ᐅ Urban villa of approximately 200 sqm without a basement. Please provide your feedback.

Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 587 sqm (6,316 sq ft)
Slope: none
Floor area ratio
Gross floor area ratio
Building window, building line, and boundary lines
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 2 per housing unit
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: no restrictions
Architectural style: urban villa
Orientation
Maximum height / restrictions – to neighbor: 0.4 m (15.7 inches) x eaves height
Other requirements: none

Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa with hip roof and 2 full floors
Basement: no, floors: 2
Number of occupants: 3 (female 31, male 28, child 2)
Space requirement on ground and upper floors: approx. 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft)
Office use: family use rather than home office
Annual overnight guests: 1
Open or closed architecture: open
Traditional or modern design: modern
Open kitchen: no door between kitchen and dining area, with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: yes, water-heated
Music/soundwall: no
Balcony: yes, roof terrace: no
Garage: yes, 1 parking space; carport: yes, 2 parking spaces
Utility garden: preferred but not yet planned, greenhouse: possibly
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices

Laundry room was moved to the upper floor because there is hardly any space on the ground floor and the technical room is already very tight without washer and dryer. It was important to me to be able to dry laundry directly on the balcony, at least in warm weather.

We will have a cantilevered staircase and an open space above. Access from the garage to the house was important to me. I feel there is a lack of storage space for provisions, but maybe the kitchen will be big enough since we will have a side-by-side fridge again. We rarely use canned goods.

House Design
Who planned it: architect and many personal drafts
- Builder’s planner
- Architect
- Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Cantilevered staircase with glass railing (which means I don’t mind cleaning it), balcony with glass railing, open living-dining area with fireplace.
What do you dislike? Why? The technical room takes up so much space and bothers me, but a basement was too expensive in terms of cost-benefit.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 400,000 with 60,000 own contribution (window construction and installation, glass railing)
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: see above
Preferred heating system: heat pump

Additionally, controlled mechanical ventilation, and if budget allows, some connected home technology

If You Have to Give Up Something, which details / extensions
- Can you give up? Child 1’s room is a bit too large – the bathroom might get bigger.
- Can’t give up? Large children’s rooms >16 sqm (172 sq ft), high ceiling on ground floor 2.70 m (8.86 ft), large kitchen, 2 showers in the house

Why Has the Design Turned Out Like It Has?
For example: Standard design from the planner? Initially we wanted a central T-shaped staircase, but due to lack of space it became a straight cantilevered staircase.
Which requests were implemented by the architect? All
A mix of many examples from various magazines: yes, especially the one with the red V
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion? We took a long time, about 1.5 years, for the final planning

What Is the Most Important / Fundamental Question About the Floor Plan in 130 Characters or Less?

We would simply like to hear a third opinion again; often you don’t notice something that others see immediately.

What I also want to mention: Storage room = office and playroom but also with space for buckets, vacuum cleaner, etc.

The bathroom on the upper floor will be enlarged and child 1’s room slightly reduced.
Site plan is still to be created.

Good morning!

I’m still a bit overwhelmed by the size of the house.

The first impression was nice! But upon closer inspection, it feels like the space is unevenly distributed in some areas. For example, the bathroom upstairs is already very large!
On the ground floor, I find it difficult to imagine the kitchen layout in terms of workflow. Could it be that the single cabinet drawn in the kitchen corner facing the dining area is supposed to be the refrigerator? That would certainly keep you fit, with about 6 m (20 feet) between the fridge and the sink. Or is the kitchen furniture going to be arranged differently?
I’m also curious about the small cross marked on the countertop where the sink is located. Does a pipe run down there, so you have to leave a shaft free in the kitchen?
The 170 cm (67 inches) rough opening dimension at the boxed-in area toward the hallway is probably meant for tall cabinets? Aside from the fact that it will likely be a few centimeters less due to plaster and construction tolerances, this size doesn’t fit well for kitchen planning (two tall cabinets at 60 cm (24 inches) each plus a filler strip would leave the sink counter less than 60 cm (24 inches) deep).

On the other hand, I find the entrance/wardrobe/toilet/utility area too cramped and awkward compared to the rest of the house.

Regarding the elevations, I would like to understand why the windows are often placed so close to the corners (especially noticeable in Child 2’s room and the living room). Will the upstairs windows all be floor-to-ceiling? Have you already tried furnishing the children’s rooms?

Yes, why not. It can be built this way, although it’s not perfectly precise in all areas.

What catches my eye the most is the bed. How wide is it, and how much space is left on the right side to walk? With this generous floor area, I would expect more room here. If I interpret the numbers correctly, there are only about 40cm (16 inches) next to a 2m (6 ft 7 in) bed? That’s almost cheeky on the architect’s part.

The corridor from the garage isn’t suitable for someone carrying two shopping bags, one in each hand. I see about 1m (3 ft 3 in) there—not very inviting. Likewise, the shower in the guest bathroom looks like it’s only for slim people. Does it say 80cm (31 inches)? I had more space than that in my student dorm.

For 200m² (2,150 sq ft), these areas feel a bit tight. I would suggest some improvements.

The bathroom is large and is supposed to get even bigger. What else should go in there? Such a huge bathroom can become uncomfortable and tiresome to move around in. I would place the sink along the wall on the right side of the plan, so the child has more privacy and less walking around. Maybe it would be better to give the child a walk-in closet as sound insulation from the bathroom.

I didn’t see any indication of orientation, so no comments on that.
The elevations and windows are not very impressive either—they look rather randomly placed, except for the entrance area.

To suggest a few minor changes:

Have you ever tried placing the restroom on the ground floor where the kitchen unit with the sink is currently located? And then enlarging the utility room and so on?

Apart from the fact that the windows in the kitchen would need to be changed, I don’t think shortening that room would be a disadvantage.

On the upper floor, you could position a laundry or utility room where the toilet and shower are currently located in the bathroom. This might also be better for drainage compared to placing it above the living room.
The previous laundry or utility room could then be used just as storage, since despite the large bedrooms you don’t have much storage space on the upper floor.

Thank you for your contributions,

I’ll try to answer the questions.

Kitchen
The kitchen is currently being planned together with a kitchen showroom. The layout will still change. What is certain is that we will have a kitchen island and the sink will remain in front of the window (for the view). The refrigerator might be moved to a different location.
For the 1.70 m (5 feet 7 inches) wall, a 60 cm (24 inch) oven plus a tall pantry cabinet (available in approximately 30–45 cm / 12–18 inch widths) were planned. However, it’s possible that no tall cabinets will be placed there and only on the concrete wall (green) instead – but this is still undecided.

The cross mark has something to do with the bathroom (pipe?), but I’m not exactly sure. I need to clarify this with the architect.

Windows
The window arrangement, especially in the dining/living area, was designed to capture a lot of sunlight from the east/south side.
Upstairs, the corner window will not be floor-to-ceiling, so a desk or similar can be placed there.

Entrance / Cloakroom / WC / Utility Room
You’re right, the entrance/cloakroom/WC/utility area is quite cramped and awkward, which we’re not happy with either, but we haven’t yet found a better solution. We want to keep access to the garage.

Master Bedroom
Currently, we have a bed that is 160 cm (63 inches) wide plus about 15 cm (6 inches) frame = 175 cm (69 inches). This is enough for us. When we get older, we can still move into the children’s rooms. They will hopefully have moved out by then (in about 40 years).

Upstairs Bathroom
I agree with you, the bathroom could stay the same size, and we will seriously consider the idea of a walk-in closet for the child.

North arrow: the corner window in the living area points roughly southeast, if that helps.

So-so, but apart from the fact that I’m not really a fan of these urban villas, I think some improvements are still possible. For that, I would like to know a bit more from you:

Is a second child planned? If so, a house of this size seems to be missing a room for guests, an office, or similar uses. If not, okay—you have a child’s bedroom upstairs and another room that could serve that purpose. But if child number two is in the plans, even if you rarely have guests, should they really sleep on the couch? In a house of this size? Does no one ever need a space to do paperwork? Taxes? Pay bills? Store documents? Where is that supposed to happen? A corner in the living room?

Since the bathroom and one child’s bedroom upstairs are very large, I would consider carving out a smaller room here (10-12 sqm (107-129 sq ft)).

A walk-in closet/bedroom combination is doable but not ideal, as mentioned before: you don’t have a lot of space. I could personally live with that—I don’t need a runway around the bed—but maybe something else could be planned here? Even if it’s just the bed’s position (which could lead to adjustments in the window layout).

I also see the kitchen as challenging to furnish. Wouldn’t it be an option to change the floor-to-ceiling windows here to windows at counter height? Then you could make better use of the space! Since no symmetry is planned for the exterior (which I like—I’m not a fan of standardized façades), there’s room for optimization here. You can still plan a door to the garden, for example, at the top of the plan near the short walls by the dining area. Personally, I would remove those short walls completely. First, consult a good kitchen planner, design the kitchen with them, and then adapt the façade, connections, and so on to a practical kitchen layout. With the free façade, you have many options; the kitchen as it is now would never make it into my home.

Furthermore, I would swap the technical room and utility/storage room on the ground floor. If you already have access from the garage, it should be close to the utility room where groceries will be stored, right? The kitchen would also be closer then. I also don’t like the long hallway. Would it be an option to close off the hallway to the utility/technical rooms, so the entrance opens directly into one of these rooms (depending on which one you place there) and open up the toilet towards the wardrobe? Since this hallway leads to the technical and utility rooms, widening the passage to the living room could create a more spacious feel and add some “breathing room” to the overall layout.

Is your storage area your only place for all the clutter? That would be too little for me. I would seriously consider shrinking the house slightly and adding a basement instead, especially if you plan to have only one child. Reducing the floor area by 20 sqm (215 sq ft) almost covers the cost of a basement (and you wouldn’t need a slab foundation, since the basement replaces that). Potential savings could be made in the kitchen and storage room (which you wouldn’t need with a basement), upstairs bathroom, and child’s room one. This should be quite achievable.

If you keep the current dimensions and don’t plan an additional room upstairs, I would seriously consider adding a sauna next to the bathroom so that the bathroom and child’s room one don’t remain so disproportionately large.