ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization for a Semi-Detached House, 150-160 m² on a 360 m² Plot in a New Development Area

We are also building a semi-detached house, measuring 8 x 12 meters (26 x 39 feet). I took a look at your floor plan and here are my comments:

• Ground floor WC/shower: this isn’t a major issue, but you should consider how you want to design the shower. A door opening inward or outward will probably be difficult due to the limited space. However, there are solutions for this.
• Ground floor WC/shower: I think in about 95% of cases, you will access the WC from the living room. I find it a bit inconvenient when the door opens outward in my direction and I have to walk around it first. You know what I mean? But probably there is no other solution for you. There is no space to open the door inward, and opening it the other way might interfere with the front door.
• Ground floor living room/kitchen: somehow I find the partition a bit odd, but at the moment I don’t have a better suggestion. It looks like a box inserted there.
• First floor bedroom: if you have two windows in the bedroom, I’d like to see outside rather than lying with my head by the window. But that’s just personal preference.
• First floor bathroom: maybe think about space for a towel rail or wall-mounted heater. Also consider how you want to handle privacy for the windows—options range from roller shutters to frosted glass or attached screens (e.g., pleated blinds). If you plan to achieve privacy solely with roller shutters, consider an electric version.
• First floor child’s room 1: the door opens into the middle of the room; is that intentional? I would move it further to the right so there’s space for a wardrobe behind it.
• Be sure to add furniture to the first-floor plan. You need to be sure that later a WC with a washbasin will fit despite the sloping roof. I find the right child’s room quite small and awkward. The 2 m (6.5 ft) height line is almost in the center of the room, and the 2.3 m (7.5 ft) line probably even further inside. The only wall suitable for a tall wardrobe (I’m not talking about custom-built) is actually the left wall. Then the bed and desk would have to go to the right. It’s all doable; the point is to sketch it as planned and then check if everything fits.

As you can see, just minor comments. I think you already came up with a good solution based on the requirements.

To me, the highlighted area just seems like wasted space. For a house that isn’t exactly large in terms of exterior dimensions, are there no better ideas (none come to mind quickly, though) …

Thank you for the detailed feedback @ erazorlll.
I will address the points individually:

• A double door with a standard shower width fits well; next to the washbasin there would be a small fixed glass panel.
• The situation with the toilet/shower door is exactly as you described: suboptimal but not really avoidable. We will check during the final review whether the door can open the other way on a 73cm (29 inches) door without conflicting with the front door.
• What exactly do you mean by "inserted box"?
• As a fresh air enthusiast, I’m very happy about the window at the head end 😉
• Wall heating is planned between the shower and the room door. For towel rails, there should be enough space left next to the washbasin. The privacy screen will consist of frosted glass panels.
• Regarding the children’s room doors, see my comments under the illustration. Since Child 1 gets the very high area under the gable, installing a loft platform there is very likely.
The right children’s room, Child 2, is objectively the larger room even considering the living space calculations. It also has a nicer location, facing the garden at the back. It just isn’t shaped as ideally... A wardrobe is planned behind the door there (see comment under the illustration). Apart from the fact that there are modular solutions for sloped ceilings, my father is thankfully a carpenter 🙂
• The toilet fits under the slope, the washbasin next to the door. It’s more of a minimal version...

RomeoZwo schrieb:

For me, the highlighted area just seems like wasted space. Considering the house isn’t exactly large in terms of exterior dimensions, aren’t there any better ideas (though none come to mind quickly for me either)...

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You’re not wrong. The space under the stairs and up to the kitchen will probably be redesigned several times:
- A play area while the kids are still small. Later on, a wall unit, shelves, and a small desk or something similar. And I definitely prefer a walk-through area over a long corridor. We also considered a sofa under the stairs but later dismissed that idea...

Why have a shower on the ground floor at all? I think it’s rather unrealistic to expect the children to go down two floors and then back up to shower.
In our new house, we have a staircase quite similar to the one you are planning. Large items simply can't be carried through. For example, the box spring bed will have to be transported up using an external lift.

RomeoZwo schrieb:

For me, the highlighted area just seems like wasted space. Considering the house isn’t exactly large in terms of external dimensions, aren’t there better ideas? (I don’t have any off the top of my head either) ...

Yes, that stands out immediately, and I’m still thinking it over.
I also find almost everything quite cramped. Yes, space is limited, but rather than accepting the lack of space by making rooms smaller, I would keep it open to have airiness and a sense of spaciousness inside the house. Nothing is worse than feeling confined.

Tamicat schrieb:

Actually, the widths of the stacked windows and the heights of the side-by-side windows at the front are the same.

That would probably be the worst thing over a 6-meter (20-foot) span, keeping things so symmetrical 😉
However, it may be that you want it this conventional way.
I can’t really comment on that properly because no questionnaire was filled out. None of us here know what kind of living style you’re aiming for.
I can only speak from my own experience (I had a detached single-family home myself), and I wouldn’t buy or build such a house, even on a budget. You can achieve really great effects with asymmetry; you just need to consider basics like line flow.

erazorlll schrieb:

The question is how important natural daylight in the hallway is to you.

Daylight can also be brought in through a high window strip in the office, a skylight over the office door, or a narrow window next to the office door. And then there’s the traditional approach of using glass in the door.

Regarding the windows on the west façade: the storage room window is poorly positioned because it takes up useful wall space. So it should be moved toward the center anyway.
The bathroom: the bathroom layout needs changing. It’s just under 11 square meters (118 square feet), and I’ve seen better bathrooms in only 8 square meters (86 square feet). So feel free to rethink the window arrangement. The utility room window isn’t set in stone either.
I really like the entrance area (except for the door). Make sure the built-in wardrobe is a real 60 cm (24 inches) deep so it fits four people’s belongings.
The utility room is quite small. Where do you plan to do laundry?
I would use the staircase space to create additional storage underneath.
About the staircase: it has probably been moved around many times in the planning. In my opinion, it’s currently in the wrong place.
First, a double half-turn staircase saves space. I would choose that type. Then you arrive in the hallway, not beside it. Rooms can be better organized. I would shift it about one meter (3 feet) to the right on the plan. That leaves 4.8 meters (16 feet) on the right side, which is sufficient for everything.
The living area doesn’t suffer from this change. It’s more affected by the partition wall and the rather narrow sofa wall. You can fit a Klippan-style sofa with a side table or lamp, but not a large family sofa. The empty space between the sofa and the staircase could be used differently. The dining area also isn’t ideal—the partition wall takes up too much space. But you actually have enough walls, right?
The upper floor has already been discussed; the attic is okay.

My suggestion (how I would do it, assuming you’re not coming back with a large front garden to the west or something else that sets your site apart from an average plot)
Make the staircase a double half-turn design and shift it one meter (3 feet) to the right.
This also frees up space in the WC for a shower. The current 2-point-something meters wouldn’t be comfortable for showering.
Use a small, narrow partition wall in the living area just as an accent.
Two walls are good candidates for storage: the upper right side of the plan and the utility room partition wall. All other walls should be fitted with windows.
At 2.4 meters (8 feet), the utility room is too short for a sofa but works for a kitchen. 4.8 meters (16 feet) is long for a kitchen and good for a sofa. So the only feasible option seems to be swapping kitchen and living room.
Mount the TV on a wall bracket (swivel arm), and place the dining table’s short side against the window wall—you’ve probably already had to deal with this in 6-meter-wide houses.
Kitchen as a double row; pantry under the staircase.
Why are you building solid walls 39 cm (15 inches) thick? I would have gone for prefabricated construction to gain width.
As I mentioned before: I also had just 5.5 meters (18 feet) in width. Nothing was optimal… narrow kitchen, tiny WC, open staircase down to the cold basement… but I admit at least no utility room on the ground floor. The main thing: everything was open, including about 8 square meters (86 square feet) of window frontage on both the upper and lower floors on the short sides. Then it didn’t matter if the TV was in front of the window or a sofa in front of a window without a sill, with about 20 cm (8 inches) clearance. It felt like more space than having a standard window right above a sofa with no clearance.
Open up the corner of the house toward the dining area with windows.
You can create privacy outside with hedges. That would be my advice.
Where you want to go with this project, I don’t know.
One more note on windows: keep the variety as small as possible. I don’t see any reason for this many different types here.