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.
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.
I would like to add the following:
I actually think the plan isn’t bad, but is it really what YOU want? Here are some points I would check:
1. The kitchen! Very important. The island seems a bit small to me. Please ask @kbt09 Kerstin whether this will work at all. The key concept here is the working triangle: countertop depth – practical island width – attractive window facing south.
2. The living areas all lose some space in favor of several small rooms. Nobody would mind having an extra room, but do you really need it? You still have a basement, including the option to add windows there. In the end, you might end up with many small rooms (an exaggeration) that you don’t actually need, instead of more space, for example, in the kitchen.
3. Why do you insist on separating the basement with a door? Because you are used to it from grandma’s house? That is sentimental nonsense. Your basement won’t be damp, musty, or cold to the point it needs to be hidden, because that’s not how houses are built today. If you actually plan to use the basement properly — which I assume you do — then it’s nice if the stairs don’t lead down into a dark and frightening corridor.
4. For me, the placement of the master bedroom facing south instead of the children’s rooms remains a problem. Considering all the options, this would be a dealbreaker for me.
I actually think the plan isn’t bad, but is it really what YOU want? Here are some points I would check:
1. The kitchen! Very important. The island seems a bit small to me. Please ask @kbt09 Kerstin whether this will work at all. The key concept here is the working triangle: countertop depth – practical island width – attractive window facing south.
2. The living areas all lose some space in favor of several small rooms. Nobody would mind having an extra room, but do you really need it? You still have a basement, including the option to add windows there. In the end, you might end up with many small rooms (an exaggeration) that you don’t actually need, instead of more space, for example, in the kitchen.
3. Why do you insist on separating the basement with a door? Because you are used to it from grandma’s house? That is sentimental nonsense. Your basement won’t be damp, musty, or cold to the point it needs to be hidden, because that’s not how houses are built today. If you actually plan to use the basement properly — which I assume you do — then it’s nice if the stairs don’t lead down into a dark and frightening corridor.
4. For me, the placement of the master bedroom facing south instead of the children’s rooms remains a problem. Considering all the options, this would be a dealbreaker for me.
Since we are also carefully considering the size of our kitchen:
If the kitchen is really 230 x 400 cm (90 x 157 inches), the island as drawn won’t work. Or should it be 330 cm (130 inches)?
Counter depth 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) + walkway 100-130 cm (39-51 inches) = 160-200 cm (63-79 inches) → there’s no space left for an island. I would plan at least 300 cm (118 inches), otherwise it won’t be enjoyable.
Edit: The width is also problematic. With 400 cm (157 inches), I would lean more towards a peninsula, otherwise the island will be really small.
If the kitchen is really 230 x 400 cm (90 x 157 inches), the island as drawn won’t work. Or should it be 330 cm (130 inches)?
Counter depth 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) + walkway 100-130 cm (39-51 inches) = 160-200 cm (63-79 inches) → there’s no space left for an island. I would plan at least 300 cm (118 inches), otherwise it won’t be enjoyable.
Edit: The width is also problematic. With 400 cm (157 inches), I would lean more towards a peninsula, otherwise the island will be really small.
At a width of 400cm (13 feet), an island is possible, leaving about 60cm (24 inches) for the wall unit and a 90cm (35 inches) plus 70cm (28 inches) passage, which totals 180cm (71 inches) … it really depends.
BUT … overall, 550cm (18 feet) depth for kitchen and dining is quite tight. Especially if the island is to be added, the island’s main advantage—being able to work on both sides or have storage space—gets lost. The dining table then ends up being too close.
And here is my main criticism … with an L-shaped layout, I would swap the living and kitchen areas and try to make use of the west side. I would also prefer the cloakroom closer to the entrance … again, windows/wardrobes won’t really work there.
Upstairs … I notice the windows are mainly placed for the external view. In both children’s rooms there is no good position for a wardrobe … or the wardrobe is always positioned in the direct path of incoming light from the window.
Also, the room doors are nicely centered on the wall (see dressing room), which makes it tight behind the door with the usual wardrobe placed there.
BUT … overall, 550cm (18 feet) depth for kitchen and dining is quite tight. Especially if the island is to be added, the island’s main advantage—being able to work on both sides or have storage space—gets lost. The dining table then ends up being too close.
And here is my main criticism … with an L-shaped layout, I would swap the living and kitchen areas and try to make use of the west side. I would also prefer the cloakroom closer to the entrance … again, windows/wardrobes won’t really work there.
Upstairs … I notice the windows are mainly placed for the external view. In both children’s rooms there is no good position for a wardrobe … or the wardrobe is always positioned in the direct path of incoming light from the window.
Also, the room doors are nicely centered on the wall (see dressing room), which makes it tight behind the door with the usual wardrobe placed there.
M
Matthew0324 Jan 2020 10:30I would swap the toilet and the cloakroom; every meter less with dirty shoes inside the house is a meter gained.
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