So, everyone, since the topic of choosing a building partner is slowly reaching its final stage for us, I thought we’d start optimizing the floor plan a bit. Even though the original plan was only intended as a basis for a quote, we actually like it quite a lot. There are two versions of the house: the ground floor is the same in both, but upstairs there is either a half-story or a full story. Since I’m not a fan of sloped ceilings, the price difference is still reasonable, and the flexibility of the full story is greater, we are currently leaning towards building the design with the full story. (The half-story design can be seen in the other thread.)
One somewhat suboptimal aspect of the designs is that the rooms upstairs are relatively large compared to the rooms downstairs. Specifically, the children’s room is only half the size of the open living area, and the bedroom is also very large. Even though the open living area should be fine (I’ve seen one with almost the same dimensions at my cousin’s house), this is obviously not an ideal ratio. Therefore, we will definitely have the wall between the living room and the office constructed as drywall, so it can be removed easily if needed (or if the office is no longer required).
In the other thread, the suggestion was made to move the second study upstairs as well. I tried sketching this out (various pencil drafts, and one computer drawing attached), but none of the designs look really good. The rooms end up very small (~10sqm (108 sq ft)) and have very awkward layouts. I think the upper floor is just a bit too small for that.
I’ve also attached a picture of our rough site plan. The garage location is almost automatically determined by our driveway. We would then place the house slightly behind it in the northeast corner of the plot to leave as much open space as possible towards the south and west. The three plots west of our property are actually one large connected plot, so it is very open to the west.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot 17 on the plan
Plot size: 700sqm (7,535 sq ft)
Slope: no (maximum 50cm (20 inches) over the entire plot)
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Floor space index -
Building envelope, setback lines, and boundary lines: entire plot available considering boundary construction regulations
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: max 2
Roof type: gable roof, hip roof, half-hip roof 30-45°, shed roof 8-20°
Maximum height / limits: building height = 6m (20 ft) eaves height (no problem)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof, style “normal house”
Basement, storeys: no basement due to high cost risk from potential arsenic contamination, instead a large attic and a technical room in the extension. 1.5 to 2 storeys
Number of people, age: 3 persons, he 33, she 41, child arriving in about 4 weeks, no further children planned currently
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: living and working downstairs, sleeping and children’s rooms upstairs
Office: 2 workspaces, he works from home 3-4 days per week, she is a teacher and also often works from home
Overnight guests per year: mainly for special occasions like birthdays as there is little space
Open or closed architecture: somewhat open
Conservative or modern design: not old-fashioned but not forcedly modern either. Just a normal house 😉
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, but the cooktop can also be on the wall
Number of dining seats: max 4 for normal use, room for extended table when guests come
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no, large garden
Garage, carport: currently leaning towards a prefabricated garage with attached carport (she doesn’t like garages). Separate from the house so the driveway remains short
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: a few smaller beds and otherwise simple lawn. The garden area should remain fairly contiguous so it feels like a garden and not just leftover space
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why something is or isn’t desired:
Second bathroom on ground floor
Space on the property to park a trailer 2 x 6.5m (6.5 x 21 feet)
House Design
Planner: independent engineer working with the general contractor
What do you particularly like? Why?
Lots of large windows. Corner office can be shaded without being dark. Bathroom without a bathtub (please no 15-page discussions about this again)
What don’t you like? Why?
The children’s room and bedroom are relatively large compared to the open living area; the second office/guest room is a bit tight
Price estimate from architect/planner:
Offer from general contractor about €410,000 turnkey including floors, painting, photovoltaics, and most incidental construction costs, excluding kitchen
Personal price limit including equipment: about the same as the offer, so redesign should be cost-neutral
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up certain details / expansions
What could you live without:
Walk-in closet seems dispensable to us. If we don’t change the walls, one idea was to have it accessible from the bathroom and install a sauna there
What you couldn’t live without:
Sufficient storage space in the attic
One somewhat suboptimal aspect of the designs is that the rooms upstairs are relatively large compared to the rooms downstairs. Specifically, the children’s room is only half the size of the open living area, and the bedroom is also very large. Even though the open living area should be fine (I’ve seen one with almost the same dimensions at my cousin’s house), this is obviously not an ideal ratio. Therefore, we will definitely have the wall between the living room and the office constructed as drywall, so it can be removed easily if needed (or if the office is no longer required).
In the other thread, the suggestion was made to move the second study upstairs as well. I tried sketching this out (various pencil drafts, and one computer drawing attached), but none of the designs look really good. The rooms end up very small (~10sqm (108 sq ft)) and have very awkward layouts. I think the upper floor is just a bit too small for that.
I’ve also attached a picture of our rough site plan. The garage location is almost automatically determined by our driveway. We would then place the house slightly behind it in the northeast corner of the plot to leave as much open space as possible towards the south and west. The three plots west of our property are actually one large connected plot, so it is very open to the west.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot 17 on the plan
Plot size: 700sqm (7,535 sq ft)
Slope: no (maximum 50cm (20 inches) over the entire plot)
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Floor space index -
Building envelope, setback lines, and boundary lines: entire plot available considering boundary construction regulations
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: max 2
Roof type: gable roof, hip roof, half-hip roof 30-45°, shed roof 8-20°
Maximum height / limits: building height = 6m (20 ft) eaves height (no problem)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof, style “normal house”
Basement, storeys: no basement due to high cost risk from potential arsenic contamination, instead a large attic and a technical room in the extension. 1.5 to 2 storeys
Number of people, age: 3 persons, he 33, she 41, child arriving in about 4 weeks, no further children planned currently
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: living and working downstairs, sleeping and children’s rooms upstairs
Office: 2 workspaces, he works from home 3-4 days per week, she is a teacher and also often works from home
Overnight guests per year: mainly for special occasions like birthdays as there is little space
Open or closed architecture: somewhat open
Conservative or modern design: not old-fashioned but not forcedly modern either. Just a normal house 😉
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, but the cooktop can also be on the wall
Number of dining seats: max 4 for normal use, room for extended table when guests come
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no, large garden
Garage, carport: currently leaning towards a prefabricated garage with attached carport (she doesn’t like garages). Separate from the house so the driveway remains short
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: a few smaller beds and otherwise simple lawn. The garden area should remain fairly contiguous so it feels like a garden and not just leftover space
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why something is or isn’t desired:
Second bathroom on ground floor
Space on the property to park a trailer 2 x 6.5m (6.5 x 21 feet)
House Design
Planner: independent engineer working with the general contractor
What do you particularly like? Why?
Lots of large windows. Corner office can be shaded without being dark. Bathroom without a bathtub (please no 15-page discussions about this again)
What don’t you like? Why?
The children’s room and bedroom are relatively large compared to the open living area; the second office/guest room is a bit tight
Price estimate from architect/planner:
Offer from general contractor about €410,000 turnkey including floors, painting, photovoltaics, and most incidental construction costs, excluding kitchen
Personal price limit including equipment: about the same as the offer, so redesign should be cost-neutral
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump with underfloor heating
If you had to give up certain details / expansions
What could you live without:
Walk-in closet seems dispensable to us. If we don’t change the walls, one idea was to have it accessible from the bathroom and install a sauna there
What you couldn’t live without:
Sufficient storage space in the attic
WilderSueden schrieb:
Storage for what kind of items?Accessible and dry.WilderSueden schrieb:
There is the storage room, after all.I thought that was the cloakroom. Apparently, the room has to serve many purposes: consider that it is a small room with 2 doors! Vacuum cleaner, drinks, trash containers... everything on the floor or with both doors open? I don’t find that practical at all. It’s no shame if the house is somewhat small, but then adding an oddly shaped extension—usually used as a room divider for row houses—feels odd. Why not simply make it 30 or 50 cm (12 or 20 inches) wider or longer? With some adjustments, there would be enough space for the utility room.The open-plan area feels quite cramped, while the rooms upstairs are generously sized. In my opinion, this needs much more attention and care. Others might call it work.
WilderSueden schrieb:
As a simple alternative to a basement that doesn’t take up space inside the house. I think it also nicely closes off the house towards the driveway. But it looks like an "afterthought addition," similar to the second staircase at the Langen Eugen building ;-)
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
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So my main criticism is the uneven distribution of space. You’re expecting a child who will play in the living room for many years, and the 37 m² (398 sq ft) allocated for the living room, dining area, and kitchen is very tight. Sketching in a sofa about 2 meters (6.5 feet) long and sticking a small table against the wall gives the illusion of more space than actually exists. Meanwhile, this is the most important room where you live every day!
On the other hand, there is a walk-in closet that can only be used for a wardrobe, plus an oversized bedroom where you only sleep. A guest room and two home offices also take up unnecessary space. An 18 m² (194 sq ft) children’s room is nice but not absolutely necessary. I like your idea of moving the second office upstairs. I would just arrange it differently – see the plan. This way, you have room for three large wardrobes—in the bedroom, the children’s room, and the office.
This creates significantly more space for the open-plan area on the ground floor. In my suggestion, I also enclosed the staircase (the window then starts above the stairwell) and made the space underneath usable as a small pantry. Tall kitchen cabinets can be pushed in. There is also more wardrobe space in the hallway.
Perhaps this gives you some new ideas and you’ll reconsider moving the second office upstairs.
On the other hand, there is a walk-in closet that can only be used for a wardrobe, plus an oversized bedroom where you only sleep. A guest room and two home offices also take up unnecessary space. An 18 m² (194 sq ft) children’s room is nice but not absolutely necessary. I like your idea of moving the second office upstairs. I would just arrange it differently – see the plan. This way, you have room for three large wardrobes—in the bedroom, the children’s room, and the office.
This creates significantly more space for the open-plan area on the ground floor. In my suggestion, I also enclosed the staircase (the window then starts above the stairwell) and made the space underneath usable as a small pantry. Tall kitchen cabinets can be pushed in. There is also more wardrobe space in the hallway.
Perhaps this gives you some new ideas and you’ll reconsider moving the second office upstairs.
W
WilderSueden20 Jan 2021 22:11Thank you very much, and it looks really great. Was all of this done in Photoshop? Especially the cabinets and the corner – that’s a clever solution. I’ve often had the problem of bumping into the cabinet with similar layouts.
This way, the former dressing room is about 9.x square meters (approximately 97 square feet) and can be used as a second office. Downstairs, the open-plan kitchen and living area will be around 49 square meters (about 527 square feet). I would tend to skip the pantry and instead go for a large U-shaped kitchen. There’s definitely enough space for that now. With open risers, the staircase should also be quite bright. But since we don’t have to finalize the internal floor plans as long as the structural design stays the same, there’s still time to consider it carefully.
During the discussion, we already began optimizing the bathroom and also agreed to remove the wall between the storage room and the heating room. This will allow the door to be repositioned, making access to the heating room easier.
This way, the former dressing room is about 9.x square meters (approximately 97 square feet) and can be used as a second office. Downstairs, the open-plan kitchen and living area will be around 49 square meters (about 527 square feet). I would tend to skip the pantry and instead go for a large U-shaped kitchen. There’s definitely enough space for that now. With open risers, the staircase should also be quite bright. But since we don’t have to finalize the internal floor plans as long as the structural design stays the same, there’s still time to consider it carefully.
During the discussion, we already began optimizing the bathroom and also agreed to remove the wall between the storage room and the heating room. This will allow the door to be repositioned, making access to the heating room easier.
WilderSueden schrieb:
Thank you very much, really well done. Was all of this created with Photoshop?Yes, exactly! In real life, I’m not an architect but a graphic designer 😉 Feel free to keep us updated if anything progresses.Similar topics