s the only way to put it.
Wasted space: the hallway becomes more angled, even bigger, without any functional benefit. Also, the guest room is almost impossible to furnish.
And yes: you can fix the niches in five minutes, but what does that lead to? An even larger kitchen, with corners that nobody needs?
And now this statement:
Yes, a wardrobe in the above utility room is a solution for the change of clothing. However, I would only recommend storing laundry and coats where you wash and dry in very rare cases. With the price of this house, controlled mechanical ventilation probably won’t be installed?
I would have some concerns about that. It would be better to use the freezer room on the ground floor for this change of clothing.
What about the idea of using the storage space under the stairs?
P.S. a depth of 60 cm (24 inches) should be sufficient.
chrisw81 schrieb:
Additional requests/special features/daily routine, preferably with reasons why this or that should not be included:
- It’s important for us to have a cloakroom on the ground floor where coats can be stored fairly discreetly.
You also mentioned that you could do without about 50cm (20 inches) of width in the living room.
Okay, I recommended a built-in wardrobe opposite the stairs, which you somewhat mocked. That’s fine with me.
Another request that was then somewhat downplayed:
chrisw81 schrieb:
- Upstairs it would be nice to have an open gallery with a desk or something similar (but it’s not a must and doesn’t have to be right next to the stairs).
chrisw81 schrieb:
- Very large hallway upstairs, lots of wasted space.
I had the impression things were moving in the right direction.
Now the whole ground floor is completely messed up. Sorry, but that’s the only way to put it.
Wasted space: the hallway becomes more angled, even bigger, without any functional benefit. Also, the guest room is almost impossible to furnish.
And yes: you can fix the niches in five minutes, but what does that lead to? An even larger kitchen, with corners that nobody needs?
And now this statement:
chrisw81 schrieb:
In the niche "inside" the guest room, if it’s really about 80x90 cm (31x35 inches), I wouldn’t install a wardrobe, just a rail for coats. There is also a dresser/tall cabinet in the other corner for gloves, shoes, etc. I find 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) for a cloakroom quite small. Our coats take about 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) in depth if you don’t want to squash them. Therefore, a closed wardrobe for coats is rather unsuitable.
Yes, a wardrobe in the above utility room is a solution for the change of clothing. However, I would only recommend storing laundry and coats where you wash and dry in very rare cases. With the price of this house, controlled mechanical ventilation probably won’t be installed?
I would have some concerns about that. It would be better to use the freezer room on the ground floor for this change of clothing.
What about the idea of using the storage space under the stairs?
P.S. a depth of 60 cm (24 inches) should be sufficient.
kaho674 schrieb:
Nonsense. Just extend the kitchen wall downward. However, one might wonder whether such tips actually help or just add to the confusion. Probably they do. The kitchen is not supposed to get bigger anyway, and I deliberately included that jog so the living area narrows slightly with the kitchen, preventing the space from being completely uniform from front to back.
kaho674 schrieb:
It’s hard to follow your explanation. It’s best if you draw it out. In the guest room, I only see a shallow niche about 20cm (8 inches) deep? If you’re planning a walk-in closet (solid walls with a hanging rod in between), it’s better to include the wall with closet doors in your drawing, otherwise nobody will understand what your plan is.
All the designs were made by me, and I included that space in all of them. In our region, it’s generally called the utility room. Once I referred to it as a walk-in closet because it was adjacent to the bedroom. You can call it whatever you like. The important thing is that there is enough space for the wardrobes. Okay, you’re right, maybe it was included in all the designs, but some of them also had a kids’ bathroom, so the space was completely gone, replaced by a dressing room, which I wouldn’t use as a storage room.
I’ve marked the niche I mean. Just put a hanging rod between the walls, maybe add a shelf above.
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