ᐅ Floor Plan for a Two-Story Urban Villa – Suggestions and Ideas for Modifications
Created on: 15 Apr 2018 20:11
N
Nenschn
Dear forum members,
until now, I have mostly been a silent reader, gathering ideas for the future. That future is now a reality, and this is how we plan to realize our house construction.
Thanks to the forum and house building catalogs, we (male 31/female 28) actually had quite specific ideas about how the floor plan should look. Unfortunately, I’m really bad at spatial imagination and sketching, so I can’t put my ideas on paper. Our architect friend created the following floor plan after a discussion with us. What can I say? We are still a bit unhappy because our wishes were not very well implemented. Before I write too much, I think it makes more sense to fill out the questionnaire so you get an idea of what we envision and what we are allowed to build. I am very grateful for ideas, suggestions, and possible changes! Thanks in advance 🙂
Development plan/restrictions:
Plot size: 892 sqm (0.22 acres)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.6 for 2 stories
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: open construction method
Number of parking spaces: 2, with garage storage space 5 m (16.5 ft) deep
Number of floors: max. 2
Roof type: single-pitched roof (10-25 degrees), hip roof, and gable roof (15-30 degrees at wall height 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in), 15-40 degrees at wall height below 5.0 m (16 ft 5 in))
Architectural style: open
Orientation:
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height (trough height) 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in) above street level, ridge height for single-pitched roofs max. 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in) above street level, finished floor level ground floor max. 50 cm (20 inches) above street level, garage max. 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in)
Homeowners’ requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: townhouse/cube style, hip roof/pyramidal roof, single-family house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 2 (m 31 / f 28), later 1-2 children
Space needed on ground floor and upper floor: approx. 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft) per floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guest bedrooms per year: about 2-4
Open or closed architecture: open, but with the possibility to close off between living room and kitchen/dining room
Conservative or modern construction: combination
Open kitchen, cooking island: kitchen and dining room open, cooking island
Number of dining seats: 8-12
Fireplace: tiled stove
Balcony, roof terrace: optional but not necessary if there is a spacious terrace
Garage, carport: double garage with adjacent space for garden tools/furniture, with access to the house through the utility room, considering a third garage on the south side
Utility garden, greenhouse: planned for later
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why something should or should not be included:
Ground floor
- Office with possibility to convert into a bedroom for old age
- Guest toilet with shower (for aging use)
- Sliding door between kitchen/dining and living room
- Utility room as a passage from the house to the garage
- Pantry adjacent to kitchen
- Kitchen with cooking island
- Rooms filled with daylight, preferably large windows/sliding glass door to the terrace
Upper floor
- Storage under the stairs
- Bathroom: maybe a T-layout? Walk-in shower without door, two sinks, bathtub
- Bedroom – walk-in closet – bathroom ideally with walk-through access
- 2 children’s rooms
- No children’s bathroom!
- Optional: small storage room
- Optional: gallery
House design
Who designed the plan: architect friend
What do you particularly like? Why? Separate garage access, storage under the stairs used, office near the entrance (clients don’t have to pass through the house)
What do you dislike? Why? Overall more complicated floor plan,
Ground floor: kitchen/dining rooms are not on the same level, no sliding door between kitchen/dining and living room, passage through technical room instead of utility room as intended, utility room too small, missing tiled stove
Upper floor: bedroom/walk-in closet/bathroom as walk-through not implemented, access to bedroom through walk-in closet, children’s rooms somewhat small
If you have to give up something, which details/extras
- can you do without: balcony, gallery, freestanding bathtub
- can you not do without: sliding door between kitchen/dining and living room, walk-through access between bedroom/walk-in closet/bathroom
until now, I have mostly been a silent reader, gathering ideas for the future. That future is now a reality, and this is how we plan to realize our house construction.
Thanks to the forum and house building catalogs, we (male 31/female 28) actually had quite specific ideas about how the floor plan should look. Unfortunately, I’m really bad at spatial imagination and sketching, so I can’t put my ideas on paper. Our architect friend created the following floor plan after a discussion with us. What can I say? We are still a bit unhappy because our wishes were not very well implemented. Before I write too much, I think it makes more sense to fill out the questionnaire so you get an idea of what we envision and what we are allowed to build. I am very grateful for ideas, suggestions, and possible changes! Thanks in advance 🙂
Development plan/restrictions:
Plot size: 892 sqm (0.22 acres)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.6 for 2 stories
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: open construction method
Number of parking spaces: 2, with garage storage space 5 m (16.5 ft) deep
Number of floors: max. 2
Roof type: single-pitched roof (10-25 degrees), hip roof, and gable roof (15-30 degrees at wall height 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in), 15-40 degrees at wall height below 5.0 m (16 ft 5 in))
Architectural style: open
Orientation:
Maximum heights/limits: eaves height (trough height) 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in) above street level, ridge height for single-pitched roofs max. 7.50 m (24 ft 7 in) above street level, finished floor level ground floor max. 50 cm (20 inches) above street level, garage max. 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in)
Homeowners’ requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: townhouse/cube style, hip roof/pyramidal roof, single-family house
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: 2 (m 31 / f 28), later 1-2 children
Space needed on ground floor and upper floor: approx. 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft) per floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Guest bedrooms per year: about 2-4
Open or closed architecture: open, but with the possibility to close off between living room and kitchen/dining room
Conservative or modern construction: combination
Open kitchen, cooking island: kitchen and dining room open, cooking island
Number of dining seats: 8-12
Fireplace: tiled stove
Balcony, roof terrace: optional but not necessary if there is a spacious terrace
Garage, carport: double garage with adjacent space for garden tools/furniture, with access to the house through the utility room, considering a third garage on the south side
Utility garden, greenhouse: planned for later
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why something should or should not be included:
Ground floor
- Office with possibility to convert into a bedroom for old age
- Guest toilet with shower (for aging use)
- Sliding door between kitchen/dining and living room
- Utility room as a passage from the house to the garage
- Pantry adjacent to kitchen
- Kitchen with cooking island
- Rooms filled with daylight, preferably large windows/sliding glass door to the terrace
Upper floor
- Storage under the stairs
- Bathroom: maybe a T-layout? Walk-in shower without door, two sinks, bathtub
- Bedroom – walk-in closet – bathroom ideally with walk-through access
- 2 children’s rooms
- No children’s bathroom!
- Optional: small storage room
- Optional: gallery
House design
Who designed the plan: architect friend
What do you particularly like? Why? Separate garage access, storage under the stairs used, office near the entrance (clients don’t have to pass through the house)
What do you dislike? Why? Overall more complicated floor plan,
Ground floor: kitchen/dining rooms are not on the same level, no sliding door between kitchen/dining and living room, passage through technical room instead of utility room as intended, utility room too small, missing tiled stove
Upper floor: bedroom/walk-in closet/bathroom as walk-through not implemented, access to bedroom through walk-in closet, children’s rooms somewhat small
If you have to give up something, which details/extras
- can you do without: balcony, gallery, freestanding bathtub
- can you not do without: sliding door between kitchen/dining and living room, walk-through access between bedroom/walk-in closet/bathroom
The pantry and utility room feel cramped into the layout.
The main living area is 44 sqm (about 474 sq ft). How narrow is it?
44 sqm (about 474 sq ft) is not small, but the room might be too narrow across the entire width.
I would be interested in seeing exterior views.
I find it pointless to use the small utility room, where laundry is stored, as a passageway.
Why weren’t the toilets and bathrooms planned one above the other? Why is the bathroom on the south side and the children’s room on the north side?
I’ve seen worse, but for this size, I have also seen better. Even the location of the stairs is confusing... but even more so... I’ll repeat myself... the utility room.
The pantry is also completely oversized for the living room area. Its size could accommodate any amount of trash, which would still have to be carried through the living room... through three doors to the garage, where the trash can is located... [emoji848]
The main living area is 44 sqm (about 474 sq ft). How narrow is it?
44 sqm (about 474 sq ft) is not small, but the room might be too narrow across the entire width.
I would be interested in seeing exterior views.
I find it pointless to use the small utility room, where laundry is stored, as a passageway.
Why weren’t the toilets and bathrooms planned one above the other? Why is the bathroom on the south side and the children’s room on the north side?
I’ve seen worse, but for this size, I have also seen better. Even the location of the stairs is confusing... but even more so... I’ll repeat myself... the utility room.
The pantry is also completely oversized for the living room area. Its size could accommodate any amount of trash, which would still have to be carried through the living room... through three doors to the garage, where the trash can is located... [emoji848]
No dimensions?
By “twisted,” you probably mean that the floor plan doesn’t convey a sense of freedom and spaciousness. To me, the whole layout feels somewhat narrow-minded and old-fashioned. Yvonne has already pointed out some key issues. I would like to add the strange location of the terrace, which blocks the sunlight instead of inviting it in.
If you have to welcome clients into your office, it should be placed right at the front by the entrance or even better, have a separate entrance. Here, having a second door really makes sense. You can skip the access to the utility room for that—do you really want to carry shoes back and forth and clean them twice?
The living room feels cramped in length—the pantry is quite large but disproportionate to the rest of the living area. The sunlight comes from the left side of the plan, right? That’s where your pantry is located, blocking the light.
Upstairs, the walk-in closet is again too narrow—that won’t work.
I’d suggest starting over.
By “twisted,” you probably mean that the floor plan doesn’t convey a sense of freedom and spaciousness. To me, the whole layout feels somewhat narrow-minded and old-fashioned. Yvonne has already pointed out some key issues. I would like to add the strange location of the terrace, which blocks the sunlight instead of inviting it in.
If you have to welcome clients into your office, it should be placed right at the front by the entrance or even better, have a separate entrance. Here, having a second door really makes sense. You can skip the access to the utility room for that—do you really want to carry shoes back and forth and clean them twice?
The living room feels cramped in length—the pantry is quite large but disproportionate to the rest of the living area. The sunlight comes from the left side of the plan, right? That’s where your pantry is located, blocking the light.
Upstairs, the walk-in closet is again too narrow—that won’t work.
I’d suggest starting over.
Climbee schrieb:
I would completely redesign the ground floor in the entrance area. I would redesign much more because I "feel" that from the original poster’s words, she does not quite recognize her wish list in the drawing. This is actually an indicator that detailed criticism of this design makes little sense, as it would be better to come up with a different design instead.
It’s best if she sketches something herself first, talent or not; maybe that way it becomes clearer where the project should be headed. At least the layout, even if the proportions are not accurate.
*) Please do this by hand, since with little practice it is usually more difficult to express something clearly on a computer.
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
She should best try sketching something herself, talent aside, Yes, at least the ground floor. Or she could show examples she liked, but that didn’t fit the rural location, budget, construction method, or similar.Thank you very much for your feedback and suggestions.
Many of the issues that bother me personally have already been mentioned.
I will go through the posts from top to bottom.
There wouldn’t be any space for a larger bed there, just as I said.
Yes, slightly. You can see a compass on the Google Maps image.
@Climbee The passage from the garage through the utility room is intentional because we want to use it as a mudroom. However, the utility room is too small on the plan—I want to be able to put up a drying rack there. I also find the passage through the technical room inconvenient. Maybe the technical equipment could be relocated outside of the house somehow?
We also considered a utility room on the upper floor, but decided on the mudroom. The laundry should ideally come down a laundry chute into the utility room, so I would like the bathroom above the utility room/guest bathroom upstairs.
The balcony is pointless and can be removed. I totally agree with you. We have enough space for a proper terrace.
@ypg I would prefer the kitchen/dining/living area to be in a straight line, without that extended annex. Less than 3.5m wide. I’m also unhappy with the kitchen layout. In my opinion, the kitchen island only makes sense if there is space left on both sides and a view towards the dining table.
I would like to have the bathroom above the utility room/guest toilet on the upper floor because of the plumbing connections.
The problem, according to the architect, were the load-bearing walls, which did not allow the bathroom/dressing room/bedroom layout as desired.
@kaho674 Yes, that’s what I mean. The long paths (through the technical and utility rooms, towards the center of the house to reach the office) also bother me.
Yes, it will probably need a new design. I do criticize too much myself, you are right.
Specifically, I am still wondering where you would put the stairs instead? A vestibule/mudroom at the entrance? Would an entrance next to the garage probably make more sense?
I started sketching earlier... unfortunately, it’s not clear at all.
I’ll start looking for floor plans that I liked before, if that still makes sense, as I will probably end up changing a lot anyway.
Thanks again for your efforts!
Many of the issues that bother me personally have already been mentioned.
I will go through the posts from top to bottom.
11ant schrieb:
The room for Child 2 is difficult to furnish (also differently than shown on the plan).
There wouldn’t be any space for a larger bed there, just as I said.
kaho674 schrieb:
Is the site plan oriented to north?
Yes, slightly. You can see a compass on the Google Maps image.
@Climbee The passage from the garage through the utility room is intentional because we want to use it as a mudroom. However, the utility room is too small on the plan—I want to be able to put up a drying rack there. I also find the passage through the technical room inconvenient. Maybe the technical equipment could be relocated outside of the house somehow?
We also considered a utility room on the upper floor, but decided on the mudroom. The laundry should ideally come down a laundry chute into the utility room, so I would like the bathroom above the utility room/guest bathroom upstairs.
The balcony is pointless and can be removed. I totally agree with you. We have enough space for a proper terrace.
@ypg I would prefer the kitchen/dining/living area to be in a straight line, without that extended annex. Less than 3.5m wide. I’m also unhappy with the kitchen layout. In my opinion, the kitchen island only makes sense if there is space left on both sides and a view towards the dining table.
I would like to have the bathroom above the utility room/guest toilet on the upper floor because of the plumbing connections.
The problem, according to the architect, were the load-bearing walls, which did not allow the bathroom/dressing room/bedroom layout as desired.
@kaho674 Yes, that’s what I mean. The long paths (through the technical and utility rooms, towards the center of the house to reach the office) also bother me.
Yes, it will probably need a new design. I do criticize too much myself, you are right.
Specifically, I am still wondering where you would put the stairs instead? A vestibule/mudroom at the entrance? Would an entrance next to the garage probably make more sense?
I started sketching earlier... unfortunately, it’s not clear at all.
I’ll start looking for floor plans that I liked before, if that still makes sense, as I will probably end up changing a lot anyway.
Thanks again for your efforts!
Nenschn schrieb:
Yes, it will probably need a new design. I criticize too much myself, you’re right. You pay the piper, so you get to choose the tune.
Nenschn schrieb:
I started sketching earlier… Unfortunately, it’s not really recognizable. You don’t even know our imagination yet. Bring on the drawings!
Nenschn schrieb:
Specifically, I’m curious where you would place the staircase instead? A vestibule as well? Does an entrance next to the garage probably make more sense? I like to think about stairs starting from the top: meaning I imagine from the landing (ideally centrally located on the upper floor) downward. A vestibule is good, with a dirt-trapping area. I don’t think the house and garage entrances need to be right next to each other; in my opinion, having two entrances makes even more sense the further apart they are.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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