Hello everyone,
We are in the process of planning a house for our family. We already have two children (5 and 1.5 years old), and our third child is due in November.
We have put a lot of thought into the floor plans and now have a design we are very happy with. However, since you eventually become blind to your own creations and we have no experience in house construction, I’m hoping to get some great suggestions here.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 985 sqm (11,000 sq ft approx.)
Slope: No
Floor Area Ratio (FAR): 0.25
Site coverage / Floor space index: Not specified (2 full stories possible)
Building envelope, building line, and boundary:
Adjacent buildings: Currently all empty
Number of parking spaces: 2 carports
Stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hip roof
Architectural style: Urban villa
Orientation: Garden facing south
Maximum height / restrictions: None
Additional requirements: Carports, auxiliary buildings etc. are only allowed within the building envelope.
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: See above
Basement, stories: No basement, 2 full stories
Number of residents, ages: 5 people (31, 30, 5, 1, 0)
Space requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): See floor plan
Office / family use or home office?: Guest room
Number of guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen with island: Yes
Number of dining seats: 8+
Fireplace: Yes
Music or stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage or carport: 2 carports
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself
What do you like about it? Why?: The open concept, air spaces, large living area
What don’t you like? Why?: Nothing
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 500,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Personal budget limit for the house including fittings: 600,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Preferred heating system: No preference
If you have to give up anything, which details or expansions
-could you give up:
-could you not give up:
At this point, we do not need to give up anything, so this question is not relevant.
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example: Based on our own wishes.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What makes sense?
What doesn’t?
Suggestions for changes?
Tips for landscaping are also welcome.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
We are in the process of planning a house for our family. We already have two children (5 and 1.5 years old), and our third child is due in November.
We have put a lot of thought into the floor plans and now have a design we are very happy with. However, since you eventually become blind to your own creations and we have no experience in house construction, I’m hoping to get some great suggestions here.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 985 sqm (11,000 sq ft approx.)
Slope: No
Floor Area Ratio (FAR): 0.25
Site coverage / Floor space index: Not specified (2 full stories possible)
Building envelope, building line, and boundary:
- Visible in the pictures; the plot is irregularly shaped. I created a simplified rectangular version that complies with the required windows/distances.
- Street width: 17.5 m (57 ft)
- Building envelope start: 5 m (16 ft) from the street, depth 20 m (66 ft), plot width 18 m (59 ft)
- Plot width in the middle of the building envelope: 18.5 m (61 ft)
- Plot width at the back: 21 m (69 ft)
- Plot length: approx. 50 m (164 ft)
Adjacent buildings: Currently all empty
Number of parking spaces: 2 carports
Stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hip roof
Architectural style: Urban villa
Orientation: Garden facing south
Maximum height / restrictions: None
Additional requirements: Carports, auxiliary buildings etc. are only allowed within the building envelope.
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: See above
Basement, stories: No basement, 2 full stories
Number of residents, ages: 5 people (31, 30, 5, 1, 0)
Space requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): See floor plan
Office / family use or home office?: Guest room
Number of guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen with island: Yes
Number of dining seats: 8+
Fireplace: Yes
Music or stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage or carport: 2 carports
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself
What do you like about it? Why?: The open concept, air spaces, large living area
What don’t you like? Why?: Nothing
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 500,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Personal budget limit for the house including fittings: 600,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Preferred heating system: No preference
If you have to give up anything, which details or expansions
-could you give up:
-could you not give up:
At this point, we do not need to give up anything, so this question is not relevant.
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example: Based on our own wishes.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What makes sense?
What doesn’t?
Suggestions for changes?
Tips for landscaping are also welcome.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
C
ChristianZ628 May 2019 09:21With two children, that’s okay. It might work. But with three children (of different genders), I see a lot of potential for conflicts.
Don’t you agree?
Don’t you agree?
I am generally in favor of a kids’ bathroom (there have already been quite different discussions about this here), but having three bathrooms on the upper floor seems a bit excessive for 185m² (1991 ft²). I would rather add another shower toilet on the ground floor, and the oldest child will just have to go upstairs if all bathrooms are occupied. Bathrooms are expensive, and even a small one can easily cost around €15,000.
I would also leave out the third bathroom on the upper floor. You still have one downstairs, and if it ever gets tight, a child can always use your bathroom. Showering can be staggered (maybe it’s only two or three years when everyone has to get ready at the same time), the downstairs bathroom can serve as the guest toilet, and tasks like brushing teeth and applying makeup can be done together. Many families of five only have one bathroom.
I really like the wardrobe in your latest proposal. Remove the third bathroom on the upper floor. I think the latest version is really quite good.
But is it still what you imagined?
In the original design, I had the feeling it had to look like a villa. With no such thing as too big, galleries, open spaces, etc.
How high did you plan the ground floor to be?
Right now, it looks more like a townhouse.
I really like the wardrobe in your latest proposal. Remove the third bathroom on the upper floor. I think the latest version is really quite good.
But is it still what you imagined?
In the original design, I had the feeling it had to look like a villa. With no such thing as too big, galleries, open spaces, etc.
How high did you plan the ground floor to be?
Right now, it looks more like a townhouse.
C
ChristianZ628 May 2019 10:26haydee schrieb:
Advantages of a walk-in closet with a door:
One person can sleep
One can turn on the light
Choose clothes
No need to be quiet
You don’t have that. haydee schrieb:
Maybe it’s just two or three years when everyone has to leave the house at the same time) haydee schrieb:
You can come to an agreement on that. It’s somewhat contradictory. For the closed wardrobe/light issue, think about those few days, but not for the bathroom? I see the compromise (parents’ bathroom vs stairs vs waiting) every day as long as the kids are at home/going to school.
Sure, €15,000 is not insignificant. But honestly, this decision is giving me a bit of a headache.
haydee schrieb:
I really like the wardrobe in your last suggestion. Thanks, me too. By moving the master area upstairs, there are no more open ceiling spaces, but those spacious areas are now possible!!
haydee schrieb:
Is it still what you imagined? No. But I also don’t think that what I imagined would have truly made us happy as a family in the long run...
haydee schrieb:
There is no such thing as too big. That’s the great thing about the last design. Individually, all the rooms have actually become BIGGER!!! The trade-off is no longer having an opening in the ceiling.
haydee schrieb:
How high did you plan the ground floor ceiling height? Currently, the plan is for 2.76 m (9 feet), but I’d like to add another 10 cm (4 inches). What do you think?
haydee schrieb:
Right now it looks more like a townhouse. To be honest, we are already leaning back toward a pitched roof (with a slight slope). Since we have a lot more storage space, we don’t really need a large attic anymore. And a pitched roof would save us around €25,000.
I really like a flat roof, but it’s even more expensive and means no attic at all... no thanks.
So, a total of 4 bathrooms seems excessive for 5 people. We were 5 children and had 2 bathrooms plus a small guest toilet. Still, there were rarely any conflicts. For example, my sister and I used the bathroom at the same time in the morning. I got up about 5 minutes earlier and used the toilet first, so I finished a few minutes earlier, and then she went in. The rest we just did side by side, and so on.
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