Hello everyone,
firstly, to the questions:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 545 m² (approximately 0.13 acres)
Slope: No
Building type: Single-family house with double garage
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Edge development: No
Parking spaces: None except in the driveway
Number of floors: 1 full floor, 1 attic floor, 10 m x 12 m (33 ft x 39 ft)
Building boundary: 3 m (10 ft) all around, except for the garage
Orientation: South
Maximum wall heights: 4.6 m (15 ft)
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house with wooden frame construction, gable roof with 42° pitch
Basement, floors: 1 full floor, no basement
Number of occupants, ages: 5 persons (49, 37), 3 children (8, 5, 0)
Room requirements on ground floor, upper floor:
Ground floor: kitchen-living room, pantry, living room, office, utility room, guest toilet
Upper floor: master bedroom, 3 children’s rooms, bathroom, toilet
Office: for family use but with a sofa bed for guests
Guests staying overnight: 2-4 per year
Conservative or modern style: modern open kitchen, kitchen island with stove and sink on the island
Number of dining seats: 6-8, extendable table
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony: no
Terrace: yes, in front of kitchen-living room and living room, along the entire south side
Garage: large double garage with 50 m² (540 sq ft)
Utility garden: on the west side
Rainwater tank: yes
Other requests / special features, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
Mudroom absolutely necessary; the garage door should have a regular door integrated into the rolling gate. We definitely want a separated living area. The living room should be closed off.
On the attic floor, there will be three roof windows and a skylight strip above the shower. A double casement window will be installed in the hallway, one in the toilet, and one in the bathroom.
The area in the upper floor is stated without deducting the roof slope. We will have a knee wall of about 1 m (3 ft).
The bay window will also serve as the dormer.
House Design
Who designed it: Ourselves
What do you particularly like? So far, everything
What don’t you like? Living room a bit small, master bedroom too large
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 550,000 EUR
Preferred heating system: air heat pump and photovoltaic system with battery storage
If you have to give up on any details/finishes:
-can give up: office
-can’t give up: mudroom
We have an appointment with a timber construction company next week, so I’m not sure yet what is possible and what is not. The designs are ours and have been carefully considered for several years now.
I am very curious about your feedback.
Thank you in advance.
Good luck
Ambrosia
firstly, to the questions:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 545 m² (approximately 0.13 acres)
Slope: No
Building type: Single-family house with double garage
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Edge development: No
Parking spaces: None except in the driveway
Number of floors: 1 full floor, 1 attic floor, 10 m x 12 m (33 ft x 39 ft)
Building boundary: 3 m (10 ft) all around, except for the garage
Orientation: South
Maximum wall heights: 4.6 m (15 ft)
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Single-family house with wooden frame construction, gable roof with 42° pitch
Basement, floors: 1 full floor, no basement
Number of occupants, ages: 5 persons (49, 37), 3 children (8, 5, 0)
Room requirements on ground floor, upper floor:
Ground floor: kitchen-living room, pantry, living room, office, utility room, guest toilet
Upper floor: master bedroom, 3 children’s rooms, bathroom, toilet
Office: for family use but with a sofa bed for guests
Guests staying overnight: 2-4 per year
Conservative or modern style: modern open kitchen, kitchen island with stove and sink on the island
Number of dining seats: 6-8, extendable table
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony: no
Terrace: yes, in front of kitchen-living room and living room, along the entire south side
Garage: large double garage with 50 m² (540 sq ft)
Utility garden: on the west side
Rainwater tank: yes
Other requests / special features, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
Mudroom absolutely necessary; the garage door should have a regular door integrated into the rolling gate. We definitely want a separated living area. The living room should be closed off.
On the attic floor, there will be three roof windows and a skylight strip above the shower. A double casement window will be installed in the hallway, one in the toilet, and one in the bathroom.
The area in the upper floor is stated without deducting the roof slope. We will have a knee wall of about 1 m (3 ft).
The bay window will also serve as the dormer.
House Design
Who designed it: Ourselves
What do you particularly like? So far, everything
What don’t you like? Living room a bit small, master bedroom too large
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 550,000 EUR
Preferred heating system: air heat pump and photovoltaic system with battery storage
If you have to give up on any details/finishes:
-can give up: office
-can’t give up: mudroom
We have an appointment with a timber construction company next week, so I’m not sure yet what is possible and what is not. The designs are ours and have been carefully considered for several years now.
I am very curious about your feedback.
Thank you in advance.
Good luck
Ambrosia
Some of the more impractical ideas will probably need to be reconsidered, I’m afraid. A shower in the utility room is truly unique. It would make much more sense to integrate it into the guest bathroom, and you can certainly arrange it in a way that dirty clothes hardly, if at all, spread into the rest of the living area. Also, keep in mind that otherwise you’d have to classify the entire utility room as a wet area and build accordingly.
Using the utility room to drop off the children's clothes is something done as a last resort in an existing house that’s difficult to remodel. In a new build, I would create a cloakroom that’s as large as needed.
At the moment, your request regarding the staircase seems completely unrealistic. Even with a spiral staircase, it was already tight. I would definitely like to see figures and facts if you want to consider a landing.
How large is the building plot exactly, and where is it located? I wouldn’t give up on increasing the garage width so quickly.
The huge kitchen island is hardly practical and does not enhance the cooking experience. The walking distances become endless, and in the end, there’s not enough space left for the dining table. But you can certainly test and evaluate this at the kitchen showroom.
In my opinion, the narrow passage is the corridor leading to the guest bathroom. It says 130 (5 inches), but somehow that doesn’t add up, does it? The door is nearly as wide as the room — meaning the room is about 1.10m (43 inches) or something similar. But those are minor details. Also, the pantry seems too narrow to use effectively, in my opinion — but all of this is solvable.
Using the utility room to drop off the children's clothes is something done as a last resort in an existing house that’s difficult to remodel. In a new build, I would create a cloakroom that’s as large as needed.
At the moment, your request regarding the staircase seems completely unrealistic. Even with a spiral staircase, it was already tight. I would definitely like to see figures and facts if you want to consider a landing.
How large is the building plot exactly, and where is it located? I wouldn’t give up on increasing the garage width so quickly.
The huge kitchen island is hardly practical and does not enhance the cooking experience. The walking distances become endless, and in the end, there’s not enough space left for the dining table. But you can certainly test and evaluate this at the kitchen showroom.
In my opinion, the narrow passage is the corridor leading to the guest bathroom. It says 130 (5 inches), but somehow that doesn’t add up, does it? The door is nearly as wide as the room — meaning the room is about 1.10m (43 inches) or something similar. But those are minor details. Also, the pantry seems too narrow to use effectively, in my opinion — but all of this is solvable.
I don’t want to harp on it, but as already mentioned, a lot of things don’t quite add up.
So it’s a room where the man’s unpleasant work clothes share the space with fresh laundry. Where clothes are sorted as well as Christmas decorations stored. Where the kids take off their muddy boots and the man showers.
This setup practically guarantees chaos and bad moods. I would recommend planning some space upstairs and creating a laundry room there. It also makes sense to include a shower for the man in the guest bathroom, so he feels a bit more valued. Later on, the children would also benefit from this second bathroom.
As Kerstin already mentioned, the wall for the staircase is too short.
With a standard ceiling height, I’d expect a stair length of at least 3.70 meters (12 feet). A landing of about 1 by 1 meter (3 by 3 feet) adds another meter (3 feet) to the staircase length. With two bottom steps, a wall length of at least 4.20 meters (14 feet) would be needed.
That recess is likely unnecessary here with only two steps.
It’s still too long. It doesn’t allow ergonomic cooking or food preparation. It’s like building a garage 3 by 12 meters (10 by 39 feet) just because two cars need space, but then parking them only one behind the other.
Upstairs! Hardly any light reaches the upper floor. The bathroom has no window or maybe just a small double casement window. That’s almost unacceptable in a new build. The other windows are too small for the rooms.
About the bathroom: what’s with that tiny door? If a standard interior door doesn’t fit, you shouldn’t just stop the planning there—you need to redesign or bring in a professional if you can’t even reach a normal standard. The same goes for the hallway extensions which @kaho674 refers to as maze-like corridors. I assume because the hallways remind her of those test labyrinths for mice (wrong turn, no cheese, next path brings the reward).
But they don’t automatically walk through that door past a car. There is hardly any space between the car and the wall to comfortably or without scratching slip by. Not to mention carrying schoolbags, bicycles, and sports bags. Also, the garage will presumably be kept closed, right?
The interior garage length is about 5.50 meters (18 feet). With two cars of 2 meters (6.5 feet) each, 1.50 meters (5 feet) remain, divided into three zones. That leaves a 50 cm (20 inch) aisle ... and that’s now supposed to serve as the main entrance? I would seriously reconsider this.
See above: downstairs is the utility room area being “contaminated” in the demonstration room.
The initial idea is nice, but since the staircase must work first and foremost, an architect should take a look here to make proper use of this huge space.
Ambrosia schrieb:
The utility room really has everything: technology, a shower, washing machine, and dryer.
So it’s a room where the man’s unpleasant work clothes share the space with fresh laundry. Where clothes are sorted as well as Christmas decorations stored. Where the kids take off their muddy boots and the man showers.
This setup practically guarantees chaos and bad moods. I would recommend planning some space upstairs and creating a laundry room there. It also makes sense to include a shower for the man in the guest bathroom, so he feels a bit more valued. Later on, the children would also benefit from this second bathroom.
Ambrosia schrieb:
The staircase will be a staircase with a landing.
As Kerstin already mentioned, the wall for the staircase is too short.
With a standard ceiling height, I’d expect a stair length of at least 3.70 meters (12 feet). A landing of about 1 by 1 meter (3 by 3 feet) adds another meter (3 feet) to the staircase length. With two bottom steps, a wall length of at least 4.20 meters (14 feet) would be needed.
Ambrosia schrieb:
That’s why there’s the corner in the bedroom, which is a recess for the ceiling, but couldn’t be done differently in the software.
That recess is likely unnecessary here with only two steps.
Ambrosia schrieb:
The kitchen island should simply be large enough for all tasks that you don’t want to do with your back to the family—cooking, washing, chopping.
It’s still too long. It doesn’t allow ergonomic cooking or food preparation. It’s like building a garage 3 by 12 meters (10 by 39 feet) just because two cars need space, but then parking them only one behind the other.
Ambrosia schrieb:
And where do you think more windows should go?
Upstairs! Hardly any light reaches the upper floor. The bathroom has no window or maybe just a small double casement window. That’s almost unacceptable in a new build. The other windows are too small for the rooms.
About the bathroom: what’s with that tiny door? If a standard interior door doesn’t fit, you shouldn’t just stop the planning there—you need to redesign or bring in a professional if you can’t even reach a normal standard. The same goes for the hallway extensions which @kaho674 refers to as maze-like corridors. I assume because the hallways remind her of those test labyrinths for mice (wrong turn, no cheese, next path brings the reward).
Ambrosia schrieb:
The vestibule is very practical for us because the children simply have a lot of outerwear, and I don’t want it all in the entrance area.
But they don’t automatically walk through that door past a car. There is hardly any space between the car and the wall to comfortably or without scratching slip by. Not to mention carrying schoolbags, bicycles, and sports bags. Also, the garage will presumably be kept closed, right?
The interior garage length is about 5.50 meters (18 feet). With two cars of 2 meters (6.5 feet) each, 1.50 meters (5 feet) remain, divided into three zones. That leaves a 50 cm (20 inch) aisle ... and that’s now supposed to serve as the main entrance? I would seriously reconsider this.
Ambrosia schrieb:
That way, he can deposit his clothes there and shower downstairs right after work without “contaminating” everything upstairs.
See above: downstairs is the utility room area being “contaminated” in the demonstration room.
The initial idea is nice, but since the staircase must work first and foremost, an architect should take a look here to make proper use of this huge space.
M
Matthew0314 Oct 2019 15:24Apart from the utility room, where three (!) doors reduce the usable space so much that from 15m² (160ft²) it practically feels like 10m² (110ft²) and therefore no longer "oversized," you haven’t planned a single storage room? With three children?
There are just two of us, and we have deliberately included a storage room on each floor. We also closed off the staircase, which created additional space, and although we are definitely not hoarders, the storage rooms are barely sufficient. And managing everything through a hatch in the floor is not something you really want to do...
There are just two of us, and we have deliberately included a storage room on each floor. We also closed off the staircase, which created additional space, and although we are definitely not hoarders, the storage rooms are barely sufficient. And managing everything through a hatch in the floor is not something you really want to do...
kaho674 schrieb:
How big is the building envelope exactly and where is it located? I wouldn’t give up so quickly on having a wider garage. The building envelope is exactly where it is marked on the “garden plan.”
If we want to change the building envelope, we would have to start the approval process, which takes at least 9 months. Since we still want to take advantage of the home construction subsidy, that’s unrealistic for us, so we are building within the building envelope and according to the development plan.
ypg schrieb:
But people won’t just casually walk past a car through that door, right? Between the car and the wall there isn’t enough space to comfortably or scratch-free pass by, let alone with backpacks, bikes, and sports bags. And I assume the garage will stay closed most of the time? The garage interior is about 5.50m (18 feet), with two cars of 2 meters (6.5 feet) each, that leaves 1.50m (5 feet), divided into three areas. That means a 50cm (20 inch) walkway… and now that’s supposed to be the main entrance? I’d seriously reconsider that. You’re right, it will be tight, and we have already thought a lot about that. The children don’t have to go through the garage. They can also enter the utility room directly from the front door to hang up their things.
Matthew03 schrieb:
Besides the utility room—with its 3 (!) doors reducing usable floor space so much that out of 15 square meters (160 square feet), it feels more like 10 square meters (110 square feet) and therefore no longer “oversized”—you haven’t planned a single storage room? With three kids?
We’re just two people, and we’ve deliberately planned a storage room on each floor, plus we enclosed the staircase, gaining extra space. Even though we’re definitely not collectors, it’s barely enough. And you really don’t want to manage everything through an attic hatch... There will still be a built-in cabinet under the stairs, and the office does not have to be used strictly as an office. We can add storage space there if needed.
The bedroom is very large, and I also hope a designer will find some storage solutions there.
Good luck
Ambrosia
Ambrosia schrieb:
The building envelope is exactly where it’s shown on the "garden plan."
Sweetheart, you’re talking to enthusiasts who spend all day just for fun juggling centimeters and playing Tetris. Vague descriptions like "back there," "around the corner to the right," or "should be enough" won’t convince anyone here. Only precise facts in the form of numbers matter.G
Grantlhaua15 Oct 2019 14:24Ambrosia schrieb:
There will be a built-in closet under the stairs, and the office doesn’t necessarily have to be used as an office. We can also add storage here if needed.
The bedroom is very large; I also hope a planner can find some storage corners there. Statements like that don’t make sense. Plan it from the start according to how it will actually be used. “Hope” and “not necessarily” are the wrong terms here.
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