ᐅ Feedback on Single-Family Home Floor Plan – 200 m² Urban Villa with Hipped Roof
Created on: 28 Dec 2018 15:03
S
Seb0907
Hello everyone,
I am currently deep in the planning phase for our single-family home, a townhouse villa type, with construction scheduled to start next spring/summer. To avoid any blind spots in the planning process—if not already the case—I would really appreciate your opinions on the current status and any suggestions you might have. I have attached the floor plan along with a visualization and want to thank you in advance for your feedback!
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
- Plot size: 660 m² (7,104 sq ft)
- Slope: No
- Floor area ratio (FAR) / Site occupancy index: 0.35 / 0.7
- Building envelope, building line, and boundary: See plan
- Edge development: Allowed (border garage)
- Number of parking spaces: Minimum 2
- Number of floors: Maximum 2
- Roof pitch: 0 – 45°
- Architectural style: No specifications
- Orientation: No specifications
- Maximum height / limits: 7 m (23 ft)
- Other requirements: None
Homeowners’ Requirements
- Style, roof shape, building type: Townhouse villa with hipped roof (18°)
- Basement, number of floors: No basement, two full floors
- Number of occupants, age: 2 (33/30)
- Required living space on ground floor and upper floor: About 100 m² (1,076 sq ft)
- Office use: Family use and partial home office, hence the size
- Overnight guests per year: 1 - 4
- Open or closed layout: Open
- Conservative or modern style: Modern
- Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen with cooking or half kitchen island
- Number of dining seats: 2 - 6
- Fireplace: Yes
- Music/stereo wall: No
- Balcony, roof terrace: No
- Garage, carport: Double garage
- Utility garden, greenhouse: No
House Design
- Planning by: Own design
- What do you particularly like? Why? See below
- What do you not like? Why? See below
- Cost estimate according to architect/designer: €415,000 excluding land
- Preferred heating system: Heat pump with ventilation system
If you have to compromise, on which details/expansions
- You can compromise on: Various room sizes/arrangements
- You cannot compromise on: Almost everything listed under “what I like”
Why does the design look like it does now?
Personal taste (townhouse villa, open design), plot requirements (orientation and positioning), and external advice (planning for closets, etc.).
What I like:
The most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters
I am primarily looking for your assessment/feedback on the floor plan and welcome constructive points, suggestions, or ideas I might have missed due to “planning bias,” including your thoughts on what I don’t like.
I am currently deep in the planning phase for our single-family home, a townhouse villa type, with construction scheduled to start next spring/summer. To avoid any blind spots in the planning process—if not already the case—I would really appreciate your opinions on the current status and any suggestions you might have. I have attached the floor plan along with a visualization and want to thank you in advance for your feedback!
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
- Plot size: 660 m² (7,104 sq ft)
- Slope: No
- Floor area ratio (FAR) / Site occupancy index: 0.35 / 0.7
- Building envelope, building line, and boundary: See plan
- Edge development: Allowed (border garage)
- Number of parking spaces: Minimum 2
- Number of floors: Maximum 2
- Roof pitch: 0 – 45°
- Architectural style: No specifications
- Orientation: No specifications
- Maximum height / limits: 7 m (23 ft)
- Other requirements: None
Homeowners’ Requirements
- Style, roof shape, building type: Townhouse villa with hipped roof (18°)
- Basement, number of floors: No basement, two full floors
- Number of occupants, age: 2 (33/30)
- Required living space on ground floor and upper floor: About 100 m² (1,076 sq ft)
- Office use: Family use and partial home office, hence the size
- Overnight guests per year: 1 - 4
- Open or closed layout: Open
- Conservative or modern style: Modern
- Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen with cooking or half kitchen island
- Number of dining seats: 2 - 6
- Fireplace: Yes
- Music/stereo wall: No
- Balcony, roof terrace: No
- Garage, carport: Double garage
- Utility garden, greenhouse: No
House Design
- Planning by: Own design
- What do you particularly like? Why? See below
- What do you not like? Why? See below
- Cost estimate according to architect/designer: €415,000 excluding land
- Preferred heating system: Heat pump with ventilation system
If you have to compromise, on which details/expansions
- You can compromise on: Various room sizes/arrangements
- You cannot compromise on: Almost everything listed under “what I like”
Why does the design look like it does now?
Personal taste (townhouse villa, open design), plot requirements (orientation and positioning), and external advice (planning for closets, etc.).
What I like:
- General placement of all rooms on the plot: Bedroom away from the street on the east side (sunrise); living area set back from the street; office with a large window facing west (sunset side)
- Clear, uninterrupted view from the entrance area all the way to the garden
- Exterior design of the house
- Garage roof covering with space for trash bins near the street
- Integration of the kitchen unit and tall kitchen cabinets in the floor plan
- Extra room on the ground floor for guests, utility, and due to its size, potential as a full bedroom on the ground floor later
- Garage access from inside via the entrance area (“dirty zone” vs. “clean zone”)
- Central placement of the fireplace
- Pre-planned integration of household cupboards/closets into niches on both floors (space under the stairs should also be accessible)
- Laundry chute access from both the dressing room and bathroom
- Bright, open, spacious corridor on the upper floor with a window
- Central staircase location
- Offset dining table relative to the kitchen island due to walkway width near the fireplace; it’s “okay” but requires walking around. Having the table directly opposite would be nicer.
- The bathroom is generally fine, but I am not happy with the door position and the corner, even though the corner probably won't be very visible as the door won’t fully open 90°, and the walkway is wide enough. However, I don’t see where I could take space from without negatively affecting the position of the stairs or chimney and thus compromising the generally good room and circulation sizes in the entrance, living room, dressing room, or bedroom.
- “Tunnel” effect in the doorway area of children’s room 1
The most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters
I am primarily looking for your assessment/feedback on the floor plan and welcome constructive points, suggestions, or ideas I might have missed due to “planning bias,” including your thoughts on what I don’t like.
I would try to integrate a small utility room upstairs, as that’s where laundry accumulates.
I would swap the office and Child 2’s room. That way, Child 2’s room is a bit further from the street.
On the ground floor, I don’t like the hallway, staircase, utility area, and WC. They feel awkward, cramped, and not inviting.
I do like the kitchen, dining, and living areas, and the right sofa is shown.
I would swap the office and Child 2’s room. That way, Child 2’s room is a bit further from the street.
On the ground floor, I don’t like the hallway, staircase, utility area, and WC. They feel awkward, cramped, and not inviting.
I do like the kitchen, dining, and living areas, and the right sofa is shown.
I agree with the general idea... The floor plan is basically a good start, at least so far.
What bothers me a lot is the mandatory access to the garage, which then leads into a maze-like hallway and ends up in a relatively tight area near the front door (considering the overall size of the house). I just compared this with the entrance area of my apartment. There, it’s about 250 cm by 250 cm (8 ft 2 in by 8 ft 2 in), which feels very comfortable when guests arrive.
I also see the laundry area upstairs, especially because of the location of the utility room.
An 18 sqm (194 sq ft) home office is quite large, but of course, the house itself is also very spacious.
What bothers me a lot is the mandatory access to the garage, which then leads into a maze-like hallway and ends up in a relatively tight area near the front door (considering the overall size of the house). I just compared this with the entrance area of my apartment. There, it’s about 250 cm by 250 cm (8 ft 2 in by 8 ft 2 in), which feels very comfortable when guests arrive.
I also see the laundry area upstairs, especially because of the location of the utility room.
An 18 sqm (194 sq ft) home office is quite large, but of course, the house itself is also very spacious.
Questions:
Does the slanted garage driveway really make sense? I think it looks awkward when standing in front of the house and doesn’t offer any advantage when entering the property. The property boundary is less visible than the outer edges of the house.
You could save a lot of space and avoid this narrow hallway by removing the entrance from the garage. It would be better to have a covered outdoor entrance instead. You might want to reconsider the position of the stairs as well. There is no quiet area in this large house – you need to be aware of that. Everything echoes through the living area. In addition, this might enlarge the hallway.
Does the slanted garage driveway really make sense? I think it looks awkward when standing in front of the house and doesn’t offer any advantage when entering the property. The property boundary is less visible than the outer edges of the house.
You could save a lot of space and avoid this narrow hallway by removing the entrance from the garage. It would be better to have a covered outdoor entrance instead. You might want to reconsider the position of the stairs as well. There is no quiet area in this large house – you need to be aware of that. Everything echoes through the living area. In addition, this might enlarge the hallway.
I generally like it quite a lot.
What stands out to me is the black-and-white view. The corner window with the terrace door in the kitchen doesn’t really match the window above it on the upper floor. I would combine the terrace door with a regular window (overall matching the width of the workspace window on the upper floor) and then place a standard window on the south side facing the terrace, or move the terrace exit to the south side instead, which of course would require a different kitchen layout.
What stands out to me is the black-and-white view. The corner window with the terrace door in the kitchen doesn’t really match the window above it on the upper floor. I would combine the terrace door with a regular window (overall matching the width of the workspace window on the upper floor) and then place a standard window on the south side facing the terrace, or move the terrace exit to the south side instead, which of course would require a different kitchen layout.
kaho674 schrieb:
This slanted driveway to the garage – is it really necessary? [...] You could save a lot of space by removing the entrance from the garage. Better to have a covered area outside. I agree. By the way, it’s not worth mentioning how rarely I get caught in drizzle on the half kilometer (0.3 miles) between the front door and the garage door – and I have never been attacked by squirrels there.
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Many thanks to everyone! I started working on the entrance area and tried to optimize it a bit more.
I don’t want to add a bay window there to enlarge the space. If necessary, I would set the front door flush with the wall at most, although I’m already quite satisfied with the dimensions achieved so far. I’ve attached a few pictures showing the changes.
I modified and moved the door and the passage to the living area; both were initially drawn a bit too thick. Also, in the area behind the built-in closet, I changed the 36.5cm (14.4 inches) wall to a 24cm (9.4 inches) wall… I’m actually not too concerned whether that’s technically possible or not, but it would be great to gain 12cm (4.7 inches) in the passage. The two lines are not meant to represent steps but rather a separation or passage into the living area. I want to keep open the possibility of installing a glass door there to separate the living space. This would clearly define the entrance area and also create a windbreak function while keeping it fully open. What do you think about the dimensions?
Regarding the passage to the garage, I think I would really miss it every time I leave the house if I don’t build it. The hallway also has the advantage that guests can access the guest bathroom directly from the garage if you ever have a gathering there (like a winter birthday). Alternatively, it might be possible to enlarge the utility room and plan the passage there. However, I’d rather avoid people walking through that room if laundry or other items are hanging or lying around.
I also spent a lot of time considering the angled garage wall. I will attach two comparison pictures tomorrow showing the straight versus angled option. In my view, the angled version actually looks nicer and more harmonious than the straight one because the straight wall, due to the narrowing of the plot in the area of the projection toward the house edge, tends to look like an unwanted constriction at the driveway side.
I don’t want to add a bay window there to enlarge the space. If necessary, I would set the front door flush with the wall at most, although I’m already quite satisfied with the dimensions achieved so far. I’ve attached a few pictures showing the changes.
I modified and moved the door and the passage to the living area; both were initially drawn a bit too thick. Also, in the area behind the built-in closet, I changed the 36.5cm (14.4 inches) wall to a 24cm (9.4 inches) wall… I’m actually not too concerned whether that’s technically possible or not, but it would be great to gain 12cm (4.7 inches) in the passage. The two lines are not meant to represent steps but rather a separation or passage into the living area. I want to keep open the possibility of installing a glass door there to separate the living space. This would clearly define the entrance area and also create a windbreak function while keeping it fully open. What do you think about the dimensions?
Regarding the passage to the garage, I think I would really miss it every time I leave the house if I don’t build it. The hallway also has the advantage that guests can access the guest bathroom directly from the garage if you ever have a gathering there (like a winter birthday). Alternatively, it might be possible to enlarge the utility room and plan the passage there. However, I’d rather avoid people walking through that room if laundry or other items are hanging or lying around.
I also spent a lot of time considering the angled garage wall. I will attach two comparison pictures tomorrow showing the straight versus angled option. In my view, the angled version actually looks nicer and more harmonious than the straight one because the straight wall, due to the narrowing of the plot in the area of the projection toward the house edge, tends to look like an unwanted constriction at the driveway side.
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