ᐅ Floor Plan for a 200 sqm Urban Villa – Are Our Requirements Feasible?
Created on: 13 Jul 2020 14:14
E
ECE-2021
Hello everyone,
I’m a bit overwhelmed with our floor plan and keep running into the same problems...
The main issue is probably how to integrate a straight staircase from the ground floor to the upper floor, and how we would have to modify or extend the hallway to fit such a staircase without "breaking up" the other rooms.
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1005 m² (0.25 acres)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: according to neighboring developments
Floor area ratio: according to neighboring developments
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: according to neighboring developments
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: double / large garage planned
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: urban villa
Orientation: street facing northeast, plot extends sideways toward west-northwest, garden planned all around southwest / west-northwest
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors: basement + ground floor + upper floor
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults + young child (3)
Office: home office?
Closed architecture
Closed kitchen, kitchen island
Fireplace
Balcony
Garage
House design
Who designed the plan:
- Option 1: planner from a construction company (not yet an architect)
- Option 2: do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
Overall, the floor plan is good and was implemented largely according to our ideas.
What do you dislike? Why?
We would prefer a straight staircase. According to a staircase calculator tool, it would require a length of 3.70 m (12 ft).
From research, this might be rather uncomfortable and therefore unrealistic.
We would be willing to extend the hallway for the straight staircase if necessary.
Symmetry, especially in the front view of the house, is very important to us, so we want to keep the type of front door as is.
The awkward corner in the upper hallway is not very appealing (bedroom / office).
Furthermore, the hallway window was initially placed in the child’s bedroom, but that will be changed so there is natural light in the upper floor hallway.
I’m also wondering if the chimney flue on the upper floor can still be routed freely, possibly offset within the ceiling/floor. Or does it have to go straight up from the ground floor fireplace? Because then it would end up right in the middle of the upper floor hallway.
If you have to give up something, which details or fittings could you do without?
- Could you compromise on: I’m open to suggestions for now
- Cannot compromise on: ideally the straight staircase
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
See differences between our design and the construction company’s plan
- straight staircase instead of quarter-turn
- kitchen recessed
- window in the hallway instead of in the child’s room
- ideally no hallway obstruction on the upper floor
I’m a bit overwhelmed with our floor plan and keep running into the same problems...
The main issue is probably how to integrate a straight staircase from the ground floor to the upper floor, and how we would have to modify or extend the hallway to fit such a staircase without "breaking up" the other rooms.
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1005 m² (0.25 acres)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: according to neighboring developments
Floor area ratio: according to neighboring developments
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: according to neighboring developments
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: double / large garage planned
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Style: urban villa
Orientation: street facing northeast, plot extends sideways toward west-northwest, garden planned all around southwest / west-northwest
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors: basement + ground floor + upper floor
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults + young child (3)
Office: home office?
Closed architecture
Closed kitchen, kitchen island
Fireplace
Balcony
Garage
House design
Who designed the plan:
- Option 1: planner from a construction company (not yet an architect)
- Option 2: do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
Overall, the floor plan is good and was implemented largely according to our ideas.
What do you dislike? Why?
We would prefer a straight staircase. According to a staircase calculator tool, it would require a length of 3.70 m (12 ft).
From research, this might be rather uncomfortable and therefore unrealistic.
We would be willing to extend the hallway for the straight staircase if necessary.
Symmetry, especially in the front view of the house, is very important to us, so we want to keep the type of front door as is.
The awkward corner in the upper hallway is not very appealing (bedroom / office).
Furthermore, the hallway window was initially placed in the child’s bedroom, but that will be changed so there is natural light in the upper floor hallway.
I’m also wondering if the chimney flue on the upper floor can still be routed freely, possibly offset within the ceiling/floor. Or does it have to go straight up from the ground floor fireplace? Because then it would end up right in the middle of the upper floor hallway.
If you have to give up something, which details or fittings could you do without?
- Could you compromise on: I’m open to suggestions for now
- Cannot compromise on: ideally the straight staircase
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
See differences between our design and the construction company’s plan
- straight staircase instead of quarter-turn
- kitchen recessed
- window in the hallway instead of in the child’s room
- ideally no hallway obstruction on the upper floor
Alessandro schrieb:
With your current kitchen being 22sqm (236 sq ft), that is fine, but the planned one is very unbalanced, impractical, and 5sqm (54 sq ft) larger.
The designer’s draft with the table in the corner, which you can’t really use, doesn’t need to be pursued further. Yes, the table is indeed oddly placed there; a seating area is supposed to go there, but it’s just misrepresented – it does fit.
I will take another look at the kitchen’s ergonomics.
I believe the main issue is that our lot has a rather unusual orientation, as it is a corner plot with access along the longer street side.
If you plan a long hallway and don’t want the house to extend further back, everything behind the hallway automatically becomes narrower.
If the kitchen is located there and you want to place elements on both sides, it gets quite tight with one compact block.
There are also fewer floor plans for inspiration that feature a terrace on the side.
Basically, our design was originally planned along those lines, but with the terrace at the back, until we came across this plot.
By now, I understand that it doesn’t make much sense to design a house without the plot, but more or less the floor plan was adapted to the lot, and this is what came out of it.
We wanted to find a lot through a general contractor / main contractor, which usually involves planning without a specific plot.
In the end, however, we found the lot ourselves.
If you plan a long hallway and don’t want the house to extend further back, everything behind the hallway automatically becomes narrower.
If the kitchen is located there and you want to place elements on both sides, it gets quite tight with one compact block.
There are also fewer floor plans for inspiration that feature a terrace on the side.
Basically, our design was originally planned along those lines, but with the terrace at the back, until we came across this plot.
By now, I understand that it doesn’t make much sense to design a house without the plot, but more or less the floor plan was adapted to the lot, and this is what came out of it.
We wanted to find a lot through a general contractor / main contractor, which usually involves planning without a specific plot.
In the end, however, we found the lot ourselves.
You mentioned that you need a large dining area because all your family gatherings take place there. But especially in that case, I don’t understand the closed layout concept. Do you really want to work alone in the kitchen while the rest of the family enjoys themselves at the big table and in the living room?
For the same reasons, we have a large table for 12 people, even though it’s just the two of us. Our concept has worked well – we almost always have guests and we like that. But I really enjoy being able to keep working comfortably in the kitchen while still chatting with my guests. When something is ready, someone quickly gets it from the island. If I need a helping hand, it’s obvious or I can ask directly. I’m always right in the middle of the action while cooking.
That’s why I would reconsider an open floor plan. Especially with a child who is obviously becoming very mobile and curious about everything. Do you want to stand in the kitchen while your little one is playing in the living room out of your sight? And only run there when it gets suspiciously quiet or suddenly there is a loud cry, then find out what your little troublemaker has done? I don’t have kids, but that sounds too risky to me...
Just a thought to consider. If you still want to stick with the closed layout and effectively two dining areas next to each other, then go ahead. I just find it impractical.
Otherwise, a lot has already been said about the floor plan, which I agree with: it’s spacious but somehow doesn’t feel that way. The upper floor really looks like Tetris, and that’s never a good sign.
We also wanted a straight staircase because it looks great. But then we would have had to build 3m (10 feet) longer and have way too much space. Now we have a quarter-turn staircase – sure, not as cool as a straight one, but I can live with that. Wasted space is expensive. For us, it’s over €3,000 (USD) per square meter. The house is 9m (30 feet) wide, so you can imagine how much we saved just by having the staircase turn. Just something to think about...
There are designs where a straight staircase fits nicely, and that’s great. But I wouldn’t accept a puzzle-like room layout just to have a straight staircase. I’d rather have a clear room structure and the staircase just has to fit.
For the same reasons, we have a large table for 12 people, even though it’s just the two of us. Our concept has worked well – we almost always have guests and we like that. But I really enjoy being able to keep working comfortably in the kitchen while still chatting with my guests. When something is ready, someone quickly gets it from the island. If I need a helping hand, it’s obvious or I can ask directly. I’m always right in the middle of the action while cooking.
That’s why I would reconsider an open floor plan. Especially with a child who is obviously becoming very mobile and curious about everything. Do you want to stand in the kitchen while your little one is playing in the living room out of your sight? And only run there when it gets suspiciously quiet or suddenly there is a loud cry, then find out what your little troublemaker has done? I don’t have kids, but that sounds too risky to me...
Just a thought to consider. If you still want to stick with the closed layout and effectively two dining areas next to each other, then go ahead. I just find it impractical.
Otherwise, a lot has already been said about the floor plan, which I agree with: it’s spacious but somehow doesn’t feel that way. The upper floor really looks like Tetris, and that’s never a good sign.
We also wanted a straight staircase because it looks great. But then we would have had to build 3m (10 feet) longer and have way too much space. Now we have a quarter-turn staircase – sure, not as cool as a straight one, but I can live with that. Wasted space is expensive. For us, it’s over €3,000 (USD) per square meter. The house is 9m (30 feet) wide, so you can imagine how much we saved just by having the staircase turn. Just something to think about...
There are designs where a straight staircase fits nicely, and that’s great. But I wouldn’t accept a puzzle-like room layout just to have a straight staircase. I’d rather have a clear room structure and the staircase just has to fit.
A
Alessandro14 Jul 2020 08:31Just look at it this way:
With a straight staircase, when you reach the end, you have to turn either left or right anyway.
So you might as well choose a quarter-turn staircase.
With a straight staircase, when you reach the end, you have to turn either left or right anyway.
So you might as well choose a quarter-turn staircase.
Climbee schrieb:
You mentioned that you need a large dining area because all family celebrations take place at your home. That’s why I don’t quite understand the closed kitchen concept. Do you really want to work alone in the kitchen while the rest of the family enjoys themselves at the large table and in the living room?
For the same reasons, we have a large table for 12 people, even though it’s just the two of us. Our concept has worked well – we almost always have guests, and we like that. But I really enjoy being able to work comfortably in the kitchen and still chat with my guests. When something’s ready, someone quickly gets it from the island. If I need a helping hand, I can easily signal that or ask my partner directly. I’m always right there in the middle while cooking.
Thank you for your detailed comment.
I saw a kitchen with a sliding door as a good way to combine both options.
Currently, our layout is different: a closed kitchen (with a hinged door) leads directly to the dining table—only that unfortunately, the table is too small.
The advantages of a closed kitchen, from my point of view, are that when cooking something with strong odors, you can simply close the door.
Also, the living and dining area stays cleaner.
Seeing the grease buildup in the kitchen from frequent cooking makes me worry about what it would be like if that spread throughout the living and dining spaces—oops.
Alessandro schrieb:
Just think of it this way:
With a straight staircase, when you reach the end, you will have to turn either left or right anyway.
So you might as well choose a quarter-turn staircase. You’re absolutely right.
However, I also don’t find the quarter-turn staircase ideal for this floor plan. You approach it directly, but you’ve all already pointed that out.
The hallway itself is not small at 18m² (194ft²), but a staircase for a floor-to-ceiling height of 3.25m (10 ft 8 in) is correspondingly large.
It’s just not easy to move away from the original plan; when you redraw, you often end up with very similar concepts.
Super difficult.
I’ll try again later.
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