ᐅ Floor plan for a 160 sqm urban villa – Requesting advice!
Created on: 28 Jan 2019 09:23
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Bauherrin92
Hello everyone,
we are planning to build an urban villa with 160 sqm (1720 sq ft) plus a basement in rural Bavaria. Since we are now in the crucial phase of floor plan design, we would really appreciate your opinions and suggestions for improvements.
The following issues concern us the most:
1. Arrangement of the house and garage on the plot: The garage has been deliberately placed on the west side to create distance from the neighbor. To catch the evening sun, the house has been set back. However, I wonder if this looks "good," as I have never seen such an arrangement before. We are also undecided whether the garage should be detached or attached to the house (possibly with access through the pantry?). On the plans, the garage is at the neighbor’s boundary. There is currently no house there.
2. The cloakroom and dressing room seem too small to comfortably place proper wardrobes and move around freely.
3. In general, I feel the overall design could still be improved, including the arrangement of windows.
Here is the questionnaire:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 800 sqm (8,600 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: 0.7
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge development: garage yes
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof style: open construction
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa, 2 full storeys, hipped roof
Basement, storeys: basement, ground floor, first floor
Number of people, age: two adults, schoolchild, expecting a baby
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: three bedrooms, spacious living-dining area, separate cloakroom, shower toilet on the ground floor
Office: none
Guest bedrooms per year: none
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 4–10 (when guests visit)
Fireplace: yes
Garage, carport: prefabricated double garage
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be included:
- Cloakroom in a niche
- Shower toilet on the ground floor, later for the teenage daughter
- Large children’s rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the garden
- Dressing room in the master bedroom
- Pantry for yellow bags (recycling waste bags), vacuum cleaner, cleaning supplies, pasta stock, etc.
House design
Who made the plan: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Basement: fine as is
- Ground floor: large pantry, L-shaped kitchen/living/dining area
- Upper floor: large children’s rooms
What don’t you like? Why?
- Ground floor: layout of toilet and cloakroom
- Upper floor: dressing room and bathroom possibly too small
- detached garage
Preferred heating technology: undecided so far
If you had to give up something, which details/upgrades would you skip?
- Could give up: access from garage into the house
- Could not do without: pantry, dressing room, cloakroom
Why has the design turned out as it is now? Our wishes were implemented by the planner
We look forward to your advice!!!
P.S.: The red circle is supposed to indicate north, sorry, it couldn’t be done otherwise!


we are planning to build an urban villa with 160 sqm (1720 sq ft) plus a basement in rural Bavaria. Since we are now in the crucial phase of floor plan design, we would really appreciate your opinions and suggestions for improvements.
The following issues concern us the most:
1. Arrangement of the house and garage on the plot: The garage has been deliberately placed on the west side to create distance from the neighbor. To catch the evening sun, the house has been set back. However, I wonder if this looks "good," as I have never seen such an arrangement before. We are also undecided whether the garage should be detached or attached to the house (possibly with access through the pantry?). On the plans, the garage is at the neighbor’s boundary. There is currently no house there.
2. The cloakroom and dressing room seem too small to comfortably place proper wardrobes and move around freely.
3. In general, I feel the overall design could still be improved, including the arrangement of windows.
Here is the questionnaire:
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 800 sqm (8,600 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.35
Floor space index: 0.7
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge development: garage yes
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2
Roof style: open construction
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa, 2 full storeys, hipped roof
Basement, storeys: basement, ground floor, first floor
Number of people, age: two adults, schoolchild, expecting a baby
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: three bedrooms, spacious living-dining area, separate cloakroom, shower toilet on the ground floor
Office: none
Guest bedrooms per year: none
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 4–10 (when guests visit)
Fireplace: yes
Garage, carport: prefabricated double garage
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be included:
- Cloakroom in a niche
- Shower toilet on the ground floor, later for the teenage daughter
- Large children’s rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the garden
- Dressing room in the master bedroom
- Pantry for yellow bags (recycling waste bags), vacuum cleaner, cleaning supplies, pasta stock, etc.
House design
Who made the plan: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Basement: fine as is
- Ground floor: large pantry, L-shaped kitchen/living/dining area
- Upper floor: large children’s rooms
What don’t you like? Why?
- Ground floor: layout of toilet and cloakroom
- Upper floor: dressing room and bathroom possibly too small
- detached garage
Preferred heating technology: undecided so far
If you had to give up something, which details/upgrades would you skip?
- Could give up: access from garage into the house
- Could not do without: pantry, dressing room, cloakroom
Why has the design turned out as it is now? Our wishes were implemented by the planner
We look forward to your advice!!!
P.S.: The red circle is supposed to indicate north, sorry, it couldn’t be done otherwise!
B
Bauherrin9228 Jan 2019 11:18Zaba12 schrieb:
Have you noticed what view you have from the kitchen that faces that way? Then you might as well skip the window.That’s why I have such a problem with the garage... but I can’t imagine a kitchen without a window. Moving the house further back gives me headaches. It’s already about 8m (26 feet) from the street to the front door.
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Bauherrin9228 Jan 2019 11:19Zaba12 schrieb:
A ventilation system Oh, I see, how embarrassing.
No, we don’t want a ventilation system.
Bauherrin92 schrieb:
no, we do not want a ventilation system Why not? Have you thought that through carefully? I can only see benefits in a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system.
Bauherrin92 schrieb:
Yes, basement level 3 is intended as a guest toilet, but it’s not a must.
We have already considered the parapet height; with our bed, it shouldn’t be a problem.
We shared our wishes, and these plans were developed based on them.
Regarding the second lift-and-slide door, we have also thought about whether it is necessary. However, we are not at that stage of planning yet; for now, the floor plan needs to be finalized.
Therefore, I would like to refer again to my main concern in the opening thread. Two guest toilets? I notice you’re really at a very early stage.
By the time you sign off, you need to be aware of and have clarified many more details than just the floor plan, even if that wasn’t part of your question.
Having a floor plan that might soon be final does not mean you are ready to sign yet.
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Bauherrin9228 Jan 2019 11:41Zaba12 schrieb:
2 guest toilets? I can tell you’re really still at the very beginning. By the time you sign the contract, you’ll need to be aware of and have clarified many more details than just the floor plan. Even if that wasn’t part of your question.
Just because the floor plan might soon be final doesn’t mean you’re ready to sign yet.We have been planning since November, visited multiple model home parks, reviewed various catalogs, checked out friends’ houses, measured them, and so on. Since we are not making progress, I am here now to get suggestions for improvements, preferably with drawings. For example, I also agree that the T shape in the bathroom seems “careless.” But without any suggestions on how to improve it, I have no ideas myself.
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Bauherrin9228 Jan 2019 11:51Niloa schrieb:
Why not? Have you thought this through carefully? I can only see positive aspects in a controlled residential ventilation system.I consider it unnecessary.
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