ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home of Approximately 150 m²
Created on: 12 Feb 2018 18:09
C
chrisw81
Hello,
After a long search, we signed the notarized contract for the land purchase at the end of December. We are now actively planning the floor plan. Unfortunately, the plot is somewhat awkwardly shaped (not rectangular), which creates some limitations for the layout from our perspective. We already have a first draft, but there are several areas we don’t like and are unsure how to improve. Maybe you have some ideas; we would appreciate your input.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 601 m² (6465 sq ft)
Building envelope, building line, boundary: Building line with the house on the west side
Peripheral setbacks: 7 m (23 ft) from the street (north), otherwise the usual 3 m (10 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 2 desired
Number of floors: 1 full story allowed
Roof style: Gable roof
Design style: open construction method
Orientation: South
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height max. 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional requirements: Max. 100 m² (1076 sq ft) of built-up area
Client Requirements
Style, roof form, building type: Solid construction house, rectangular, no bay windows, no projections, etc., gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement; 1.5 stories
Number and age of residents: 2 people, age between 30 and 40, possibly children later
Space needs on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor – living/dining room, kitchen, guest toilet, utility room, office
Office: family use or home office?: family use
Guest stays per year: 20 days
Open or closed architecture: open living area, closed hallway
Conservative or modern style: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, island without cooktop
Number of dining seats: 2-4
Fireplace: yes, chimney planned
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes, special features, daily routine, and reasons for preferences:
- A wardrobe area on the ground floor is important where coats can be stored relatively out of sight.
- On the upper floor, it would be nice to have an open gallery with a desk or similar (not a must and not necessarily next to the stairs).
- A walk-in closet would be nice but not essential.
- A storage room on the upper floor is very important since we do not have a basement.
House Design
Who created the design:
- Basic design by the construction company (FIBAV Stadthaus Vision Studio)
- DIY modifications based on online floor plans (especially Viebrockhaus Maxime 330)
What do you particularly like? Why?:
- Layout of the living/dining area and the narrowing kitchen reduces the hallway effect a bit
- Many windows in the living/dining area
- Wide hallway on the ground floor
What do you dislike? Why?:
- Few options to place furniture (dresser, wardrobe) in the ground floor hallway due to many doors
- Very large hallway upstairs, considered wasted space
- Bedroom is quite small; should be the largest room upstairs (preferably 16 m² (172 sq ft), children’s rooms rather 14 m² (151 sq ft))
- Stair placement limited by chimney location
- Door placement upstairs limited by chimney
- A staircase rotated 90 degrees (entrance next to front door) would appeal more
- Difficult to align windows upstairs and downstairs on the gable end vertically
- Floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs; wider windows with a sill height around 100 cm (40 inches) would be preferred
Price estimate by architect/planner: 200,000 €
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 210,000 €
Preferred heating technology: gas heating
What details or expansions could you give up?
- Can do without: gallery next to stairs upstairs. Living area could also be narrower (e.g., 4.20 m (14 ft) instead of 4.47 m (15 ft))
- Cannot do without: storage room upstairs, shower in guest toilet, extra natural light in the ground floor hallway (e.g., side panel on front door or window)
Why was the design made this way? For example, standard plan from planner?
- Since the house has very little space on the south side, the house should be very narrow in order not to waste more space to the south. It should be wider so that living, dining, and kitchen areas face south as much as possible.
Were corresponding wishes from the architect implemented? No architect meeting has taken place yet.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor hallway be better designed to fit a wardrobe? Can the stairs be positioned better or replaced? Should the hallway be enlarged and living space reduced? How can the upstairs hallway be better utilized? Can the bedroom be enlarged? Is it possible to swap the bedroom with another room, e.g., move it to the southeast to allow a walk-in closet?
Thank you very much in advance for your criticism and suggestions!
After a long search, we signed the notarized contract for the land purchase at the end of December. We are now actively planning the floor plan. Unfortunately, the plot is somewhat awkwardly shaped (not rectangular), which creates some limitations for the layout from our perspective. We already have a first draft, but there are several areas we don’t like and are unsure how to improve. Maybe you have some ideas; we would appreciate your input.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 601 m² (6465 sq ft)
Building envelope, building line, boundary: Building line with the house on the west side
Peripheral setbacks: 7 m (23 ft) from the street (north), otherwise the usual 3 m (10 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 2 desired
Number of floors: 1 full story allowed
Roof style: Gable roof
Design style: open construction method
Orientation: South
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height max. 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional requirements: Max. 100 m² (1076 sq ft) of built-up area
Client Requirements
Style, roof form, building type: Solid construction house, rectangular, no bay windows, no projections, etc., gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement; 1.5 stories
Number and age of residents: 2 people, age between 30 and 40, possibly children later
Space needs on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor – living/dining room, kitchen, guest toilet, utility room, office
Office: family use or home office?: family use
Guest stays per year: 20 days
Open or closed architecture: open living area, closed hallway
Conservative or modern style: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, island without cooktop
Number of dining seats: 2-4
Fireplace: yes, chimney planned
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes, special features, daily routine, and reasons for preferences:
- A wardrobe area on the ground floor is important where coats can be stored relatively out of sight.
- On the upper floor, it would be nice to have an open gallery with a desk or similar (not a must and not necessarily next to the stairs).
- A walk-in closet would be nice but not essential.
- A storage room on the upper floor is very important since we do not have a basement.
House Design
Who created the design:
- Basic design by the construction company (FIBAV Stadthaus Vision Studio)
- DIY modifications based on online floor plans (especially Viebrockhaus Maxime 330)
What do you particularly like? Why?:
- Layout of the living/dining area and the narrowing kitchen reduces the hallway effect a bit
- Many windows in the living/dining area
- Wide hallway on the ground floor
What do you dislike? Why?:
- Few options to place furniture (dresser, wardrobe) in the ground floor hallway due to many doors
- Very large hallway upstairs, considered wasted space
- Bedroom is quite small; should be the largest room upstairs (preferably 16 m² (172 sq ft), children’s rooms rather 14 m² (151 sq ft))
- Stair placement limited by chimney location
- Door placement upstairs limited by chimney
- A staircase rotated 90 degrees (entrance next to front door) would appeal more
- Difficult to align windows upstairs and downstairs on the gable end vertically
- Floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs; wider windows with a sill height around 100 cm (40 inches) would be preferred
Price estimate by architect/planner: 200,000 €
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 210,000 €
Preferred heating technology: gas heating
What details or expansions could you give up?
- Can do without: gallery next to stairs upstairs. Living area could also be narrower (e.g., 4.20 m (14 ft) instead of 4.47 m (15 ft))
- Cannot do without: storage room upstairs, shower in guest toilet, extra natural light in the ground floor hallway (e.g., side panel on front door or window)
Why was the design made this way? For example, standard plan from planner?
- Since the house has very little space on the south side, the house should be very narrow in order not to waste more space to the south. It should be wider so that living, dining, and kitchen areas face south as much as possible.
Were corresponding wishes from the architect implemented? No architect meeting has taken place yet.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor hallway be better designed to fit a wardrobe? Can the stairs be positioned better or replaced? Should the hallway be enlarged and living space reduced? How can the upstairs hallway be better utilized? Can the bedroom be enlarged? Is it possible to swap the bedroom with another room, e.g., move it to the southeast to allow a walk-in closet?
Thank you very much in advance for your criticism and suggestions!
chrisw81 schrieb:
On the west wall and not the south wall as before? Then you’re constantly looking into the long room, wouldn’t it be more sensible to have the “short” view? (like before, see outline)? We’ve been talking about the west wall the whole time. Glad you’re following the posts.
West is the house side, right? So the short wall?
chrisw81 schrieb:
I thought with the corner sofa I would cover two things at once:
- the “short” view and the TV Yes, you’re trapping yourself if you sit facing a wall.
chrisw81 schrieb:
Well, we and our guests have always enjoyed looking outside while eating, it’s nice to have the garden in view. Uh... don’t I get a say? I’d find it quite rude if my guest kept looking everywhere but at the table or at the people sitting around it.
haydee schrieb:
Open and sheltered to the outside is contradictory at first. I don’t think so.
You can be sheltered, for example, by a wall behind you, yet have an open view in front of you.
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Altai schrieb:
So just be brave and also reduce the fixed lighting (you’re not going to be operating on the coffee table, right?) Well, maybe doctor role play, especially since the wall color matches the nurse outfit so well *SCNR*
Altai schrieb:
A lot of people I know, from my generation, have these bare windows and want them that way. I usually don’t like it. I actually like windows with a fixed lower section: then nothing gets in the way when opening, and you can still put something on the windowsill.
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What I can also well imagine as an alternative to a sofa is the Love Chair Avalanche from Cor – basically a very wide armchair, here with the option to raise the backrest (then you can really lounge in it) or fold it forward. These chairs are phenomenally comfortable to sit in. I don’t know if we would have bought our sofa if I had discovered them earlier. Either you take several of these wide armchairs or a two-seater (also from the Avalanche series, which is generously sized) plus one or two armchairs. They are very delicate and easy to move, giving you flexibility in arranging the living room. If you want to watch TV, you simply turn them towards the TV, otherwise you can place them in front of the fireplace.
We also had a corner sofa, but it is always very bulky and fills up a room a lot. Since you feel a bit “trapped” there right now, I would avoid such a corner sofa and choose a lighter, more airy option.
We also had a corner sofa, but it is always very bulky and fills up a room a lot. Since you feel a bit “trapped” there right now, I would avoid such a corner sofa and choose a lighter, more airy option.
Climbee schrieb:
What I can also well imagine as an alternative to a sofa is the Love Chair Avalanche from Cor – basically a very wide armchair, here with the option to raise the backrest (so you can really lounge in it) or fold it forward. These chairs are phenomenally comfortable to sit in. I don’t know if we would have bought our sofa if I had discovered these beforehand. Then either get several of these wide armchairs or a two-seater (also from the Avalanche series, which is generously sized) plus one or two of the armchairs. They are very delicate-looking and easy to move, making the living room setup flexible. If you want to watch TV, you turn them towards the TV; otherwise, you can place them in front of the fireplace.
We also had a corner sofa, but it’s always quite bulky and takes up a lot of space. Since you feel a bit ‘trapped’ there, I would avoid such a corner sofa and choose a more ‘airy’ option.I just had a look, it seems pretty good. Also like the option to change direction easily, especially when the fireplace is on, etc.Yes, a corner sofa can indeed be quite bulky; I already find our current (non-corner) sofa quite heavy for the space. I definitely imagine something more delicate, which also stands on legs. Whether it will be a corner sofa, I still need to discuss.
Something along these lines or even more minimalist:
Climbee schrieb:
I have the feeling you’re lacking a bit of a knack for this. That’s no shame, but it’s where I would start.Climbee speaks my mind. The various small flower pots on the windowsill, table, coffee table, and the little bit of decoration all look quite plain and outdated. Of course, you want something new. But I also doubt that you have a knack for creating something really beautiful out of it. I would therefore suggest bringing in an interior designer or home stager to create a nice cohesive concept for you. Everything matching and in one color tone. That can really turn out great!
I would also place the sofa in the lower corner and put the TV under the window on a very low sideboard. The piano can go on the right wall. I’d rather use the space between the sliding door and window for an eye-catcher—such as a delicate bookshelf or a nicely decorated sideboard with a picture collage above it. From the sofa in the lower corner, you can still see the fireplace from the side. At the same time, you can enjoy the view through the sliding door and the window. Having the sofa in front of the window and facing the wall is, in my opinion, quite a bad idea—even if most architects suggest it just to accommodate the TV.
Placing a longer, narrow table across the room could be an option. And then guests wouldn’t be looking at the hallway but at the fireplace. And yes, floor-length curtains also turn small windows into a feature. A rug in the sofa area, nice lamps that provide a warm golden light, etc. Large indoor plants instead of small pots. So everything Climbee already mentioned.
What I am still wondering: especially in winter, you mostly sit in the living room in the dark. Having many dark areas (=windows) is not something nice. Don’t you feel uncomfortable in the evenings in your living-dining room? Because if that’s the case, it’s surely not due to the lack of windows but rather the cold, uninspired interior design.
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