ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home of Approximately 150 m²

Created on: 12 Feb 2018 18:09
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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!

Lageplan eines Baugrundstücks mit Parzellen, Straßenverlauf und Gebäudestrukturen.


Grundriss: Kochen/Essen/Wohnen, HWR, WC, Diele, Gast, Treppenhaus, Schornstein.


Grundriss Obergeschoss: Zimmer 1, Zimmer 2, Schlafen, Bad, Flur/Galerie, Abstell, Schornstein.
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chrisw81
8 Mar 2018 14:33
11ant schrieb:
That doesn’t look any more complicated than a grouper

If the budget allows, I would slightly soften the basic gingerbread house pattern.

I would have liked to hear such suggestions from the architect as well... well-founded and justified, it’s not a problem at all. But having to tinker with it myself again now is frustrating.
kaho6748 Mar 2018 14:34
11ant schrieb:
That doesn’t look any crazier than a grouper

If the budget allows, I would slightly soften the basic gingerbread house pattern.

The funny thing is the contrast between the almost bland exterior and the wild, “interesting” interior wall structure. It’s almost like a culture shock. From the outside, you approach a boring standard house and then get surprised when you bump into all the corners inside.
Climbee8 Mar 2018 14:42
With the "grouper," you are stuck with the interior design forever.
chrisw81 schrieb:
I wish I had heard such suggestions from the architect too... well-founded and justified, that wouldn’t be a problem at all. But having to tinker with it myself again now is annoying.

Come on, it’s your house. Now planning is already too much for you? Good luck with the build...
Honestly: NOW you still have the chance to influence things, and I would take advantage of that.
And if the budget is not limited (which I have assumed so far) or at least still leaves some room, then if the building window allows it, I would definitely experiment a bit more. You won’t have that freedom later.
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chrisw81
8 Mar 2018 16:23
kaho674 schrieb:
It’s funny how the almost bland exterior contrasts with the wild and “interesting” interior wall design. It’s almost like a culture shock. From the outside, you approach a boring standard house and then get surprised when you bump into the many corners inside.

Well, there aren’t that many corners after all. And isn’t every shelf standing against a wall basically a corner? If the corners are used well, you hardly notice them anymore.
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chrisw81
8 Mar 2018 16:26
Climbee schrieb:

Come on, this is your house. Now the planning is already too much for you? Good luck with the build...
Honestly: You still have opportunities to influence things NOW, and I would take advantage of them.
And if the budget isn’t limited (which I have assumed so far) or at least still leaves some room, then if the building window allows it, I would definitely experiment a bit more. You won’t have that freedom later.

I find the planning exhausting, especially when you have so many restrictions. I honestly don’t see where else I could make changes. An L-shaped option doesn’t offer more benefits, and otherwise everything is already well optimized. There have been plenty of suggestions here recently, all very nice but not more advantageous.
11ant8 Mar 2018 18:00
chrisw81 schrieb:
But now having to tinker with it again myself is annoying.
Why? Katja is doing the tinkering for you.
chrisw81 schrieb:
If the corners are well utilized, you don’t even notice it anymore.
If all the corners are well used, the house ends up feeling like a cabin or a motorhome. Then the gingerbread house becomes a dollhouse.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/