Dear forum members,
We bought a plot of land last autumn and are currently deep into the floor plan design. We would like to share our current draft with you and welcome any comments and opinions.
[F]irst some preliminary information about the plot and its buildability:[/F]
Best regards
We bought a plot of land last autumn and are currently deep into the floor plan design. We would like to share our current draft with you and welcome any comments and opinions.
[F]irst some preliminary information about the plot and its buildability:[/F]
- 1000 m² (10,764 sq ft) rear plot, southwest facing (so southwest is on the left side of the site plan)
- Building boundary up to approx. 16 m (52 ft) behind the property line (up to the dashed line on the site plan)
- No zoning plan (construction according to § 34 of the Building Code)
- Groundwater at surface level and peaty soil (exact geotechnical report pending), so piled foundation required and no basement
- Affordable! (Our maximum budget for the house including foundation slab is €230,000)
- Country house style
- Bright, large windows facing south/garden
- Open living/dining/kitchen area
- Family of four, 1 bedroom and 2 children’s rooms
- Not oversized, max 150 m² (1,615 sq ft), preferably less
- Solid construction using Ytong blocks (for us the most cost-effective option, although we would have liked to build with wood as well).
- Developed ourselves after studying various floor plans (including from the book "Affordable Building with a Small Budget" by Achim Linhardt) with support from architect friends and our planner (an independent civil engineer).
- Dimensions 12.50 x 7.50 m (41 x 25 ft) (the measurements shown on the site plan are from an earlier draft).
- What we like: open living area, all main rooms have large windows facing the garden, efficient size, although the children’s and bedroom could be smaller, sewing/work nook behind the stairs upstairs, plenty of wall space for large wardrobes in the upstairs bedroom and hallway on the ground floor, light shaft in the stairwell, staircase (we originally wanted a straight run staircase but it would have taken too much space; the one with three quarter turns is also fine with us).
- What we don’t like 100% yet: the height of the house from the outside. It is currently planned as a two-story house with an eaves height of 6.2 m (20 ft), with the ground floor 2.84 m (9 ft 4 in) high and the upper floor 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in) high. The gable roof will be an uninsulated, unfinished cold roof, mainly because of the economical prefabricated truss construction method. This is a bit disappointing because I really like sloped ceilings and did not want the character of a townhouse. Lowering the roof with a knee wall of about 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) and an insulated roof with open sloped ceilings would probably be more expensive due to the rafter/beam construction. We would also lose the garden view through the floor-to-ceiling bedroom windows.
- Simple: What do you think about the floor plan?
- Can you still imagine the relatively tall two-story house having a country house character? Maybe it depends on the facade design and choice of materials? Do you think it looks too “blocky,” especially from the front entrance side? Or would a lower eaves height with an attic conversion including a knee wall be preferable?
- We are still unsure how to arrange the windows on the garden side. The drawing with the elevations shows two possible versions. We actually prefer it when the upper floor window is centered over the lower window front. However, this does not align the interior line of sight from the entrance door to the garden/patio door (see ground floor plan). This represents version two; for version one, the window front would have to be shifted about one window width to the right, so that the patio door is behind the dining table. With the window front shifted left, the interior looks better to us, but from the outside it looks strange if it is offset from the upper floor window, right? What do you think?
Best regards
I would be concerned about the proximity of the utility room to the living area in the floor plan. When the washing machine or dryer is running, you can constantly hear the noise while sitting on the couch. The open study area is also not ideal; if there is a computer and printer there, and maybe paperwork or an open package on the desk, it could look untidy. Additionally, someone might want to spend time on the computer in the evening while another person wants to watch TV, which can lead to disturbing each other. My children often prepared presentations and printed materials on the computer in the study, and being right next door made it difficult to have quiet. How is the staircase planned in this layout—is there an open space under the stairs visible from the study?
Upstairs, there is very little storage space. We have a large closet in the hallway upstairs for the vacuum cleaner and other cleaning supplies/bathroom items for the upper floor. As the children grow older, they will have twice as many beauty products for the bathroom, and all of those items need to be stored somewhere as well.
Best regards,
Sabine
Upstairs, there is very little storage space. We have a large closet in the hallway upstairs for the vacuum cleaner and other cleaning supplies/bathroom items for the upper floor. As the children grow older, they will have twice as many beauty products for the bathroom, and all of those items need to be stored somewhere as well.
Best regards,
Sabine
The spacious hallway on the upper floor feels open, bright, and welcoming. I agree with the original poster on that. However, Kaho’s concerns are valid. The ground floor is open plan—which I also like and we have as well. But with three people, you definitely need places to retreat to; with four, even more so.
Where is the homeowner supposed to go when the women’s coffee chat is happening on the ground floor? Where can someone make a phone call in peace while the family is playing a game at the dining table?
We now have a second room with a TV, sofa, and play area. You don’t always want to just collapse on the bed. Wouldn’t an extra 3 square meters (about 32 square feet) in the master bedroom area be good for creating a seating spot or rolling out a yoga mat?
Where is the homeowner supposed to go when the women’s coffee chat is happening on the ground floor? Where can someone make a phone call in peace while the family is playing a game at the dining table?
We now have a second room with a TV, sofa, and play area. You don’t always want to just collapse on the bed. Wouldn’t an extra 3 square meters (about 32 square feet) in the master bedroom area be good for creating a seating spot or rolling out a yoga mat?
ypg schrieb:
@chrisw81
Perhaps you should also mention fairly that although your open-plan room is larger, it now feels too cramped to you. Your piano hardly has any space, and many things bother you, which you attribute to the lack of space, for example around the dining area.@ypgOur open-plan room is at most slightly larger (about 1 m² (10.8 sq ft) or so). I am only talking about the living/dining area here.
It only feels cramped to me because of the piano. I don’t see that with the OP. I’m also missing the measurements to say more precisely (how big is the window, etc., how wide/deep is the room exactly?).
And yes, my advice would be to think carefully and draw exactly to scale how the table will be placed and whether the walkways around it (i.e., the exit to the terrace, space between wall/sofa/kitchen) will work, especially when someone is seated at the table (and not always right next to it). We have a sliding door (width 2.6 m (8.5 ft)) by our dining table and later realized that it’s not so easy to position the table so you can comfortably use the sliding door. This wasn’t so clear from the floor plan beforehand. So always draw exactly to scale, maybe also try it out in your current home if possible.
@ypg
P.S. We are now seriously considering removing the piano to create a more open area. We also don’t like that everything stands along the wall, especially noticeable with the piano.
First of all: I find 12 sqm (130 sq ft) quite acceptable if the space fits the house. It would only be problematic if the house is over 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft) and the children are relatively lacking space.
I do hope the original poster can manage with the money and the energy efficiency (EL). But you don’t need to sugarcoat Pinterest-style fancy corners here, especially since when the living space is actually used, due to lack of planning it often looks very different than in glossy photos. Being economical is also largely about planning. Ignoring the issue, even if you are doing so at the moment, is not a good approach.
Which brings us back to the start of the whole discussion...
Phew, you are so right!
We have a gallery that could actually be cozy, with the roof and a west-facing window... but we certainly don’t spend time there. It’s just a passage area. My husband set up his home office there a year ago, but he looked very lost… to be honest, I didn’t like walking behind him there either… so we rearranged our office on the ground floor so that both of us have a place there.
It’s a pity: the gallery has space... but it’s being used... and here comes the catch: for the vacuum cleaner, my gym bag, a plant, sometimes the laundry to iron, and often the junk that should go downstairs or upstairs but ends up stored there because we don’t know where else to put it (e.g., manuals, discarded items, etc.). There’s even a piece of furniture that is no longer good for anything standing there.
At the moment, I do my morning workout there when the house is otherwise empty. But I’m not going to do planks or sun salutations when people are crossing through. That’s just not possible!
That’s honestly refreshing to hear.
Our concerns don’t just come from whimsy; they’re all based on experience!
@chrisw81, how old are your children again??????
And just because you don’t know what emergency water is for @la.schnute, that doesn’t mean the list isn’t relevant to you.
Nordlys schrieb:
And there is nothing to criticize there. Economical is economical.-- Just be brave. Keep it up. Don’t be discouraged. K.
I do hope the original poster can manage with the money and the energy efficiency (EL). But you don’t need to sugarcoat Pinterest-style fancy corners here, especially since when the living space is actually used, due to lack of planning it often looks very different than in glossy photos. Being economical is also largely about planning. Ignoring the issue, even if you are doing so at the moment, is not a good approach.
Curly schrieb:
The open office area isn’t great either. If a computer and printer are there, and maybe paperwork or an opened package on the desk, it might look untidy.
haydee schrieb:
But Kaho’s concerns are valid. The ground floor is open – I like that too, we have the same. However, with three people you really need places to retreat to – with four even more so.
Which brings us back to the start of the whole discussion...
kaho674 schrieb:
I don’t want to overemphasize the hallway discussion. For me, it’s mainly about looking at the original poster’s rather romantically idealized view of this hallway corner more realistically and evaluating it.
kaho674 schrieb:
It is never, nowhere, never ever used as a reading corner or any other “comfortable” nook, nor is it requested or even considered. The use is limited to coat storage, a place for storage, bookcases (without inviting anyone to sit there), a place to grow plants, or simply just a hallway.
Phew, you are so right!
We have a gallery that could actually be cozy, with the roof and a west-facing window... but we certainly don’t spend time there. It’s just a passage area. My husband set up his home office there a year ago, but he looked very lost… to be honest, I didn’t like walking behind him there either… so we rearranged our office on the ground floor so that both of us have a place there.
It’s a pity: the gallery has space... but it’s being used... and here comes the catch: for the vacuum cleaner, my gym bag, a plant, sometimes the laundry to iron, and often the junk that should go downstairs or upstairs but ends up stored there because we don’t know where else to put it (e.g., manuals, discarded items, etc.). There’s even a piece of furniture that is no longer good for anything standing there.
At the moment, I do my morning workout there when the house is otherwise empty. But I’m not going to do planks or sun salutations when people are crossing through. That’s just not possible!
chrisw81 schrieb:
P.S. We are seriously considering removing the piano to create a more open area. We don’t like that everything is pushed against the walls, especially noticeable with the piano.
That’s honestly refreshing to hear.
Our concerns don’t just come from whimsy; they’re all based on experience!
@chrisw81, how old are your children again??????
And just because you don’t know what emergency water is for @la.schnute, that doesn’t mean the list isn’t relevant to you.
ypg schrieb:
That’s quite honest.
Our concerns don’t just come out of nowhere; they’re all based on experience!
@chrisw81 how old are your children again?????? Yes, you have to be that honest sometimes. Of course, you can’t know everything in advance, can’t imagine everything, and sometimes needs change.
@ypg We don’t have any yet, maybe sometime in the future. The rooms are definitely already there though.
Yet, I cannot take these experiences, which run through all your floor plan critiques, seriously. Because anyone who wants to avoid everything needs a soundproof palace:
Frequently mentioned: where should the coats go? Well, an extra wardrobe is great but takes up expensive square meters. Those who want to save space, like us, have 5 hooks on the wall. That’s all. Nothing more. And if that’s not enough, we put coats on the guest sofa or in the utility room. We often have visitors, and it’s still usually enough.
Another classic: you alternately hear “the dryer,” “the child,” “the flushing”... Yes, that’s true. People hear each other. In the living room, I hear the dishwasher in the evening. So what... Silent Night is a lovely song on December 24th, but for many, it is not a life goal.
Often criticized: lack of zoning—walking paths—you see each other, it bothers you. Yes, exactly, it is right that parents notice who comes to visit and how many. And it’s true that teenagers would like to do as they please, but it is the adults’ responsibility to set boundaries, even if it hurts. Otherwise, you simply see each other when you live together. Building everyone their own retreat—that’s more like a mansion street, but some build a bathroom street.
And to the original poster: with your budget, you will definitely have to cut back again, no question. But that has to sink in naturally in your head and heart once the prices are on the table. And yes, there is still something to be done... the floor-to-ceiling windows with a railing at the bottom, less open at the bottom, are structurally simpler and cheaper... we’ll see. K.
Frequently mentioned: where should the coats go? Well, an extra wardrobe is great but takes up expensive square meters. Those who want to save space, like us, have 5 hooks on the wall. That’s all. Nothing more. And if that’s not enough, we put coats on the guest sofa or in the utility room. We often have visitors, and it’s still usually enough.
Another classic: you alternately hear “the dryer,” “the child,” “the flushing”... Yes, that’s true. People hear each other. In the living room, I hear the dishwasher in the evening. So what... Silent Night is a lovely song on December 24th, but for many, it is not a life goal.
Often criticized: lack of zoning—walking paths—you see each other, it bothers you. Yes, exactly, it is right that parents notice who comes to visit and how many. And it’s true that teenagers would like to do as they please, but it is the adults’ responsibility to set boundaries, even if it hurts. Otherwise, you simply see each other when you live together. Building everyone their own retreat—that’s more like a mansion street, but some build a bathroom street.
And to the original poster: with your budget, you will definitely have to cut back again, no question. But that has to sink in naturally in your head and heart once the prices are on the table. And yes, there is still something to be done... the floor-to-ceiling windows with a railing at the bottom, less open at the bottom, are structurally simpler and cheaper... we’ll see. K.
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