ᐅ Single-family house, 175 sqm without a basement—too large?

Created on: 15 Apr 2020 10:02
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Drasleona
Hello everyone
I would also like to hear your opinion on our current design.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 507 sqm (5455 sq ft)
Slope: yes, about 4 m (13 ft) difference in height over a length of 30 m (98 ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge building: allowed for garage/carport
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: max. 2 full stories
Roof type: anything except flat roof
Style: any
Orientation: any
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height max. 12 m (39 ft), wall height max. 10 m (33 ft)

Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full stories (knee wall 1.86 m (6 ft))
Number of occupants, age: 3 people, 1 teenager, 2 adults
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: approx. 175 sqm (1880 sq ft)
Office: home office
Guest bedrooms per year: rarely 2 guests
Open or closed architecture: rather open, airy, including open kitchen
Balcony, roof terrace: no to both
Garage, carport: double carport planned later

House Design
Who designed it: put together myself
What do you like most? Why?
- Direct access from the bedroom through the dressing room to the bathroom
- Cloakroom niche keeps dirty shoes outside the main passage area
- Floor-to-ceiling windows for lots of light
- Straight staircase, looks modern, easier to walk on than a spiral one and better for accessibility later (stairlift)
- Very spacious living/dining/kitchen area (though perhaps too large?)
- Pantry with everything easily accessible on open shelves
What do you dislike? Why?
- Huge waste of space in the hallways

Why did the design turn out this way?
I saw a similar layout in a townhouse that I really liked at first glance. We want a generous living feel with large window areas.
Since we are planning without a basement, an extra room upstairs was created for storage, guest room, and workshop space.
Important: the bathroom layout is not really planned yet. I have inserted my first idea there but I know it is still far from a “good idea.” For now, the focus is on the basic room layout. The windows are currently more of an idea than fully thought through.

What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
- Do you see a way to reduce hallway space despite having a straight staircase?
- What is your overall impression of the design?

Floor plan of an apartment with several rooms, doors, stairs and measurement details in meters.


Floor plan of a house with several rooms, doors, stairs and area details in sqm.


Top-down floor plan: open living/dining area with kitchen, dining table, corner sofa, stairs; several rooms.


Floor plan of an apartment with bedroom, office, living room, kitchen, bathroom and stairs.
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Drasleona
11 May 2020 09:45
How much would it help to have all the doors on the upper floor equipped with transom windows? Would this really increase the amount of light, or is it more of a decorative feature?
RomeoZwo11 May 2020 10:24
Drasleona schrieb:

How much difference would it make if all the doors upstairs had transom windows? Does it really increase the amount of light, or is it more of a decorative feature?
My parents have this setup. Hallways without windows do actually gain some light this way, although I found frosted glass doors to be more effective. BUT – when daylight shines through the transom windows into the hallway during the day, at night light from the hallway also spills back into the rooms. I found it very disturbing that whenever someone was in the hallway, it would get bright in my room.
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Drasleona
11 May 2020 10:26
Damn, I didn’t think of that.
Ah, that’s really a dilemma. In the last design, everything would fit except for the hallway.
kaho67411 May 2020 10:28
Skylights are another option. However, they can sometimes become expensive.
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Drasleona
11 May 2020 10:30
Yes, I have thought about that as well but dismissed it for the same reason...

An alternative: extend the stairwell opening all the way to the exterior wall and install a window there. In my mind, though, that looks quite odd and the light would have to travel a very long way...
RomeoZwo11 May 2020 10:46
It depends on how the rooms will be used. The small room upstairs is intended as an office, not a children's room, right?
Then make the doors for the bathroom and the office frosted glass doors (these are also available in modern designs). There are windows directly opposite the doors, so light should pass through.