ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a New Single-Family Home with Double Garage (Urban Villa)
Created on: 27 Dec 2019 13:42
M
maxl229
Hello everyone,
last week we received the first draft proposal from our architect for the new build of a detached single-family house with a double garage.
Below are the answers to the questionnaire, completed as much as possible.
If I have misunderstood or answered any points incorrectly, please excuse me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1701 sqm (front approx. 27 m (89 feet))
Slope: slightly rising towards the north, but no impact on floor plan or design
Site coverage ratio: N/A
Floor area ratio: N/A
Building window, building line and boundary:
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces:
Number of storeys:
Roof type: N/A
Architectural style: N/A
Orientation: North
Maximum heights / limits:
Additional requirements: §34
Homeowner Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Urban villa with a hipped roof / garage with hipped roof
Basement, storeys: no basement, 2 full storeys
Number of occupants, age: 2, 28
Room requirements on the ground floor: kitchen, living + dining, office, guest WC, pantry, laundry room
Upper floor: 1 master bedroom + walk-in closet + bathroom, 2 children’s bedrooms + bathroom, storage room
Office: home office
Number of overnight guests yearly: not relevant
Open or closed design: open
Conservative or modern construction style: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse
House Design
Planned by:
- architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The upper floor layout was implemented as discussed;
The architect added an open space in the entrance area, which we find very good.
What do you not like? Why?
Since we did not want a flat roof on the garage, a double garage with a hipped roof was planned, followed by a flat roof extension to provide direct access to the house.
However, the layout of the rooms for laundry + drying, heating + technical equipment, as well as pantry + utility room, feels somewhat awkward.
If possible, we would like to switch the pantry with the laundry room and add a pantry off the kitchen.
This would allow the outbuilding to be slightly smaller and the kitchen window to be enlarged. However, I suspect this will increase the overall footprint.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 390,000 EUR (including ventilation system)
Personal budget limit for the house, including equipment: estimate fits budget
Preferred heating system: gas + solar thermal (the draft currently includes an air-source heat pump)
If you had to do without, which details / additions
- could you do without:
- could you not do without:
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Overall, our wishes regarding layout and construction style have been well implemented.
Only the above-mentioned layout of the outbuilding including the pantry seems somewhat awkward.
What do you think of our ideas, and what possibilities for redesign would you suggest?
Thank you in advance for the lively discussion!
Best regards,
maxl229
last week we received the first draft proposal from our architect for the new build of a detached single-family house with a double garage.
Below are the answers to the questionnaire, completed as much as possible.
If I have misunderstood or answered any points incorrectly, please excuse me.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1701 sqm (front approx. 27 m (89 feet))
Slope: slightly rising towards the north, but no impact on floor plan or design
Site coverage ratio: N/A
Floor area ratio: N/A
Building window, building line and boundary:
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces:
Number of storeys:
Roof type: N/A
Architectural style: N/A
Orientation: North
Maximum heights / limits:
Additional requirements: §34
Homeowner Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Urban villa with a hipped roof / garage with hipped roof
Basement, storeys: no basement, 2 full storeys
Number of occupants, age: 2, 28
Room requirements on the ground floor: kitchen, living + dining, office, guest WC, pantry, laundry room
Upper floor: 1 master bedroom + walk-in closet + bathroom, 2 children’s bedrooms + bathroom, storage room
Office: home office
Number of overnight guests yearly: not relevant
Open or closed design: open
Conservative or modern construction style: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse
House Design
Planned by:
- architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The upper floor layout was implemented as discussed;
The architect added an open space in the entrance area, which we find very good.
What do you not like? Why?
Since we did not want a flat roof on the garage, a double garage with a hipped roof was planned, followed by a flat roof extension to provide direct access to the house.
However, the layout of the rooms for laundry + drying, heating + technical equipment, as well as pantry + utility room, feels somewhat awkward.
If possible, we would like to switch the pantry with the laundry room and add a pantry off the kitchen.
This would allow the outbuilding to be slightly smaller and the kitchen window to be enlarged. However, I suspect this will increase the overall footprint.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 390,000 EUR (including ventilation system)
Personal budget limit for the house, including equipment: estimate fits budget
Preferred heating system: gas + solar thermal (the draft currently includes an air-source heat pump)
If you had to do without, which details / additions
- could you do without:
- could you not do without:
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Overall, our wishes regarding layout and construction style have been well implemented.
Only the above-mentioned layout of the outbuilding including the pantry seems somewhat awkward.
What do you think of our ideas, and what possibilities for redesign would you suggest?
Thank you in advance for the lively discussion!
Best regards,
maxl229
H
hausbauer3 Jan 2020 23:03kaho674 schrieb:
As always. You should never go to the architect with drafts. Then they stop thinking. We should pin this somewhere at the very top of the introduction thread.If only I had known that six months ago... *sigh*At first glance, it’s not that obvious, but the house is huge. The total floor area (including walls) for the ground floor and upper floor is 261m² (2810 sq ft). Or did I make a mistake in the calculation?
Here is a very traditional layout with the same floor area, just evenly divided between the two floors. This should be roughly cost-neutral compared to the original design:





With this house shape, the upper floor is quite flexible, and there’s still room for some adjustments on the ground floor as well. I have sketched out the most expensive and extravagant version. For example, the technical room is far away (which could be swapped with the office), and there is a huge walk-in closet and bathroom on the upper floor (here you could plan more modestly and use the space for a laundry room or similar). If the laundry room were moved upstairs, there would be more space downstairs for a larger kitchen, etc. So there’s still a lot that could be done here.
I just want to demonstrate how much space is available with a standard design.
My software can’t really make it visually appealing, but a house like this in a classic style—that would be something, right?
Maybe something like this:

What was the budget again?
Here is a very traditional layout with the same floor area, just evenly divided between the two floors. This should be roughly cost-neutral compared to the original design:
With this house shape, the upper floor is quite flexible, and there’s still room for some adjustments on the ground floor as well. I have sketched out the most expensive and extravagant version. For example, the technical room is far away (which could be swapped with the office), and there is a huge walk-in closet and bathroom on the upper floor (here you could plan more modestly and use the space for a laundry room or similar). If the laundry room were moved upstairs, there would be more space downstairs for a larger kitchen, etc. So there’s still a lot that could be done here.
I just want to demonstrate how much space is available with a standard design.
My software can’t really make it visually appealing, but a house like this in a classic style—that would be something, right?
Maybe something like this:
What was the budget again?
Here are the latest considerations:
- Red marking = old
- Green marking = new
If the structural adjustments are feasible, the following advantages will be achieved:
- Living area oriented towards the west
- Reduction of the hallway to allow an increase in the living/dining area by about 4sqm (43 sq ft)
- Outbuilding to become one large room with heating & technical equipment as well as storage, with an exterior door. The outbuilding will be shortened in length and expanded in width
- Terrace oriented to the northwest for afternoon and evening sun
The only disadvantage, in my opinion, would be a reduction of the office space by about 1.5sqm (16 sq ft).
Additionally, it must be ensured that a door can still be installed in the office behind/underneath the stairs.
The following points might not be clearly visible in the graphic:
- Kitchen size remains the same (dashed green line for reference)
- Dining area follows the kitchen
- Living area moves to the northeast
There should be no major issues with the furniture.
What is still uncertain is the placement of the sofa in the living area.
Either the sofa is in the center of the room and the TV is positioned at the current French doors, or the office wall opposite is used for the TV.
Glass elements would naturally need to be relocated, but I trust the specialist for this, especially regarding the symmetry with the upper floor.
Otherwise, we plan to keep the upper floor as it is for now.

- Red marking = old
- Green marking = new
If the structural adjustments are feasible, the following advantages will be achieved:
- Living area oriented towards the west
- Reduction of the hallway to allow an increase in the living/dining area by about 4sqm (43 sq ft)
- Outbuilding to become one large room with heating & technical equipment as well as storage, with an exterior door. The outbuilding will be shortened in length and expanded in width
- Terrace oriented to the northwest for afternoon and evening sun
The only disadvantage, in my opinion, would be a reduction of the office space by about 1.5sqm (16 sq ft).
Additionally, it must be ensured that a door can still be installed in the office behind/underneath the stairs.
The following points might not be clearly visible in the graphic:
- Kitchen size remains the same (dashed green line for reference)
- Dining area follows the kitchen
- Living area moves to the northeast
There should be no major issues with the furniture.
What is still uncertain is the placement of the sofa in the living area.
Either the sofa is in the center of the room and the TV is positioned at the current French doors, or the office wall opposite is used for the TV.
Glass elements would naturally need to be relocated, but I trust the specialist for this, especially regarding the symmetry with the upper floor.
Otherwise, we plan to keep the upper floor as it is for now.
kaho674 schrieb:
Here is a very traditional approach with the same floor area, just evenly distributed between the upper and lower floors. This should be roughly cost-neutral compared to the original design:
[IMG alt="klassisch-Ü.jpg"]https://www.hausbau-forum.de/data/attachments/40/40849-c52225919f011ee761d033f6d7632892.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG alt="klassisch-EG.jpg"]https://www.hausbau-forum.de/data/attachments/40/40848-042422c3b09e5e2281df437d7824754d.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG alt="klassisch-OG.jpg"]https://www.hausbau-forum.de/data/attachments/40/40847-63642987897bc30f56c07f05548e6a9f.jpg[/IMG] I still find the direct access to the house missing in this floor plan.
Also, the planned open space in the entrance area is not included.
Is it possible to redesign it to include these elements?
Similar topics