ᐅ Single-family house of approximately 160 m², with basement, ground floor, and upper floor featuring knee walls

Hello everyone,

We have finally found our little plot and are already busy planning.

After gathering so many ideas and suggestions here in the forum, especially in the floor plan section where there are so many valuable tips, I would now like to benefit from your experience as well.

Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 365m2 (3926 sq ft)
Slope: Yes (north highest, south lowest, approx. 1m (3 ft) drop within the building zone from north to south, 1.5m (5 ft) across the entire property)
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: -
Building zone, building line and boundary: approx. 10 x 11 m (33 x 36 ft), specifications for garage + carport location see plan
Adjacent buildings: None
Number of parking spaces: 1 garage, 1 parking space in front
Number of floors: Basement, ground floor, upper floor with knee wall approx. 125cm (49 inches)
Roof type: Gable roof, pitch 35-40°
Style: ?
Orientation: Ridge from east to west (see plan)
Maximum heights / limits: Maximum finished height 9.00m (30 ft), maximum eaves height 4.50m (15 ft)
Other specifications

Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Solid construction house, gable roof, single-family house
Basement, floors: basement, ground floor, upper floor
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 children planned
Room requirements on ground and upper floors:

• Ground floor: living room, kitchen, bathroom with shower and toilet, study
• Upper floor: bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, study, bathroom

Office: home office 1-2 days per week
Guest bedrooms per year: 4
Open or closed layout: rather open
Conservative or modern design: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: closed kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: 1 garage space and 1 parking spot in front
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes, special features, daily routine, including reasons for preferences or restrictions:

• Dormer or cat-slide dormer facing south on the upper floor
• Stairs should be easy to walk, not too many triangular steps
• The lower study should also be usable as a bedroom for aging-in-place on one level
• Ground floor bathroom should accommodate a washing machine for this reason
• The house will get a KNX smart home installation, so an electrical riser shaft should be planned
• Laundry chute with access doors from both bathrooms
• Terrace should be raised at the front
• Single garage at least 3.5 x 7 m (11.5 x 23 ft)
• Rainwater cistern for garden irrigation

House Design
Who designed it: planner from a construction company / own drawings
What is liked: overall layout is fine, all desired spaces included
What is disliked?

• Front door too close to the garage
• Garage location due to development plan, we would prefer it moved further back
• Ground floor: entrance area / stairs / hallway / technical riser interaction

Estimated price by architect/planner: not clear yet
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 450k
Preferred heating system: hot water heat pump and photovoltaic on the roof

If you had to give up something, which details or additions
-can you compromise on:
-can you not compromise on: basement, number of rooms

Why is the design like it is now?
Various plans from developers and own ideas

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

• Any additional comments on the plan?
• Suggestions to improve the entrance area on the ground floor: hall/stairs/technical riser and bathroom?
• Other improvement suggestions?

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Many thanks in advance!

I think it’s quite nice.
The upper floor feels a bit too "boxy." Check how many steps you can build over while still keeping about 2.10m (7 feet) of headroom for the staircase. Adjust the storage room wall accordingly. The access panel for the technical equipment should be moved into the hallway, and the entire bathroom wall straightened out accordingly. I would also straighten the wall of the office. In the bathroom, I would make the window the same size as the one next door.
I find the pantry in the kitchen too small, so that doesn’t make much sense. I would probably reduce the size of the guest toilet a bit in favor of expanding the cloakroom.
I would add another window to the office.

Otherwise, it’s quite charming.

How many square meters is it? Roughly estimating with the given room sizes, you’re well over 200 m2 (2,150 sq ft).
In Baden-Württemberg, for a slightly upscale finish, you should expect at least 2,500 €/m2 (around $230/sq ft). Additional costs for the garage, landscaping, incidental building expenses, and fittings apply.
It’s totally crazy right now. We’re just about to start construction and have current offers.
At first glance, your budget doesn’t seem to match.
If you want to implement KNX properly and not just use it to control the lighting via smartphone, it will be more expensive because you’ll need several sensors, programming, and software.
Make sure to plan sufficient LAN cabling, especially on the ceilings for the access points.

Even at the risk of being wrong again:

A floor area ratio of 0.3 results in just under 110 sqm (1,184 sq ft) in your case, so that’s your house footprint. Garage, driveway, terrace? Speaking of the terrace, it also requires setback from the property boundary, so the animation doesn’t quite fit here.

Mottenhausen schrieb:
Even at the risk of being wrong again:

A floor area ratio of 0.3 results in just under 110 sqm (1184 sq ft) for you, which corresponds to your house footprint. Garage, driveway, terrace? Speaking of the terrace, it also requires a setback from the boundary, so the animation doesn’t quite fit here.

Normally, the floor area ratio can be built up to 100%, but only up to 0.8 including ancillary structures.
The terrace usually counts as part of the main building (as stated above), so the floor area ratio is exceeded exactly by the size of this terrace.
And normally, it also has to comply with the setback requirements.
Normally means: if this is different, it will be specified in the regional building code or in the development plan.

Aside from that, I agree with the following points:
- Storage room is an issue
- The toilet and shower with the RBM are not wheelchair accessible
- The kitchen is not really a highlight, more like a replica of 1980s kitchens
- Straighten the wall AZ/K2

I think the original development plan might be of interest here.

The boundary garage seems to have too much wall height.

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