ᐅ Floor Plan & House Positioning Single-Family Home with a Curved Layout
Created on: 6 Mar 2020 23:33
H
hausnrplus25
Hello dear forum members,
we have tried to prepare the questionnaire and the attachments carefully and thoroughly.
If there are still any open questions – please feel free to ask.
We appreciate your time in considering our building project and welcome constructive criticism, ideas, and suggestions =)
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 610m² (6565 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.3 (exceeding this is possible through fully greened roof surfaces)
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3m (10 ft) building boundary on west and east sides, detached building
Number of storeys: 1 full storey
Additional requirements: soundproofing (noise level category II)
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: classic detached house / somewhat country house style; preferably with a third gable; timber frame construction; gable roof
Basement, storeys: no basement; 1.5 storeys (currently ground floor approx. 95m² (1023 sq ft) + utility room); current knee wall height 1.00m (3 ft 3 in) → would like to increase to 1.10–1.15m (3 ft 7 in – 3 ft 9 in) actual height
Number and age of inhabitants: currently 2 adults, 0 children; planning for 1–2 children
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: cloakroom, utility room (also a “craft corner”), office (see below), kitchen (see below) with small pantry, guest WC with shower (size/possibility for a closet → should later be a children’s bathroom), living room and dining room (family focal point for meals and e.g. game nights with friends)
Upper floor: bedroom, walk-in closet (separate room), 2 children’s rooms (approximately equal size), bathroom with shower and bathtub and toilet behind sliding door, storage room with washer/dryer
Office: family use or home office?: desk, PC, files etc.
Number of overnight guests per year: very rare (1–2 times a year)
Open or closed architecture: rather closed, but without feeling cramped
Open kitchen, cooking island: closed kitchen → preferably short routes to dining room and terrace; preferably U- or G-shaped kitchen, or L-shaped with island
Number of dining seats: fixed 4 seats, extendable to 6–8 desired (also space for a larger table for occasional special gatherings)
Fireplace: desired, but uncertain if space and budget will allow; if yes, then a classic fireplace on a wall, preferably not as a room divider
Garage, carport: double carport desired
Utility garden, greenhouse: classic low-maintenance family garden
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why something should or should not be: we want a closed staircase with a landing;
we prefer a slightly more complex layout, sometimes an angled wall, as it feels cozier (we don’t like everything square, open, and white);
we want a house for our future family with plenty of storage space and practicality; it should naturally look good inside and out, but it is primarily for use, not a design piece;
covered house entrance;
optimize plot area for house and garden, minimize front garden;
use cardinal directions/sun positions sensibly
House design
Who created the design: combination of DIY (room plan / partial room arrangement / staircase preference) and design by preferred house company (house exterior dimensions / staircase location / partial room arrangement)
What do you particularly like? Why?: rooms, orientation of rooms, staircase / use of stairwell
What do you not like? Why?: unsure about the route from kitchen to dining room/terrace; size of some rooms
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: €370,000 (approx. $400,000) including carport, turnkey (excluding extra costs for site work, exterior landscaping, plastering and flooring (tiles included))
Preferred heating system: currently air-to-water heat pump (monobloc with outdoor unit) with underfloor heating and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery; photovoltaics undecided
If you had to give up details / expansions:
- What could you live without? potentially an internal staircase
- What can you not give up? we would not be open to suggestions on this point and would not participate in the project otherwise; but basically the design mostly meets all our must-have wishes; bedroom access via a walk-in closet is not acceptable for us → so two separate accesses
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
House positioning? (allow only 0.5m (1 ft 8 in) space to neighbor to the north with utility room? House would be about 3.5m (11 ft 6 in) away, so office windows under carport? Or carport offset from house? Or angled placement but then cardinal directions regarding floor plan change? Any other ideas?)
Knee wall height?
Room sizes? → we feel everything is a little tight, or does it just look like that in drawings? We want a cozy, homely house without huge entrance or open gallery, but it should not feel cramped...
Price estimate?
PS: arrows indicate that plot boundaries are slightly angled, no slope; blue = building boundaries; all plans are oriented north
we have tried to prepare the questionnaire and the attachments carefully and thoroughly.
If there are still any open questions – please feel free to ask.
We appreciate your time in considering our building project and welcome constructive criticism, ideas, and suggestions =)
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 610m² (6565 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.3 (exceeding this is possible through fully greened roof surfaces)
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3m (10 ft) building boundary on west and east sides, detached building
Number of storeys: 1 full storey
Additional requirements: soundproofing (noise level category II)
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: classic detached house / somewhat country house style; preferably with a third gable; timber frame construction; gable roof
Basement, storeys: no basement; 1.5 storeys (currently ground floor approx. 95m² (1023 sq ft) + utility room); current knee wall height 1.00m (3 ft 3 in) → would like to increase to 1.10–1.15m (3 ft 7 in – 3 ft 9 in) actual height
Number and age of inhabitants: currently 2 adults, 0 children; planning for 1–2 children
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: cloakroom, utility room (also a “craft corner”), office (see below), kitchen (see below) with small pantry, guest WC with shower (size/possibility for a closet → should later be a children’s bathroom), living room and dining room (family focal point for meals and e.g. game nights with friends)
Upper floor: bedroom, walk-in closet (separate room), 2 children’s rooms (approximately equal size), bathroom with shower and bathtub and toilet behind sliding door, storage room with washer/dryer
Office: family use or home office?: desk, PC, files etc.
Number of overnight guests per year: very rare (1–2 times a year)
Open or closed architecture: rather closed, but without feeling cramped
Open kitchen, cooking island: closed kitchen → preferably short routes to dining room and terrace; preferably U- or G-shaped kitchen, or L-shaped with island
Number of dining seats: fixed 4 seats, extendable to 6–8 desired (also space for a larger table for occasional special gatherings)
Fireplace: desired, but uncertain if space and budget will allow; if yes, then a classic fireplace on a wall, preferably not as a room divider
Garage, carport: double carport desired
Utility garden, greenhouse: classic low-maintenance family garden
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why something should or should not be: we want a closed staircase with a landing;
we prefer a slightly more complex layout, sometimes an angled wall, as it feels cozier (we don’t like everything square, open, and white);
we want a house for our future family with plenty of storage space and practicality; it should naturally look good inside and out, but it is primarily for use, not a design piece;
covered house entrance;
optimize plot area for house and garden, minimize front garden;
use cardinal directions/sun positions sensibly
House design
Who created the design: combination of DIY (room plan / partial room arrangement / staircase preference) and design by preferred house company (house exterior dimensions / staircase location / partial room arrangement)
What do you particularly like? Why?: rooms, orientation of rooms, staircase / use of stairwell
What do you not like? Why?: unsure about the route from kitchen to dining room/terrace; size of some rooms
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: €370,000 (approx. $400,000) including carport, turnkey (excluding extra costs for site work, exterior landscaping, plastering and flooring (tiles included))
Preferred heating system: currently air-to-water heat pump (monobloc with outdoor unit) with underfloor heating and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery; photovoltaics undecided
If you had to give up details / expansions:
- What could you live without? potentially an internal staircase
- What can you not give up? we would not be open to suggestions on this point and would not participate in the project otherwise; but basically the design mostly meets all our must-have wishes; bedroom access via a walk-in closet is not acceptable for us → so two separate accesses
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
House positioning? (allow only 0.5m (1 ft 8 in) space to neighbor to the north with utility room? House would be about 3.5m (11 ft 6 in) away, so office windows under carport? Or carport offset from house? Or angled placement but then cardinal directions regarding floor plan change? Any other ideas?)
Knee wall height?
Room sizes? → we feel everything is a little tight, or does it just look like that in drawings? We want a cozy, homely house without huge entrance or open gallery, but it should not feel cramped...
Price estimate?
PS: arrows indicate that plot boundaries are slightly angled, no slope; blue = building boundaries; all plans are oriented north
hausnrplus257 Mar 2020 14:08ypg schrieb:
a design. Throw away your floor plan. A floor plan is not the same as a house design.
If you have already discarded so much yourselves and this is what results, you should leave it alone. The problem now is that you have already patterned your thinking too much. Your approaches will certainly always have a mistake, so nothing good will come of it.
You are overestimating yourselves, I think. Surely you have better skills Discarded a lot? Yes and no. We have simply thought a lot about which rooms we want and where in the house they make sense in relation to each other and to the cardinal directions. About how our daily life, our wishes, and our habits look, what we love about our current apartment, and what bothers us.
I often read recommendations here to just throw everything away... and every time I ask myself: why?
Thought experiment: I throw it away. Now what? How do I get to our dream home =)? Who will do the house design and the floor plan for me?
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Do you have an idea of the cost for creating multiple design drafts alone? Yes. And in 90% of all projects, every dollar spent on this is money well invested.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
After speaking by phone with the building authority, it is possible. I would be interested to hear the details of that conversation. I suspect a misunderstanding, as I cannot see any reason why this would be allowed.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Who will do the house design and floor plan for me? Someone who has learned this over many years. However, most people pursue a profession to earn a living, so reasonable solutions require appropriate investments.
hausnrplus257 Mar 2020 16:23Escroda schrieb:
Yes. And in 90% of all plans, every euro is well invested.Are we talking more about 2,000€ or 10,000€?
Escroda schrieb:
I would be interested in the details of this agreement. I suspect a misunderstanding, as I cannot see any reason for its approval.No living space, no fuel, no full building height.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Are we talking about 2,000€ or 10,000€?10,000€. Of course, it depends on the required scope of services. A reasonable minimum would be up to the building permit / planning permission stage (around 5,000€).hausnrplus25 schrieb:
No living space, no heating fuel, no full building height.Then you have a generous approval authority that considers the utility room as a separate building. Unusual, but beneficial for you.Why does the main entrance have to be in the middle?
The staircase can be located elsewhere.
Why does the bedroom have to be exactly in that spot?
When talking about children, you don’t refer to 5 or 6 years, but rather 15 years. To accommodate every stage of life, I suggested the large sliding door. Comparing a trend in floor plan design to a pure design trend is misleading.
Why is the house positioned exactly like that on the plot?
Those who manage to let go of fixed, suboptimal floor plans and start fresh will make more progress. I don’t believe anyone built a house that exactly matches the first sketch.
The staircase can be located elsewhere.
Why does the bedroom have to be exactly in that spot?
When talking about children, you don’t refer to 5 or 6 years, but rather 15 years. To accommodate every stage of life, I suggested the large sliding door. Comparing a trend in floor plan design to a pure design trend is misleading.
Why is the house positioned exactly like that on the plot?
Those who manage to let go of fixed, suboptimal floor plans and start fresh will make more progress. I don’t believe anyone built a house that exactly matches the first sketch.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
We want a house for our future family with plenty of storage space and practicality. Of course, it should also look nice inside and out, but it is meant for use, not as a design object.Take a standard house with a third gable of the BU model house type, and you have exactly what you want.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
We like the walking paths from the living area to the restroom, from the living area to the stairs, but also from the stairs to the restroom as well as the entrance and cloakroom.hausnrplus25 schrieb:
You have to pass through the entrance area to get to the office, but that doesn’t bother us.hausnrplus25 schrieb:
The front door should ideally open to the left.hausnrplus25 schrieb:
If my husband still finds time to play on the PC with the kids in the future, he’s happy to sit a bit off to the side ( ) and filing letters, documents, etc. is not something you do constantly.hausnrplus25 schrieb:
And from the mailbox to the hallway console table and into the office is actually also a nice short walking distance!I can’t follow you on any of those points.The only walking route that really matters is from the kitchen to the dining area and back. And in this floor plan, it’s really poor because it’s way too long. If you call your kids “Come eat” and you’re still grabbing something from the kitchen, they will be running you over in that area.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
We will measure again today at friends who also have their toilet under the sloping ceiling (and the husband is almost 2 meters tall, so whatever fits there is more than enough for us )A restroom is built according to DIN or standardized norms. Then a 2-meter (6 ft 7 in) tall person can also use the toilet.hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Whether there is a garage or a utility room next to their high fence has no relevance, right?! The house is far enough away.hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Restroom placed by the kitchen because of the plumbing connections.You’re planning the heart of the house away from the house with long pipe runs and worrying about a toilet waste pipe being near a kitchen water supply faucet?...hausnrplus25 schrieb:
We just have different priorities.Yes, the stairs… aren’t they a trend as well? Your trend?hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Do you think a different stair design (that would break our hearts) offers the ultimate solution?hausnrplus25 schrieb:
With the house facing the street and some smart landscaping on the southwest side, our garden won’t be very visible to anyone!The garden will be bordered by a hedge and thus landscaped, yes. So visibility from others will be quite limited, yes. Why worry about the house’s location regarding this point if the room layout for sun orientation has much higher priority?hausnrplus25 schrieb:
With the house on the north side, we only have a south garden. With an east-south garden, we hope to have a nice spot for various temperatures and sun conditions.No. You have a nice plot that offers you a garden in every direction.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
What do you think? Terrace only on the east side with better connection to dining room/kitchen, or east-south terrace for a more flexible response to sun and temperatures?A terrace should ideally be located next to the kitchen so that you can use it for meals. You can add more seating areas later wherever you like.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
That was really our idea already, but these are just extra costs that we could save if we find a good solution with DIY and the house company.I missed that you have a house builder. Why don’t you just take a model house from them? You want a captain’s gable or Frisian house... and that fits the plot orientation perfectly! For the angled orientation, I would rotate the house. There are several options. In any case, I would place the third gable so that it is visible when approaching the house. Most standard floor plans should fit quite well. Then you just have to look at where the building services (inside the house) should be located. Overall, I think you would have great garden possibilities, whether the carport is in the southeast corner or the northwest.
You’re overcomplicating your considerations by prioritizing every little thing that really doesn’t matter (office location; route to the restroom, etc.).
In your current plan, you’re using a narrow hallway that leads to a bottleneck. At the end, you face the stairs with only about one meter (3 ft 3 in) of visible width. Your dream of a half-landing staircase is not visible at all. That theme is completely missed. Your pantry is at the stair’s beginning, so it’s useless except for the cheese in the mouse hole. The utility room with the building services is way too far from the living areas—hard to get worse. The kitchen with its 14 m² (150 sq ft) is too small for a central table. The children’s rooms are not truly livable spaces because the roof slope takes up a significant amount of the already too narrow room. Two windows cannot even be installed due to the roof. You would need a soffit wall behind the bathtub... with your unnecessary walls, this leaves you with only about half the bathroom space.
Please show the builder’s draft of the house.
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