ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization for Single-Family Home, 5 Occupants, 8.5m x 17m, 250 sqm
Created on: 18 May 2020 14:12
C
chrisse
Hello everyone,
I have been following this forum for a few weeks now and have picked up some ideas, and with your help, I believe I have already improved a few things.
So I think it’s time to share the floor plan we have developed so far for discussion. On the one hand, you tend to become somewhat “blind” to your own design over time, and on the other hand, I’ve seen many members here have a lot of experience.
Please excuse the not-so-optimal appearance of the plans. I overlaid the furniture on the floor plans using tracing paper. I didn’t find a suitable software solution that would allow me to import the architect’s plans. I eventually gave up and did it by hand.
I look forward to your suggestions, including criticism and ideas. We are still in a phase where many adjustments and optimizations are possible.
Thanks in advance to everyone.
Chrisse
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: >1,000 sqm (10,764 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Gross floor area ratio (GFA):
Building envelope / building line and boundary: The building envelope depth from north to south has already been fully utilized in the design.
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 4
Number of storeys: 2
Roof shape: permitted are tent roof, gable roof, and hipped roof
Architectural style:
Orientation: All plans are precisely aligned to north. The entrance is therefore on the north side.
Maximum heights / limits: maximum wall height: 5.60 m (measured from the bottom edge of the rafters)
Other requirements
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: 2 full storeys plus basement
Number of occupants, ages: 5 persons (38, 37, 4, 2, 0)
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF):
On the GF: office for occasional home office use, guest toilet with shower, pantry, utility/laundry room (also serves as a buffer between garage and kitchen), kitchen with dining area, living room
On the UF: 3 fairly equal-sized children’s bedrooms. Separate children’s bathroom. Parents’ area accessed through a walk-in closet, which also serves as a hallway to parents’ bathroom and bedroom to minimize disturbance if someone is already sleeping.
In the basement: utility/technical room, root cellar, guest room with toilet, storage room, hobby room, workshop
Office: used for home office and meetings (volunteering, clubs, etc.)
Guests per year expected to stay overnight: 5
Open or closed architecture: kitchen and dining area are open, with the living room adjacent but somewhat separable
Conservative or modern construction style: modern country house style
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, open plan with space for casual breakfast at the kitchen island
Number of dining seats: daily 5, expandable to 10
Fireplace: would be nice as a room divider to the living area
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony on west side on upper floor in front of children’s rooms
Garage, carport: double garage, 8.50 m (28 feet) long to accommodate bicycles etc.
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Designer:
Friend architect (with a lot of our input)
What do you like most?
Few living rooms facing north/street/neighbor, which provides good screening; south side quite open as there are no neighbors; nice view of the forest to the east.
What do you dislike?
Kitchen and dining area up to the fireplace feel a bit narrow compared to the length. This is partly due to the limited width of the building envelope combined with the desired double garage and the fact that the property consists of two plots. The eastern plot is restricted to a maximum floor area of 110 sqm (1,184 sq ft). Thus, even with a narrower garage, we can’t build much wider. This is not a big problem but requires some consideration about the sensible layout of kitchen/dining/living areas.
The living room is intentionally relatively small since we only want private seating and a TV here for a cozy atmosphere. On the other side of the fireplace, we plan a small seating area for guests.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 650,000
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: -
Preferred heating system: traditional (gas boiler with photovoltaic), underfloor heating
If you had to give up certain features or expansions
- What can you live without:
A few square meters (sqm) in the western children’s rooms and in the parents’ bathroom
- What can you not live without:
Generous utility room with “mud shower” (for children’s clothes, shoes, etc.)
Spacious entrance area (nothing worse than guests bumping into each other while taking off coats)
Why is the design as it is? For example:
We created a kind of checklist for the rooms we need and their approximate sizes. Also included were wishes such as a guest WC with shower, utility room between garage and kitchen, walk-in closet in the parents’ area, etc.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
In principle, almost all requirements were implemented as requested, or we optimized them extensively with the architect until we reached this result.
We also visited numerous model home parks and looked at many floor plans in books and online for inspiration.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
GOOD: The orientation is optimal in our opinion. Few living rooms facing north, very open to the south (which poses no problem as there are no direct neighbors). Morning sun in the bedroom to the east; west-facing children’s rooms with a nice view over the town/building area.
BAD: Kitchen/dining/living area is somewhat narrow relative to its length. Therefore, furniture arrangement and use are not yet ideal.
Integration of the stove as a room divider between dining area and living room is not quite right for us yet. We want a small seating group between dining area and living room that we can use together with guests.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- Do you see weaknesses that we might have missed or that you find suboptimal (e.g., too narrow, too wide, too big or too small)?
- Do you have ideas regarding the sensible layout/use of the kitchen and dining area?
- Otherwise, we welcome all comments, tips, and ideas and are very grateful.
I have been following this forum for a few weeks now and have picked up some ideas, and with your help, I believe I have already improved a few things.
So I think it’s time to share the floor plan we have developed so far for discussion. On the one hand, you tend to become somewhat “blind” to your own design over time, and on the other hand, I’ve seen many members here have a lot of experience.
Please excuse the not-so-optimal appearance of the plans. I overlaid the furniture on the floor plans using tracing paper. I didn’t find a suitable software solution that would allow me to import the architect’s plans. I eventually gave up and did it by hand.
I look forward to your suggestions, including criticism and ideas. We are still in a phase where many adjustments and optimizations are possible.
Thanks in advance to everyone.
Chrisse
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: >1,000 sqm (10,764 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Gross floor area ratio (GFA):
Building envelope / building line and boundary: The building envelope depth from north to south has already been fully utilized in the design.
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 4
Number of storeys: 2
Roof shape: permitted are tent roof, gable roof, and hipped roof
Architectural style:
Orientation: All plans are precisely aligned to north. The entrance is therefore on the north side.
Maximum heights / limits: maximum wall height: 5.60 m (measured from the bottom edge of the rafters)
Other requirements
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: 2 full storeys plus basement
Number of occupants, ages: 5 persons (38, 37, 4, 2, 0)
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF):
On the GF: office for occasional home office use, guest toilet with shower, pantry, utility/laundry room (also serves as a buffer between garage and kitchen), kitchen with dining area, living room
On the UF: 3 fairly equal-sized children’s bedrooms. Separate children’s bathroom. Parents’ area accessed through a walk-in closet, which also serves as a hallway to parents’ bathroom and bedroom to minimize disturbance if someone is already sleeping.
In the basement: utility/technical room, root cellar, guest room with toilet, storage room, hobby room, workshop
Office: used for home office and meetings (volunteering, clubs, etc.)
Guests per year expected to stay overnight: 5
Open or closed architecture: kitchen and dining area are open, with the living room adjacent but somewhat separable
Conservative or modern construction style: modern country house style
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, open plan with space for casual breakfast at the kitchen island
Number of dining seats: daily 5, expandable to 10
Fireplace: would be nice as a room divider to the living area
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony on west side on upper floor in front of children’s rooms
Garage, carport: double garage, 8.50 m (28 feet) long to accommodate bicycles etc.
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Designer:
Friend architect (with a lot of our input)
What do you like most?
Few living rooms facing north/street/neighbor, which provides good screening; south side quite open as there are no neighbors; nice view of the forest to the east.
What do you dislike?
Kitchen and dining area up to the fireplace feel a bit narrow compared to the length. This is partly due to the limited width of the building envelope combined with the desired double garage and the fact that the property consists of two plots. The eastern plot is restricted to a maximum floor area of 110 sqm (1,184 sq ft). Thus, even with a narrower garage, we can’t build much wider. This is not a big problem but requires some consideration about the sensible layout of kitchen/dining/living areas.
The living room is intentionally relatively small since we only want private seating and a TV here for a cozy atmosphere. On the other side of the fireplace, we plan a small seating area for guests.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 650,000
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: -
Preferred heating system: traditional (gas boiler with photovoltaic), underfloor heating
If you had to give up certain features or expansions
- What can you live without:
A few square meters (sqm) in the western children’s rooms and in the parents’ bathroom
- What can you not live without:
Generous utility room with “mud shower” (for children’s clothes, shoes, etc.)
Spacious entrance area (nothing worse than guests bumping into each other while taking off coats)
Why is the design as it is? For example:
We created a kind of checklist for the rooms we need and their approximate sizes. Also included were wishes such as a guest WC with shower, utility room between garage and kitchen, walk-in closet in the parents’ area, etc.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
In principle, almost all requirements were implemented as requested, or we optimized them extensively with the architect until we reached this result.
We also visited numerous model home parks and looked at many floor plans in books and online for inspiration.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
GOOD: The orientation is optimal in our opinion. Few living rooms facing north, very open to the south (which poses no problem as there are no direct neighbors). Morning sun in the bedroom to the east; west-facing children’s rooms with a nice view over the town/building area.
BAD: Kitchen/dining/living area is somewhat narrow relative to its length. Therefore, furniture arrangement and use are not yet ideal.
Integration of the stove as a room divider between dining area and living room is not quite right for us yet. We want a small seating group between dining area and living room that we can use together with guests.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- Do you see weaknesses that we might have missed or that you find suboptimal (e.g., too narrow, too wide, too big or too small)?
- Do you have ideas regarding the sensible layout/use of the kitchen and dining area?
- Otherwise, we welcome all comments, tips, and ideas and are very grateful.
I just noticed while looking at the exterior view that there is a balcony planned on the upper floor. What is it intended for? I don’t think children would really use it.
I find it unfortunate that the children’s rooms are not evenly designed: two have a balcony and windows on two sides, while the third is located between the bathrooms with only one window, and that one faces north.
I find it unfortunate that the children’s rooms are not evenly designed: two have a balcony and windows on two sides, while the third is located between the bathrooms with only one window, and that one faces north.
11ant schrieb:
How practical is it to realize a development that crosses multiple plot boundary lines? With a few explanatory notes and a clear separate calculation, it is definitely doable.
chrisse schrieb:
without moving the building further to the west. What would be so bad about that?
chrisse schrieb:
That’s the problem we have, and I guess we have to bite the bullet on one of those two options. I don’t understand the problem, and with two building plots totaling 1400m² (15,070 sq ft), having to bite the bullet is hard to follow. With your current plan, you’re exceeding the building limit, and considering the generous space available and numerous alternatives, I consider a dispensation out of the question.
The building envelope is 12m (39 feet) deep, which is large enough for your house and even leaves room for expansion. The only thing ruining that is the double garage. Why do you need that space on the west side?
This way, the house could even be one meter wider:
Attaching the garage to the house restricts many options. If this is an absolute “must-have,” then I believe the entire planning approach is wrong.
The chimney doesn't extend up to the upper floor yet, so it really seems like a recent "spur-of-the-moment" idea in the sense of: Oh, that would be nice to have too! Right?
In that case, I would leave it out. You have the seating area at the kitchen island, the dining table, the living room... I’m not sure if the space around the chimney would actually be used.
I also think having 5 showers in the house is excessive, especially with another one planned in the basement, so I removed the one in the guest bathroom.
Therefore, my suggestion would go in this direction (without considering any measurements, such as whether the stairwell opening is big enough for the landing, or if children's room 3 would then be the same size, etc.):
Although I just noticed that the upper floor plan creates a lot of hallway space...
In that case, I would leave it out. You have the seating area at the kitchen island, the dining table, the living room... I’m not sure if the space around the chimney would actually be used.
I also think having 5 showers in the house is excessive, especially with another one planned in the basement, so I removed the one in the guest bathroom.
Therefore, my suggestion would go in this direction (without considering any measurements, such as whether the stairwell opening is big enough for the landing, or if children's room 3 would then be the same size, etc.):
Although I just noticed that the upper floor plan creates a lot of hallway space...
chrisse schrieb:
Regarding the entrance hall (as described above), we have to weigh the two options (family cloakroom in the utility room or in the entrance hall) and adjust the respective area to be larger or smaller accordingly. Shoes don’t multiply by themselves, nor do they teleport from place A to place B.
If you think, “we are different and want to do it this way,” then you need to plan for it accordingly. An architect can turn such ideas into reality.
chrisse schrieb:
Architect friend (with significant input from us) Did he study architecture?
chrisse schrieb:
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 650k I’m skeptical of that price. It’s probably higher.
A
Alessandro19 May 2020 11:44And then they won’t be able to fall down the stairs or out of the window?
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