Hello everyone,
My partner and I have finally purchased a large plot of land measuring 437 sqm (4700 sq ft) in Munich-Eching, and we will soon be building our prefabricated single-family house with Streif Haus. The plan is for approximately 145 sqm (1560 sq ft) of living space with dimensions of 9.96 m x 8.71 m (32.7 ft x 28.6 ft). Increasing this is simply not possible within our budget—for example, adding 1 meter (3.3 ft) on one side would cost roughly an additional €30,000.
So far, I have created all the floor plans using a software tool. Last Friday, we had our first meeting with the architect. Unfortunately, he dismissed several of our wishes:
- The gallery/open space over the upper floor,
- The layout of rooms on the upper floor (both children’s rooms are planned to face south, while the bedroom and bathroom face north, although we would prefer the opposite),
- All terrace requests,
- The design of the bathroom (we wanted a T-shaped layout with the sink set slightly into the room, the toilet and shower behind it, and a freestanding bathtub in the room), etc.
I have attached my plans for the ground floor and upper floor. Since the plot is not rectangular but rather irregularly shaped, positioning the house alone is a challenge because we naturally want the garden and the largest windows in the living room and kitchen to face south. In the attached site plan, the house is still positioned quite centrally (12 x 9 m / 39.4 x 29.5 ft). We will move it as far as possible to the right, towards the east.
We also considered changing the type of staircase (for example, to a half-landing staircase), but according to the architect, the straight staircase belongs to the "Cityvilla" house type by STREIF. I would appreciate your opinions on this. If I change the type of staircase, the entire floor plan will be discarded and the design will have to start from scratch — which is fine, as this is a “major” adjustment.
The architect is planning the entrance not on the south side directly from Schlossberg street, but on the north side: you would approach the property via the street, the house would run sideways along the garage, and you enter after the bend on the north side. So, opposite to what is shown in the site plan. This is quite a long way around. What do you think about this?
You will find comments below with questions. Feedback on the floor plan is welcome!
Building Regulations/Restrictions
Plot size: 437 sqm
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line and boundary: Building line with house in the northwest (not yet accurately positioned on the site plan)
Edge development: As far northeast on the plot as possible, maintaining the legally required 6 m (20 ft) setback from neighbors.
Number of parking spaces: Planned 1 carport, 1 garage.
Number of floors: 2 (without basement)
Roof type: Hip roof or gable roof
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: southwest
Maximum heights/limits: n/a
Other requirements: n/a
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Prefabricated house by STREIF, type "Cityvilla," no bay windows, rectangular
Basement, floors: No basement, 1.5 floors (no roof slopes, with roof hatch to a small, non-habitable attic)
Number of residents, age: 2 persons, 36 and 30 years old.
Space requirements for ground floor/upstairs:
Ground floor: large living room, open kitchen and dining area, utility/technical/pantry room (connected to kitchen), guest bathroom, hallway, guest room/office/hobby room.
Upper floor: bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, large bathroom, possibly a gallery
Office: Family use or home office? Both — upstairs for office (sometimes music is played here), downstairs is planned as a hobby room with fitness equipment. This may change when children are around.
Number of guest overnight stays per year: 10 nights
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open, preferably with kitchen island and access to utility/pantry room
Number of dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: desired but still in planning—preliminarily included, to be built later due to priorities and budget.
Music/stereo wall: yes, with floor-standing speakers and external subwoofer.
Balcony, roof terrace: no. (Initially wanted, but considering the cost/benefit since we have a large garden.)
Garage, carport: First a garage, then a carport (2 parking spaces are mandatory).
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no.
Further wishes/particularities/daily routine, including reasons for preferences or exclusions:
The guest/fitness room is deliberately planned large to accommodate several exercise machines. Possibly a table tennis table will also be used in winter. The necessity of this is still being discussed. There is no basement. Later, a garden shed will be built in the yard.
Since we have limited space, any tips for storing items typically kept in a basement are very welcome!
A walk-in closet in the bedroom is desired.
House Design
Who designed the plan: Me, using a tool.
- Architect:
We already had a meeting with the architect. Several wishes were discouraged by him, such as a covered garage (east side), covered terrace in the garden (southwest), and the gallery on the first floor.
- The architect recommends having all sanitary facilities on one "level," meaning guest bathroom/technical room on the ground floor directly below the bathroom upstairs.
- He suggests placing the children’s rooms facing south rather than the bedroom or bathroom, as we initially wanted. (Children spend more time playing in their rooms with sunlight.) However, we would prefer sunlight in the bedroom and bathroom (bathroom planned with a frosted window) for a brighter and more relaxing atmosphere.
- Builder’s planner: Prefabricated house will be built with STREIF Haus. The architect is a STREIF architect.
- Do-it-yourself: We purchased the FastFertigPLUS product, meaning wall, floor, and garden work will be done by ourselves. Since I am very handy, wall and floor work should not be an issue. We are still considering whether to hire professionals for terrace construction and garden landscaping.
What do you particularly like?
Why? Large plot with a single-family house (for Munich standards).
The open spatial concept with a large living room, dining area, and open kitchen layout.
What do you dislike? Why?
The hallway takes up a lot of space, especially upstairs. If the hallway is restricted to the front side, the rooms can be made larger at the expense of openness (see attached test design). Not sure if this makes sense or if it just limits upstairs space too much.
The plot is large but irregular, making it challenging to position the house facing south while maintaining minimum setbacks.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €306,000 for the completed house excluding ancillary and planning costs.
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: About €15,000 can still be budgeted. We expect higher costs after material selection, especially for sanitary fittings, sliding windows, and electronic blinds on the ground floor (upper floor with "standard" design).
Photovoltaic system with battery storage (including subsidy via KfW 40+) and garage are still under consideration.
Preferred heating technology: Air-to-air heat pump. Underfloor heating in the bathroom.
Possibly adding a photovoltaic system with battery. We will gather more information regarding cost/benefit.
If you had to give up on, which details/extensions
- could you do without: Gallery on the upper floor to enlarge the bedroom and children’s rooms. However, this reduces the optics and the bright and open feeling.
- could you not do without: Photovoltaic system, carport (in addition to garage)
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example:
Standard design from planner? Self-created.
Which wishes from the architect were implemented? All sanitary facilities aligned vertically. Waiver of covered terraces, balconies, or roof overhangs. Entrance on the north side, meaning not directly from the street but around the house at a 90-degree angle. Does this make sense?
A mix of many examples from various magazines? Partly inspired by the STREIF show house in Cologne, for example the gallery.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
Since it is mostly my own plan, hard to say. The architect plans the exit through the large window in the dining area (which makes sense). However, this leads to the largest garden area but closer to the street.
You have to walk briefly around the house to reach the "main" garden (basically an exit through the living room). I am not yet fully satisfied with the layout and access to the garden.
My partner and I have finally purchased a large plot of land measuring 437 sqm (4700 sq ft) in Munich-Eching, and we will soon be building our prefabricated single-family house with Streif Haus. The plan is for approximately 145 sqm (1560 sq ft) of living space with dimensions of 9.96 m x 8.71 m (32.7 ft x 28.6 ft). Increasing this is simply not possible within our budget—for example, adding 1 meter (3.3 ft) on one side would cost roughly an additional €30,000.
So far, I have created all the floor plans using a software tool. Last Friday, we had our first meeting with the architect. Unfortunately, he dismissed several of our wishes:
- The gallery/open space over the upper floor,
- The layout of rooms on the upper floor (both children’s rooms are planned to face south, while the bedroom and bathroom face north, although we would prefer the opposite),
- All terrace requests,
- The design of the bathroom (we wanted a T-shaped layout with the sink set slightly into the room, the toilet and shower behind it, and a freestanding bathtub in the room), etc.
I have attached my plans for the ground floor and upper floor. Since the plot is not rectangular but rather irregularly shaped, positioning the house alone is a challenge because we naturally want the garden and the largest windows in the living room and kitchen to face south. In the attached site plan, the house is still positioned quite centrally (12 x 9 m / 39.4 x 29.5 ft). We will move it as far as possible to the right, towards the east.
We also considered changing the type of staircase (for example, to a half-landing staircase), but according to the architect, the straight staircase belongs to the "Cityvilla" house type by STREIF. I would appreciate your opinions on this. If I change the type of staircase, the entire floor plan will be discarded and the design will have to start from scratch — which is fine, as this is a “major” adjustment.
The architect is planning the entrance not on the south side directly from Schlossberg street, but on the north side: you would approach the property via the street, the house would run sideways along the garage, and you enter after the bend on the north side. So, opposite to what is shown in the site plan. This is quite a long way around. What do you think about this?
You will find comments below with questions. Feedback on the floor plan is welcome!
Building Regulations/Restrictions
Plot size: 437 sqm
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line and boundary: Building line with house in the northwest (not yet accurately positioned on the site plan)
Edge development: As far northeast on the plot as possible, maintaining the legally required 6 m (20 ft) setback from neighbors.
Number of parking spaces: Planned 1 carport, 1 garage.
Number of floors: 2 (without basement)
Roof type: Hip roof or gable roof
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: southwest
Maximum heights/limits: n/a
Other requirements: n/a
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Prefabricated house by STREIF, type "Cityvilla," no bay windows, rectangular
Basement, floors: No basement, 1.5 floors (no roof slopes, with roof hatch to a small, non-habitable attic)
Number of residents, age: 2 persons, 36 and 30 years old.
Space requirements for ground floor/upstairs:
Ground floor: large living room, open kitchen and dining area, utility/technical/pantry room (connected to kitchen), guest bathroom, hallway, guest room/office/hobby room.
Upper floor: bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, large bathroom, possibly a gallery
Office: Family use or home office? Both — upstairs for office (sometimes music is played here), downstairs is planned as a hobby room with fitness equipment. This may change when children are around.
Number of guest overnight stays per year: 10 nights
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open, preferably with kitchen island and access to utility/pantry room
Number of dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: desired but still in planning—preliminarily included, to be built later due to priorities and budget.
Music/stereo wall: yes, with floor-standing speakers and external subwoofer.
Balcony, roof terrace: no. (Initially wanted, but considering the cost/benefit since we have a large garden.)
Garage, carport: First a garage, then a carport (2 parking spaces are mandatory).
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no.
Further wishes/particularities/daily routine, including reasons for preferences or exclusions:
The guest/fitness room is deliberately planned large to accommodate several exercise machines. Possibly a table tennis table will also be used in winter. The necessity of this is still being discussed. There is no basement. Later, a garden shed will be built in the yard.
Since we have limited space, any tips for storing items typically kept in a basement are very welcome!
A walk-in closet in the bedroom is desired.
House Design
Who designed the plan: Me, using a tool.
- Architect:
We already had a meeting with the architect. Several wishes were discouraged by him, such as a covered garage (east side), covered terrace in the garden (southwest), and the gallery on the first floor.
- The architect recommends having all sanitary facilities on one "level," meaning guest bathroom/technical room on the ground floor directly below the bathroom upstairs.
- He suggests placing the children’s rooms facing south rather than the bedroom or bathroom, as we initially wanted. (Children spend more time playing in their rooms with sunlight.) However, we would prefer sunlight in the bedroom and bathroom (bathroom planned with a frosted window) for a brighter and more relaxing atmosphere.
- Builder’s planner: Prefabricated house will be built with STREIF Haus. The architect is a STREIF architect.
- Do-it-yourself: We purchased the FastFertigPLUS product, meaning wall, floor, and garden work will be done by ourselves. Since I am very handy, wall and floor work should not be an issue. We are still considering whether to hire professionals for terrace construction and garden landscaping.
What do you particularly like?
Why? Large plot with a single-family house (for Munich standards).
The open spatial concept with a large living room, dining area, and open kitchen layout.
What do you dislike? Why?
The hallway takes up a lot of space, especially upstairs. If the hallway is restricted to the front side, the rooms can be made larger at the expense of openness (see attached test design). Not sure if this makes sense or if it just limits upstairs space too much.
The plot is large but irregular, making it challenging to position the house facing south while maintaining minimum setbacks.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €306,000 for the completed house excluding ancillary and planning costs.
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: About €15,000 can still be budgeted. We expect higher costs after material selection, especially for sanitary fittings, sliding windows, and electronic blinds on the ground floor (upper floor with "standard" design).
Photovoltaic system with battery storage (including subsidy via KfW 40+) and garage are still under consideration.
Preferred heating technology: Air-to-air heat pump. Underfloor heating in the bathroom.
Possibly adding a photovoltaic system with battery. We will gather more information regarding cost/benefit.
If you had to give up on, which details/extensions
- could you do without: Gallery on the upper floor to enlarge the bedroom and children’s rooms. However, this reduces the optics and the bright and open feeling.
- could you not do without: Photovoltaic system, carport (in addition to garage)
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example:
Standard design from planner? Self-created.
Which wishes from the architect were implemented? All sanitary facilities aligned vertically. Waiver of covered terraces, balconies, or roof overhangs. Entrance on the north side, meaning not directly from the street but around the house at a 90-degree angle. Does this make sense?
A mix of many examples from various magazines? Partly inspired by the STREIF show house in Cologne, for example the gallery.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
Since it is mostly my own plan, hard to say. The architect plans the exit through the large window in the dining area (which makes sense). However, this leads to the largest garden area but closer to the street.
You have to walk briefly around the house to reach the "main" garden (basically an exit through the living room). I am not yet fully satisfied with the layout and access to the garden.
jay2jay schrieb:
My idea and sketch with one parking space/carport next to the house at the top and the other one in the southern part—is that not recommended? That would take away some space from your southeast garden and would make the street feel closer to the house. If there are other options on or near areas that are already used as driveways, I would prefer those.
kaho674 schrieb:
I wouldn’t go with 11m (36 feet), as the garden becomes really small again. It would be better to add an extension on the north or east side.I just measured again with 11m by 8m (36 by 26 feet), the house could then be about 0.65m (2 feet) further northeast, meaning it costs 35cm (14 inches) of southwest garden. But if it means getting a "better" floor plan . No idea what Streif Haus offers in their range. The "floor plans" on the website are a disaster when you need exact measurements.@katja, now a perfect floor plan on 10 by 8.5m (33 by 28 feet) with a bay window on the north side – you’re much better at that than I am!
RomeoZwo schrieb:
I just measured again with 11m x 8m (36ft x 26ft), so the house could be moved about 0.65m (2 feet) further northeast, which means losing 35cm (14 inches) on the southwest garden. If that results in the "better" floor plan. Yep, that would give even more options to experiment with. But let the OP measure first – otherwise, it's all guesswork.
RomeoZwo schrieb:
The "floor plans" on the website are a disaster if you need exact measurements. This mainly referred to the fact that the website is not user-friendly. I only found the layout of the model house through an external source!
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Hello everyone,
Here is something new from me!
The architect has planned our house on the plot in what seems to be the “best” way. What do you think about it?
Since the setback distances of 3m (10 feet) must be observed, I can’t move the house further to the northeast.
The pink line next to the garage was supposed to be remeasured by the architect because the neighboring plot hasn’t been sold yet and the survey is still pending. However, of course, we are not willing to “give away” 12m² (130 square feet) to the neighbor in the southeast—especially considering the property prices in Munich. The architect didn’t know that we have already paid for the land.
From your point of view, is the parking space placed optimally? In my opinion, it’s not. I see it more on the right directly in front of the garage (if allowed) or horizontally in the southeast (bottom right corner).
Unfortunately, the local authority requires a 5m (16 feet) clearance in front of the garage. I’m not sure if this also applies to the parking space? How do you interpret the excerpt from the regulation attached?
More importantly, which main entrance should we choose? South, east, or north?
When sketching, we notice that the best layout is possible with an entrance on the south or north side, as the individual rooms are wide enough and don’t feel too cramped.
In the sketch, you can also see an old design of the living room. The TV wall seems too narrow to me, especially considering that it will get even tighter once the actual exterior wall thickness is taken into account. What do you think?
Here is something new from me!
The architect has planned our house on the plot in what seems to be the “best” way. What do you think about it?
Since the setback distances of 3m (10 feet) must be observed, I can’t move the house further to the northeast.
The pink line next to the garage was supposed to be remeasured by the architect because the neighboring plot hasn’t been sold yet and the survey is still pending. However, of course, we are not willing to “give away” 12m² (130 square feet) to the neighbor in the southeast—especially considering the property prices in Munich. The architect didn’t know that we have already paid for the land.
From your point of view, is the parking space placed optimally? In my opinion, it’s not. I see it more on the right directly in front of the garage (if allowed) or horizontally in the southeast (bottom right corner).
Unfortunately, the local authority requires a 5m (16 feet) clearance in front of the garage. I’m not sure if this also applies to the parking space? How do you interpret the excerpt from the regulation attached?
More importantly, which main entrance should we choose? South, east, or north?
When sketching, we notice that the best layout is possible with an entrance on the south or north side, as the individual rooms are wide enough and don’t feel too cramped.
In the sketch, you can also see an old design of the living room. The TV wall seems too narrow to me, especially considering that it will get even tighter once the actual exterior wall thickness is taken into account. What do you think?
The upper floor is still causing us quite a bit of trouble because I can’t seem to find an optimal layout for the rooms.
It’s obviously important that the windows are arranged symmetrically. In the sketches, two of them include a gallery. We’ve decided to keep that—but how can we best use the extra space besides as a walk-in closet (probably without a window)? Since we have limited square meters anyway, we don’t want to “lose” these 4m² (43 sq ft), but it’s difficult to make efficient use of it. Do you have any ideas?
I only see the option of a walk-in closet—optionally with a window on one side—and then, instead of wardrobes, we could use dressers to allow light from the windows to come in. But I know we would still lack enough storage space for clothes because currently, we don’t manage with just a 3.70m (12 ft) long wardrobe.
Alternatively, the hallway could simply remain an open space (no gallery), allowing an extra window to bring in more light, and possibly some plants to beautify the area. Enlarging the kid’s room or bathroom doesn’t look very promising.
What do you think? Which option would you prefer or possibly change?
A large bathroom is very important to us, ideally in a T-shape (which we really liked during our weekend visit to the model home center), and a reasonably sized master bedroom. The window style and arrangement still need to be optimized—so don’t focus on that yet.
Good luck
Sascha
It’s obviously important that the windows are arranged symmetrically. In the sketches, two of them include a gallery. We’ve decided to keep that—but how can we best use the extra space besides as a walk-in closet (probably without a window)? Since we have limited square meters anyway, we don’t want to “lose” these 4m² (43 sq ft), but it’s difficult to make efficient use of it. Do you have any ideas?
I only see the option of a walk-in closet—optionally with a window on one side—and then, instead of wardrobes, we could use dressers to allow light from the windows to come in. But I know we would still lack enough storage space for clothes because currently, we don’t manage with just a 3.70m (12 ft) long wardrobe.
Alternatively, the hallway could simply remain an open space (no gallery), allowing an extra window to bring in more light, and possibly some plants to beautify the area. Enlarging the kid’s room or bathroom doesn’t look very promising.
What do you think? Which option would you prefer or possibly change?
A large bathroom is very important to us, ideally in a T-shape (which we really liked during our weekend visit to the model home center), and a reasonably sized master bedroom. The window style and arrangement still need to be optimized—so don’t focus on that yet.
Good luck
Sascha
Similar topics