ᐅ Floor Plan – Design of a Single-Family Home with Two Full Stories – Urban Villa
Created on: 12 Nov 2020 06:19
E
exto1791
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 550m² (0.14 acres)
Slope: approximately 1 meter (3.3 feet) incline from the street to the back of the property
Floor area ratio: Garage on boundary line, terrace 2.5m (8 feet) from neighbor - otherwise unrestricted, see attached plot plan
Plot coverage ratio: 2 full stories
Building envelope, building line and boundary: very flexible, see attached plot plan
Number of parking spaces: 1 large garage
Number of stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: modern urban villa
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors: with basement and 2 full stories
Number of occupants: 2 persons, mid/late 20s, planning for 2 children
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor: see floor plans
Office: family use or home office? office/home office
Guest bedrooms per year: -
Open or closed layout: -
Conservative or modern construction: 70% conservative - 30% modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen without island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: none
Music / stereo wall: none
Balcony, roof terrace: none
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: ornamental garden
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions
House Design
Planner:
-General contractor (GC): general contractor of a construction company
-Architect: none
-Do-it-yourself: floor plan partially self-designed according to personal preferences
What do you like most? Currently nothing to criticize
What do you dislike? Front canopy not flush with hallway window upstairs - unfortunately not feasible otherwise
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: fixed price $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Personal budget limit for house including fixtures: $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump + controlled mechanical ventilation
If you have to give up something, which details or add-ons
-Can give up: budget reached, no further cutbacks or simplifications needed
-Can’t give up: see above
Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
Standard design from the planner? Compared roughly 100 floor plans and, in coordination with our current GC, created the dream layout ourselves
Which requests were implemented by the architect? all
A mix of many examples from various magazines: yes 🙂
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? very practical and conservatively executed, child-friendly, enough parking/storage space inside, yet modern
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
As I am very active here in the forum and like to help others with topics like floor plans, financing, etc., I would now like to share our project here and hear your opinions. I hope you like it too. Perhaps there is still a serious flaw or something that could be quickly improved, if it appeals to us.
We have invested a lot of time in planning. Since March/April 2020 we have been actively planning—from a prefab home supplier with about 120m² (1,292 sq ft) to a current regional solid builder with 160m² (1,722 sq ft). A lot of effort went into our planning and we hope it pays off during construction and upon completion.
We will sign the contract in the next 2-3 weeks and will release the offer as well as the floor plan and our revised building and service specification to prepare everything for contract signing.
We are building with solid construction through a regional general contractor. Construction start: May 2021.
Plot size: 550m² (0.14 acres)
Slope: approximately 1 meter (3.3 feet) incline from the street to the back of the property
Floor area ratio: Garage on boundary line, terrace 2.5m (8 feet) from neighbor - otherwise unrestricted, see attached plot plan
Plot coverage ratio: 2 full stories
Building envelope, building line and boundary: very flexible, see attached plot plan
Number of parking spaces: 1 large garage
Number of stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: modern urban villa
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors: with basement and 2 full stories
Number of occupants: 2 persons, mid/late 20s, planning for 2 children
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor: see floor plans
Office: family use or home office? office/home office
Guest bedrooms per year: -
Open or closed layout: -
Conservative or modern construction: 70% conservative - 30% modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen without island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: none
Music / stereo wall: none
Balcony, roof terrace: none
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: ornamental garden
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions
House Design
Planner:
-General contractor (GC): general contractor of a construction company
-Architect: none
-Do-it-yourself: floor plan partially self-designed according to personal preferences
What do you like most? Currently nothing to criticize
What do you dislike? Front canopy not flush with hallway window upstairs - unfortunately not feasible otherwise
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: fixed price $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Personal budget limit for house including fixtures: $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump + controlled mechanical ventilation
If you have to give up something, which details or add-ons
-Can give up: budget reached, no further cutbacks or simplifications needed
-Can’t give up: see above
Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
Standard design from the planner? Compared roughly 100 floor plans and, in coordination with our current GC, created the dream layout ourselves
Which requests were implemented by the architect? all
A mix of many examples from various magazines: yes 🙂
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? very practical and conservatively executed, child-friendly, enough parking/storage space inside, yet modern
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
As I am very active here in the forum and like to help others with topics like floor plans, financing, etc., I would now like to share our project here and hear your opinions. I hope you like it too. Perhaps there is still a serious flaw or something that could be quickly improved, if it appeals to us.
We have invested a lot of time in planning. Since March/April 2020 we have been actively planning—from a prefab home supplier with about 120m² (1,292 sq ft) to a current regional solid builder with 160m² (1,722 sq ft). A lot of effort went into our planning and we hope it pays off during construction and upon completion.
We will sign the contract in the next 2-3 weeks and will release the offer as well as the floor plan and our revised building and service specification to prepare everything for contract signing.
We are building with solid construction through a regional general contractor. Construction start: May 2021.
P
pagoni202016 Nov 2020 19:56exto1791 schrieb:
Certainly, 80% of people don’t have this option, and it still works? Showering takes 5-10 minutes, so waiting is usually possible. If someone takes an hour to get ready, then you just have to wait or tell the young lady to use the guest bathroom (which is an option). It’s a luxury problem, which will probably annoy me from time to time—but it’s not worth the space or the cost. That’s how you do it. Whether your children will do the same is simply unknown, just as your wife may not fully know about you or vice versa. You only know the NOW!... and your current partner... who just had to go, sorry...). In 80% of cases, it will probably work out as planned, but the 20% "residual risk" could be much more manageable.
exto1791 schrieb:
I know it like that from home: I’m familiar with it too... but will it go back to that? Surely many things will change...
exto1791 schrieb:
Somehow, there’s an impression that you should be prepared for every possible scenario. It’s suggested that in certain areas there is only one correct opinion and everything else is “wrong.” I strongly doubt that. Surely, many homeowners have made the same decision as we have and have never had problems. I think you’ve already considered a lot, certainly more than the average homeowner; so I also believe you will be satisfied with your outcome.
exto1791 schrieb:
Anyone who has installed a shower guest bathroom will always say: “Oh, thank goodness we did it, even though it’s hardly used, we’re glad to have one.”
Anyone who hasn’t installed a shower guest bathroom will always say: “Oh, we’ve never missed it; occasionally it would have been nice, but we’ve managed fine so far.” … see also discussions about mechanical ventilation systems, underfloor heating, parquet vs. vinyl flooring…
As I mentioned before, I see bathrooms/showers differently because families rarely argue about the type of flooring, missing light switches, KNX systems, or mechanical ventilation. Bathrooms usually have a completely different significance, and they are not as easy to retrofit as, for example, replacing a vinyl floor. Also… guys nowadays spend much longer in the bathroom than I could have ever imagined as a kid. Times are a changin’…
Ysop*** schrieb:
If I’m not mistaken, @exto1791 was basically told that the financing would be tight. And now he’s being told urgently that this and that are absolutely needed... That’s the case in many situations, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you’re careful. For that reason, I would also consider building a garage only later or just a simple carport if I could afford it comfortably; or not at all if necessary. Given the garage prices quoted, I’m always amazed that these still get built by the dozens so naturally, while significant savings are made inside the house beyond a certain point.
As mentioned before... there are simply different opinions in certain areas.
We will definitely decide against the shower. Whether this is a mistake or not will become clear in xx years. And even then, it will somehow be worked out 🙂
My girlfriend is already right when she says to me: "Calm down, other people don’t even worry half as much as we do."
Sometimes you just have to move on and stand by your decision.
In my opinion, the biggest mistake you can make, which I have also seen among colleagues/friends during their house building:
Letting yourself be pressured too much by family, friends, or others.
A forum is, of course, notorious for that 😀 So it’s very important to filter opinions, experiences, etc. accordingly. If you don’t do that, building the house will most likely turn into a total disaster for the individual 😀
This forum is intended to provide objective opinions (which has helped us enormously in certain areas, especially at the start of our project). But we know exactly how to handle it 🙂
As with any forum, there’s of course a lot of: "I know everything better" – "that is definitely wrong" – "how could you possibly" – "that won’t happen" – "you’ll experience this and that..."
Everyone wants to share their experiences, especially the negative ones – that’s clear!
But: not every bad experience someone had is necessarily bad for someone else.
That should be an important insight for everyone here! Just a side note related to the whole topic 😀
As always: Nonetheless, I am thankful and always ready for lively discussions 😀
We stand by what we do because it is well thought-out and fits us, I’m sure of that 🙂
And amidst all this, we should not forget: ultimately, we are building somewhere for ourselves... You should be able to manage the 3 years when the stroller just sits around in some corner or when the bathroom is constantly used by a teenager for 2 years 🙂 You can’t prepare equally well for every situation.
Where we come from, in the Swabian region, people would say: "My goodness, don’t make such a fuss!"
We will definitely decide against the shower. Whether this is a mistake or not will become clear in xx years. And even then, it will somehow be worked out 🙂
My girlfriend is already right when she says to me: "Calm down, other people don’t even worry half as much as we do."
Sometimes you just have to move on and stand by your decision.
In my opinion, the biggest mistake you can make, which I have also seen among colleagues/friends during their house building:
Letting yourself be pressured too much by family, friends, or others.
A forum is, of course, notorious for that 😀 So it’s very important to filter opinions, experiences, etc. accordingly. If you don’t do that, building the house will most likely turn into a total disaster for the individual 😀
This forum is intended to provide objective opinions (which has helped us enormously in certain areas, especially at the start of our project). But we know exactly how to handle it 🙂
As with any forum, there’s of course a lot of: "I know everything better" – "that is definitely wrong" – "how could you possibly" – "that won’t happen" – "you’ll experience this and that..."
Everyone wants to share their experiences, especially the negative ones – that’s clear!
But: not every bad experience someone had is necessarily bad for someone else.
That should be an important insight for everyone here! Just a side note related to the whole topic 😀
As always: Nonetheless, I am thankful and always ready for lively discussions 😀
We stand by what we do because it is well thought-out and fits us, I’m sure of that 🙂
And amidst all this, we should not forget: ultimately, we are building somewhere for ourselves... You should be able to manage the 3 years when the stroller just sits around in some corner or when the bathroom is constantly used by a teenager for 2 years 🙂 You can’t prepare equally well for every situation.
Where we come from, in the Swabian region, people would say: "My goodness, don’t make such a fuss!"
P
pagoni202016 Nov 2020 20:29exto1791 schrieb:
Therefore, it is very important to appropriately filter opinions, experiences, and so on.Yep, apply your own personal filter, and only then will the forum be helpful. You can be sure that some people won’t understand my filters either...... 😀.exto1791 schrieb:
But then we're back to the topic of comfort, or rather, what is really necessary and what is not? exto1791 schrieb:
We give up some things and invest in others because those are more important to us. I think it’s fine not to go along with everything. No one here is trying to persuade you. However, any peculiarities should be pointed out, especially if they are being questioned. Some scenarios are simply unfamiliar. The main thing is that the basement compensates for any comfort you give up, right? 😉
Hmm – okay, you’ve thought it through and have your opinion, but what are the costs for a second shower in the ground floor bathroom? The house’s external dimensions remain the same – it doesn’t need to be bigger. Then you have the pipes and shower fittings, plus a shower tray. If nothing special is required, it will probably stay around €1000 (about $1100).
The window on the upper floor will need to be adjusted accordingly. You won’t have symmetry anymore, but I don’t find that very important with the different window sizes anyway.
The window on the upper floor will need to be adjusted accordingly. You won’t have symmetry anymore, but I don’t find that very important with the different window sizes anyway.
A
Alessandro17 Nov 2020 09:12You always emphasize individuality and that you’re comfortable with the floor plan.
In my opinion, you’re just making everyday life unnecessarily difficult. This has nothing to do with individuality, unless you’re masochists 😉
Your entire hallway will get dirty and muddy. You’ll end up spreading that dirt throughout the whole house. If you enjoy cleaning, then of course this is a dream house!
If I were to build again, I would definitely include a large entrance area with a cloakroom.
You haven’t yet experienced situations that others here have dealt with long ago. This input is invaluable!
Your thoughts about parking the stroller in the garage, basement, or on the terrace say a lot...
If you store it in the hallway, you’ll have dirty walls because the wheels will scrape along them every time you move it from place to place. You can probably imagine what happens if you have twins 😉
Your kitchen “island” will be full of all sorts of stuff you need on a daily basis and just leave there. I suspect it will be the messiest spot in the entire house. Forget about sitting there romantically.
At least have the connections ready for a potential shower in the future. That will cost you less than 100 euros!
In my opinion, you’re just making everyday life unnecessarily difficult. This has nothing to do with individuality, unless you’re masochists 😉
Your entire hallway will get dirty and muddy. You’ll end up spreading that dirt throughout the whole house. If you enjoy cleaning, then of course this is a dream house!
If I were to build again, I would definitely include a large entrance area with a cloakroom.
You haven’t yet experienced situations that others here have dealt with long ago. This input is invaluable!
Your thoughts about parking the stroller in the garage, basement, or on the terrace say a lot...
If you store it in the hallway, you’ll have dirty walls because the wheels will scrape along them every time you move it from place to place. You can probably imagine what happens if you have twins 😉
Your kitchen “island” will be full of all sorts of stuff you need on a daily basis and just leave there. I suspect it will be the messiest spot in the entire house. Forget about sitting there romantically.
At least have the connections ready for a potential shower in the future. That will cost you less than 100 euros!
Similar topics