ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house of approximately 125 square meters, with two full stories

Created on: 27 Jul 2018 22:33

We plan to build a single-family house with about 125sqm (1,345 sqft). We would like to include a small home office on the upper floor.

We prefer not to have the staircase directly next to the front door to avoid having to walk through the “dirty zone” all the time. However, an L-shaped staircase next to the front door might save space. This would allow for a larger utility room (the front door would be moved slightly).

The kitchen cabinet layout is not finalized yet. A place for a fireplace is also still missing (the challenge is integrating the chimney on the upper floor).

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size 1000sqm (10,760 sqft)
Slope approx. 1 – 1.5m (3 – 5 ft) decline from north to south over 50m (164 ft).
Site and floor area ratio unknown, as §34 applies
Building envelope, boundary lines Building envelope 5m (16 ft) from the street on the north side, approx. 20 x 20m (66 x 66 ft), on the west side 15m (49 ft) distance to the neighbor’s building envelope, meaning the minimum distance to the west neighbor is 15m (49 ft), see site plan.
Edge development -
Number of parking spaces -
Number of floors 1–2
Roof type / Style / Orientation no restrictions
Maximum heights / limits -

Owners’ Requirements
Style, Roof type, Building type Urban villa, hipped roof or tent roof
Basement, floors no basement, 2 floors
Number and age of occupants 3 (33, 33, 3 years old)
Room requirements on the ground floor: Living/dining room, kitchen, utility room, WC
Upper floor: Bathroom, bedroom, child’s room, office, guest/hobby room

Office: family use or home office? Home office
Number of overnight guests per year 3–4
Open or closed architecture / conservative or modern design classic
Open kitchen, kitchen island semi-open, possibly with a kitchen island
Number of dining seats 4–6
Fireplace yes
Music/stereo wall -
Balcony, rooftop terrace -
Garage, carport Carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse -

House Design
Designed by: > Do-it-Yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? What do you dislike? Why? The north and west elevations look a bit odd; maybe an additional window should be added there.
Personal budget for the house, including fittings: approx. 250,000€
Preferred heating system: Gas or air-to-water heat pump

If you had to give up anything, which details/extra features
- could you live without:
- could you not do without:

Why is the design like it is now? For example:
We used various floor plans from prefabricated house providers/contractors found online as templates.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?

The following questions:

1. Is the floor plan feasible and practical to use?
2. Would an L-shaped staircase be preferable to save space?
3. Do load-bearing walls on the upper and ground floors have to be aligned?
4. Where is the best place to position the carport on the plot, northeast or northwest?
5. How can the chimney for the upstairs fireplace be integrated without taking up too much space?

Floor plan:

Floor plan of an apartment with living/dining, kitchen, hallway, utility room, bathroom, and U-shaped staircase.

Floor plan of an apartment with bathroom, bedroom, guest room, child’s room, office; U-shaped staircase.

Grey rendered house with dark front door and multiple windows under a blue sky

3D house front with grey facade and multiple windows

Two-story light-colored house facade with many windows, view of the front side.

Grey 3D house facade with windows and entrance door, exterior view

Location:

Site plan with plot boundaries, building envelopes and north orientation.

Carport arrangement:

Clear site plan of a plot with driveway, car, house and garden

Top-down 2D plan of a plot with house, terrace, driveway and garden

kaho67430 Jul 2018 10:01

#13

Stefan890 schrieb:

How did you calculate the 135-140 sqm (1453-1507 sq ft)? When I add up the individual rooms, I get about 128 sqm (1378 sq ft) without considering the staircase.

And including the staircase, roughly 133 sqm (1432 sq ft), right? If that’s acceptable, then it's fine.

ypg30 Jul 2018 10:11

#14

j.bautsch schrieb:
Here is my idea with the same external dimensions, assuming the structural aspects can be managed. (I also left out the windows)

The kitchen and dining area could have direct access to the terrace. There is more space for a wardrobe and the utility room has grown as well (no idea if that’s enough). In the restroom, there is still room for towels and cleaning supplies.

Bathroom above the restroom. Guest room and office combined. Child’s room faces south/west.

EDIT: Oops, the guest bed got a bit shifted

Nice straightforward idea – I would still move things around a bit on the upper floor.

j.bautsch schrieb:
Hmm, I’m not so keen on the orientation on the ground floor there. I don’t know why “everyone” wants their living room facing southwest. I think northwest is much better, and then the kitchen is in the southeast rather than the northeast, so you still get sun in the kitchen around midday and afternoon (you prepare meals several times a day, after all; I usually sit on my sofa in the evening).

I agree completely.

kaho67430 Jul 2018 10:14

#15

Please explain again why the guest room and the office cannot be combined.

Hopefully, you have already noticed that the kitchen layout is not very practical. Also, most people prefer not to have the head of the bed positioned next to the door in the bedroom.

ypg30 Jul 2018 10:19

#16

kaho674 schrieb:
Say again, why are the guest room and office not allowed to be combined?

Where does it say that?
A house doesn't work well if too many rooms are squeezed into a small area in square meters. I see too few storage options for closets and similar in your original plan.
If I were you, I would try to clear your mind and look at the house concept neutrally and evaluate it objectively.

kaho67430 Jul 2018 10:52

#17

ypg schrieb:
Where is that stated?

Exactly, nowhere! But he keeps planning it that way, even though in my opinion the space would be better used elsewhere, which you had already suggested.

Stefan89030 Jul 2018 22:03

#18

11ant schrieb:
Who says that and why?
For the typical hip roof detached house, I would expect more drywall partitions on the upper floor (or at this point, aerated concrete blocks would also be fine, in any case no problem).

I am not an expert, but I have been told that the load-bearing walls in the case of a solid concrete ceiling on the upper floor should ideally line up with those below. Whether this applies to our house, I need to ask a general contractor/structural engineer.

j.bautsch schrieb:
Here is my idea, same external dimensions and assuming the structural requirements can be managed. (I also left out the windows)

The kitchen and dining area can have direct access to the terrace.
There is space for a cloakroom and the utility room has grown (no idea if that’s enough now).
The WC still has space for towels and cleaning supplies.

Bathroom above the WC. Guest room and office combined. Child’s room has south/west orientation after all.

Thanks for your design. The idea of placing the staircase on the east side looks good.
What we like less, however, is the open kitchen. We would prefer a somewhat more closed kitchen so that it is not fully visible from the sofa.

Alex85 schrieb:
How about using the Flair 130 as a template ...

The Flair 130 has an even larger footprint (10.10 m x 9.10 m (33 ft 2 in x 29 ft 10 in)).

ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house of approximately 125 square meters, with two full stories

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