ᐅ Single-family house floor plan, approximately 150 sqm, with east-facing garden

Created on: 9 Jan 2020 21:17
O
OWLer
Hello everyone,
after reading many threads here about how well-intentioned floor plans are expertly dissected, I’m now stepping out from the shadows. We plan to build this year and have already purchased the plot. We are currently in discussions with two providers. Provider 1 never really impressed us with their designs and plans very large houses without offering much living space. I’m bringing Provider 2 into the discussion here because, apart from the points mentioned below, we still like their design.

We hope the collective forum expertise will point out some pitfalls and maybe even help solve our hallway dilemma.

Sorry for the rough sketches of the measurements.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size:
610 sqm (648 with purchased noise barrier)
Slope: approx. 70cm (28 inches) over 19m (62 feet), sloping from north to south
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3m (10 feet) from the street, 3m (10 feet) to neighbors north/south, building envelope 10m (33 feet) east-west
Edge development
Number of parking spaces
Number of stories:
2
Roof type: gable roof ≤45°
Architectural style
Orientation:
ridge running north-south
Maximum heights / limits: max. ridge height 10.5m (34 feet), eaves max. 6.0m (20 feet)
Other requirements: On the east side, a noise barrier is built along half of the plot, with forest behind it. Due to the noise barrier, the garden is practically not visible from outside.

Clients’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type:
rather classic
Basement, number of floors: basement, 1.5 floors
Number of residents, age: currently 2 (ages 33 and 27 – planning 2 children)
Space requirements on ground floor: shower WC, open living space (kitchen, dining, living), study; upper floor: 2 kids’ rooms, bathroom, master bedroom (walk-in closet)
Office: home office (teaching profession)
Overnight guests per year: approx. 15
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative and brick-faced
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: preferably yes, budget permitting
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport / budget permitting
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons for why or why not something is desired

House Design
Designer: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
We really like the upper floor. Room sizes fit well. We can’t really assess the master bedroom on the south side yet. The kids’ rooms seem the right size and have a good layout in my opinion.
A guest room was not a requirement – apparently there was space on the upper floor. We are not unhappy about that.
The living-dining area really appeals to me. Kitchen opening to the terrace. My wife likes the pantry options with access to the garden, basement, and carport.

What don’t you like? Why?
What we don’t like is the narrow corridors. I imagine 1.2m (4 feet) and 1m (3 feet) very cramped. Between the carport and along the stairs, this wouldn’t bother me so much, but the entrance definitely should be wider.
The master bedroom on the south side does not convince me much.

Price estimate according to architect/planner: >440k€
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: approx. 440k€
Preferred heating system: gas heating required by the plot purchase contract.

If you had to give up something, which details / features could you do without:
I could do without the pantry and use that space for the WC instead. My wife, however, sees this differently.
Which features can you not give up:
The study on the ground floor is a must due to my teaching profession. The idea is to be able to drop things off in the study after returning from school, close the door, and have some downtime without needing to go upstairs or downstairs.
The basement is also essential. Many friends and acquaintances who have built in recent years do so mostly without basements. It takes iron discipline to keep utility rooms “tidy.” We manage that in our rental now but want to move away from that. We don’t want to become hoarders but want more space to spread out. Also, I want to be able to store all my tools in the basement and comfortably repair my bicycles.

Why was the design made the way it is?
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?

Large windows on the ground floor facing the garden, as it is not directly visible.
A bay window on the street side is mandatory for the look. The planned flat-roof bay will definitely be changed to a pitched roof. The plaster on the bay will be replaced by brick cladding. We find the bay window to the garden quite nice. Not a must-have, but it was part of the planning basis we provided and, in my opinion, positively impacts the kids’ rooms.

A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?

What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
How do you evaluate the usability of the pantry—does it work as well as we imagine it? What other ways, besides widening the house, do you see to widen the corridors? Does the indicated wardrobe area fit?

In principle, I would like to build it this way if only the narrow corridors weren’t an issue. Making the house 25-50cm (10-20 inches) wider is not technically feasible and probably financially difficult.

Floor plan of a house with terrace, living, dining, kitchen, hallway, WC, study, storage room.


Floor plan of upper floor: bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom, guest room, two kids’ rooms, gallery.


Modern two-story east façade: brick on lower level, dark vertical cladding, large windows.


South elevation: red brick house with gable roof, large windows; two people on left.


Modern brick façade with brown roof, white central wall, garage and two people on right.
T
tumaa
15 Jan 2020 11:45
kaho674 schrieb:

What knee wall height do you have? Why don’t you build two stories?

I don’t see any response to that?
11ant15 Jan 2020 11:50
OWLer schrieb:

We now have to decide for ourselves as laypersons how to weigh the arguments against each other.
No, you don’t have to. In the end, you have to live with the outcome, and you live with the feeling (which is not comforted by telling it that the plan pleased its brother, Reason).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
OWLer15 Jan 2020 12:07
tumaa schrieb:

I don’t see an answer to that?

I already replied regarding the knee wall: 1.25m (4 feet). The 1.5 stories are the homeowners’ preference. Purely for the visual appearance of the exterior. A kind of perceived truth, so to speak.
11ant schrieb:

No, you don’t have to. You just have to live with the result afterwards.

That’s exactly what’s giving me headaches... That’s the reason I actually wanted to buy an existing property—if only there had been something reasonable at acceptable prices. Unfortunately, we’re not as connected as the NSA.
kaho67415 Jan 2020 12:10
OWLer schrieb:

That’s exactly what’s giving me a headache... That’s the reason why I actually wanted to buy an existing property – if only there had been something reasonable at acceptable prices.
Have you already visited show homes? Something like what you’re describing probably exists somewhere similar that you can see in person.
B
Baufie
15 Jan 2020 12:19
11ant schrieb:
No, you don’t have to. You have to live with the result afterward, and you live with the feeling (which is not comforted by telling it that its brother’s reason liked the plan).
As you know, we are not exactly "best friends," but here I can fully agree. Another thread shows how things can go differently!
B
Baufie
15 Jan 2020 12:23
kaho674 schrieb:

Have you already visited show homes? Something similar to what you’re planning is probably available to see somewhere nearby.
I can only recommend that. Visit show homes until you’ve seen enough. You can gather so much information this way.

A house similar to your style, but a bit larger, is the prefabricated house from Weberhaus displayed at the prefabricated house exhibition in Stuttgart. It has 181 m² (1,948 ft²). That was our favorite for a long time.