ᐅ Single-family house approximately 185 sqm – Initial design – Suggestions for improvement?
Created on: 2 Nov 2019 21:52
L
Lionsbarn
Hello everyone,
My wife and I are expecting a child and are planning to build our own house soon. We have visited two large model home parks, looked through many brochures, and gathered inspiration online.
We want to build a single-family house (to KfW 55 energy standard) with a gable roof and a bay window and are currently in discussions with several builders. We have presented them with our designs, but feedback has been limited, so we’re unsure whether we should also consult an architect.
Therefore, we would like to share our design here and get your opinions on whether the floor plan makes sense or if we might have overlooked something or made any mistakes.
Thank you in advance for your feedback and suggestions!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 700m² (7,535 ft²)
Slope: No
Site coverage ratio: see screenshot
Floor area ratio: see screenshot
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: Building envelope approx. 25 x 20m (82 x 66 ft), 3m (10 ft) setback from neighboring property
Edge development: Yes, garage
Number of parking spaces: 2 desired (1 garage)
Number of storeys: 1 full storey
Roof type: Gable roof
Architectural style: Modern single-family house
Orientation: -
Maximum heights / limits: see screenshot
Other requirements: Roof pitch: minimum 20°; driveway from NW direction
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Single-family house (KfW 55) with gable roof and bay window, knee wall preferably high (approximately 1.25m (4 ft))
Basement, floors: 1.5 full storeys, no basement
Number of people, ages: 3 people (34, 33, 0), one baby on the way, potentially more in the future
Room requirements – ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: Spacious and bright living/dining area, kitchen (not open), office, utility/technical room
Upper floor: Bedroom with walk-in closet, 2 children’s rooms, guest room (or third children’s room), bathroom
Office: Essential due to work
Overnight guests per year: 5-10
Open or closed layout: Open
Conservative or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: No / yes
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: Yes
Music/stereo setup: Large TV and 9.1 surround sound with big speakers
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Garage with adjacent rooms
Utility garden, greenhouse: Low-maintenance garden, lawn and flowerbeds
House design
Who planned it: Do-it-yourself – ideas gathered from model home parks, brochures, and the internet
What do you like most? Why?
Ground floor: Open living/dining area with fireplace, morning sun enters the kitchen and moves throughout the living room all day. The sofa always has a view of the garden and the fireplace.
Upper floor: Quite large children’s rooms, each room has windows
What do you dislike? Why?
Ground floor: Position of the staircase, kitchen far from the entrance, distance of kitchen island from the wall, utility room too small?
Upper floor: Hallway too large and bathroom too small? Storage space poorly planned?
Estimated price according to planner:
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 400,000 € (excluding land)
Preferred heating technology: Gas condensing boiler with solar thermal and centralized ventilation system
If you had to give up on which features/finishes could you do without: Smart home
-which you cannot do without: Office/guest room, separate walk-in closet, fireplace, garage
Why does the current design look like it does? For example:
- The first draft is a mix of impressions from model home parks, brochures, internet, etc.
- Since the driveway is at the NW corner of the plot, the house and garage should move as far as possible to the NE to create a garden and terrace facing SW.
- Living/dining area should be on the SW side of the house.
- The kitchen should be separated from the living/dining area by a sliding door.
- Children’s rooms should be spacious and get as much sunlight as possible.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think of the design, and what could be improved? Is a door from the hallway to the kitchen useful? Should we plan a half-landing staircase? Is the utility/technical room big enough? How do you rate the storage space upstairs?
Thank you in advance for your feedback and suggestions!
My wife and I are expecting a child and are planning to build our own house soon. We have visited two large model home parks, looked through many brochures, and gathered inspiration online.
We want to build a single-family house (to KfW 55 energy standard) with a gable roof and a bay window and are currently in discussions with several builders. We have presented them with our designs, but feedback has been limited, so we’re unsure whether we should also consult an architect.
Therefore, we would like to share our design here and get your opinions on whether the floor plan makes sense or if we might have overlooked something or made any mistakes.
Thank you in advance for your feedback and suggestions!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 700m² (7,535 ft²)
Slope: No
Site coverage ratio: see screenshot
Floor area ratio: see screenshot
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: Building envelope approx. 25 x 20m (82 x 66 ft), 3m (10 ft) setback from neighboring property
Edge development: Yes, garage
Number of parking spaces: 2 desired (1 garage)
Number of storeys: 1 full storey
Roof type: Gable roof
Architectural style: Modern single-family house
Orientation: -
Maximum heights / limits: see screenshot
Other requirements: Roof pitch: minimum 20°; driveway from NW direction
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: Single-family house (KfW 55) with gable roof and bay window, knee wall preferably high (approximately 1.25m (4 ft))
Basement, floors: 1.5 full storeys, no basement
Number of people, ages: 3 people (34, 33, 0), one baby on the way, potentially more in the future
Room requirements – ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: Spacious and bright living/dining area, kitchen (not open), office, utility/technical room
Upper floor: Bedroom with walk-in closet, 2 children’s rooms, guest room (or third children’s room), bathroom
Office: Essential due to work
Overnight guests per year: 5-10
Open or closed layout: Open
Conservative or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: No / yes
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: Yes
Music/stereo setup: Large TV and 9.1 surround sound with big speakers
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Garage with adjacent rooms
Utility garden, greenhouse: Low-maintenance garden, lawn and flowerbeds
House design
Who planned it: Do-it-yourself – ideas gathered from model home parks, brochures, and the internet
What do you like most? Why?
Ground floor: Open living/dining area with fireplace, morning sun enters the kitchen and moves throughout the living room all day. The sofa always has a view of the garden and the fireplace.
Upper floor: Quite large children’s rooms, each room has windows
What do you dislike? Why?
Ground floor: Position of the staircase, kitchen far from the entrance, distance of kitchen island from the wall, utility room too small?
Upper floor: Hallway too large and bathroom too small? Storage space poorly planned?
Estimated price according to planner:
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 400,000 € (excluding land)
Preferred heating technology: Gas condensing boiler with solar thermal and centralized ventilation system
If you had to give up on which features/finishes could you do without: Smart home
-which you cannot do without: Office/guest room, separate walk-in closet, fireplace, garage
Why does the current design look like it does? For example:
- The first draft is a mix of impressions from model home parks, brochures, internet, etc.
- Since the driveway is at the NW corner of the plot, the house and garage should move as far as possible to the NE to create a garden and terrace facing SW.
- Living/dining area should be on the SW side of the house.
- The kitchen should be separated from the living/dining area by a sliding door.
- Children’s rooms should be spacious and get as much sunlight as possible.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think of the design, and what could be improved? Is a door from the hallway to the kitchen useful? Should we plan a half-landing staircase? Is the utility/technical room big enough? How do you rate the storage space upstairs?
Thank you in advance for your feedback and suggestions!
And again regarding the measurements:
The office furniture doesn’t fit either. Likewise, the approximate measurement of 3.70m, 3.80m (12.1 ft, 12.5 ft) for the kitchen width/bedroom width doesn’t match up with the other rooms. How wide should the shower on the ground floor be? How deep should the shower on the upper floor be? On the upper floor, it’s currently not usable at all.
So be careful with the whole “spaciousness” of the house: it’s more appearance than reality. And as already mentioned, if you fix one corner properly, the other corner will suffer as a result.
The office furniture doesn’t fit either. Likewise, the approximate measurement of 3.70m, 3.80m (12.1 ft, 12.5 ft) for the kitchen width/bedroom width doesn’t match up with the other rooms. How wide should the shower on the ground floor be? How deep should the shower on the upper floor be? On the upper floor, it’s currently not usable at all.
So be careful with the whole “spaciousness” of the house: it’s more appearance than reality. And as already mentioned, if you fix one corner properly, the other corner will suffer as a result.
L
Lionsbarn3 Nov 2019 18:44mmmmbau schrieb:
Sorry; this doesn't really belong here.
Which program did you use to create the floor plan?
I'm debating between Sweet Home 3D and Live Home 3D for my planning...
Thanks for a quick tip. I used RoomSketcher. However, I can only recommend it to a limited extent, since adding dimensions is hardly possible without the Pro version.
Lionsbarn schrieb:
I also have a full design from a developer, but unfortunately, I am not allowed to upload it here. Copyright does not expire simply by copying. It applies to the design itself, not just the drawing of it.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
We simply have an Ikea Pax wardrobe in the upstairs hallway where the vacuum cleaner is stored. I wouldn’t create a separate nook for cleaning supplies upstairs, as it would make the hallway look less appealing.
Your open-plan living and dining area is actually quite spacious, but the space is not used well. It gets very tight around the dining table, while there is plenty of room near the entrance and in the lower left corner. I also wouldn’t plan a shower with a glass door in the bathroom, as I wouldn’t want to deal with the constant cleaning.
Best regards,
Sabine
Your open-plan living and dining area is actually quite spacious, but the space is not used well. It gets very tight around the dining table, while there is plenty of room near the entrance and in the lower left corner. I also wouldn’t plan a shower with a glass door in the bathroom, as I wouldn’t want to deal with the constant cleaning.
Best regards,
Sabine
L
Lionsbarn4 Nov 2019 11:3711ant schrieb:
Copyright does not expire simply by copying. It applies to the design, not just the drawing of it. The design is actually mine as well. We discussed it with the developers, and they adapted and professionally executed it.
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