Hello everyone,
we are planning to start construction in June/July. Our architect is currently working on the drawings, so I wanted to join here and ask for your ideas or suggestions to improve my floor plan. At the moment, there are no dimensions included because it's purely about the room layout right now. Does anyone have an idea how to reduce the hallway from 16/17m² (172/183 sq ft) and somehow gain a bit more living space for one of the rooms? What else could or should be optimized in the floor plan? As soon as the drawings are ready, I will upload everything here and keep you updated throughout the build. A lot of the work will be done by ourselves.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1007m² (10,837 sq ft)
Slope: 0.8m (2.6 ft) drop over 22m (72 ft) width
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor area ratio: -
Building window, building line and boundary:
Edge construction: No
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: Modern
Orientation: South
Maximum height/restrictions: None specified
Additional requirements:
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: as indicated above
Basement, floors: 1 story without basement
Number of occupants, ages: 28 + 30 and 2 children aged 7 + 2
Construction location: Westerwald region, a still relatively affordable area. The plot is already owned by us.
Financial situation: I don’t think this matters much here, we have €320,000 (about $350,000) in equity, so the house will be funded entirely from own capital.
Own work: Earthworks, electrical, heating + plumbing, screed, tiling, flooring, painting will be done by ourselves. (These trades are covered by family members and me, as family companies are available, so everything is basically sorted and I have plenty of time.) The rest will be contracted out to local companies. According to the architect, savings through own work should be about €45,000 (about $50,000).
Space requirements on ground and upper floors: We currently live in a much smaller space with 5 people (100m² / 1,076 sq ft), so 137m² (1,474 sq ft) would be a big improvement for us.
Office: office combined with changing room
Guest sleepers per year: 2–3 times a year
Modern construction method
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes
Number of dining places: 8
Fireplace: yes, with external pipe
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine: The parents’ bedroom and the living room should have access to a covered terrace.
House design
Planned by: me
Price estimate by architect/planner: €310,000 (about $340,000)
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: €320,000 (about $350,000)
Preferred heating technology: Air source heat pump
If you had to do without, which details or add-ons
-could you do without:
-could you not do without: air source heat pump, covered terrace, fireplace, kitchen with island
Why did the design end up like this? e.g.
Standard design from planner: This is my idea after one year of planning and hundreds of changes
Which wishes were implemented by the architect: The architect is currently still working on the drawings
we are planning to start construction in June/July. Our architect is currently working on the drawings, so I wanted to join here and ask for your ideas or suggestions to improve my floor plan. At the moment, there are no dimensions included because it's purely about the room layout right now. Does anyone have an idea how to reduce the hallway from 16/17m² (172/183 sq ft) and somehow gain a bit more living space for one of the rooms? What else could or should be optimized in the floor plan? As soon as the drawings are ready, I will upload everything here and keep you updated throughout the build. A lot of the work will be done by ourselves.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1007m² (10,837 sq ft)
Slope: 0.8m (2.6 ft) drop over 22m (72 ft) width
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor area ratio: -
Building window, building line and boundary:
Edge construction: No
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: Hipped roof
Style: Modern
Orientation: South
Maximum height/restrictions: None specified
Additional requirements:
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: as indicated above
Basement, floors: 1 story without basement
Number of occupants, ages: 28 + 30 and 2 children aged 7 + 2
Construction location: Westerwald region, a still relatively affordable area. The plot is already owned by us.
Financial situation: I don’t think this matters much here, we have €320,000 (about $350,000) in equity, so the house will be funded entirely from own capital.
Own work: Earthworks, electrical, heating + plumbing, screed, tiling, flooring, painting will be done by ourselves. (These trades are covered by family members and me, as family companies are available, so everything is basically sorted and I have plenty of time.) The rest will be contracted out to local companies. According to the architect, savings through own work should be about €45,000 (about $50,000).
Space requirements on ground and upper floors: We currently live in a much smaller space with 5 people (100m² / 1,076 sq ft), so 137m² (1,474 sq ft) would be a big improvement for us.
Office: office combined with changing room
Guest sleepers per year: 2–3 times a year
Modern construction method
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes
Number of dining places: 8
Fireplace: yes, with external pipe
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine: The parents’ bedroom and the living room should have access to a covered terrace.
House design
Planned by: me
Price estimate by architect/planner: €310,000 (about $340,000)
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: €320,000 (about $350,000)
Preferred heating technology: Air source heat pump
If you had to do without, which details or add-ons
-could you do without:
-could you not do without: air source heat pump, covered terrace, fireplace, kitchen with island
Why did the design end up like this? e.g.
Standard design from planner: This is my idea after one year of planning and hundreds of changes
Which wishes were implemented by the architect: The architect is currently still working on the drawings
Where is north, and what is the plot like?
With the long layout and the rather poor room arrangement, questions about the plot, access, orientation, etc., naturally arise.
It somewhat reminds me of @Steffi33. But Steffi enjoys the long hallway 🙂
I find several aspects of the design quite unfortunate, starting with the cold storage room and its two doors, whose shape and size do not suit a passageway. Also, the combination of office/dressing room with the layout, and planning a room with double functions as a passageway.
Again: you are using tiny rooms like the cold storage as a utility room, and the office as a dressing room, both doubled up, and still want to use them as passageways to important rooms. That cannot work satisfactorily in the long term.
Then I see the kitchen at the far end, quite far from the mop sink or electrical appliance in a storage room, which actually does not really exist.
Please give some explanations about what you had in mind here. It can’t be due to a lack of budget. I would allow the house a few more square meters, and a plan where ancillary rooms are consciously and sensibly integrated, for example in a converted attic.
With the long layout and the rather poor room arrangement, questions about the plot, access, orientation, etc., naturally arise.
It somewhat reminds me of @Steffi33. But Steffi enjoys the long hallway 🙂
I find several aspects of the design quite unfortunate, starting with the cold storage room and its two doors, whose shape and size do not suit a passageway. Also, the combination of office/dressing room with the layout, and planning a room with double functions as a passageway.
Again: you are using tiny rooms like the cold storage as a utility room, and the office as a dressing room, both doubled up, and still want to use them as passageways to important rooms. That cannot work satisfactorily in the long term.
Then I see the kitchen at the far end, quite far from the mop sink or electrical appliance in a storage room, which actually does not really exist.
Please give some explanations about what you had in mind here. It can’t be due to a lack of budget. I would allow the house a few more square meters, and a plan where ancillary rooms are consciously and sensibly integrated, for example in a converted attic.
That’s why I’m here. I’m not experienced with the following topics regarding room layout, as we live in a very tight space. The issue with the office/dressing room is that I wasn’t sure how to separate them from the bedroom in a practical way without making the hallway even longer. Here’s an attachment showing the street and orientation.
We were reluctant to convert the attic because we want everything to be age-friendly on one floor. The covered terrace is planned for bad weather. However, the terrace should also be extended along the entire (east) side of the house so that we don’t have to sit in the shade all summer. Maybe we could skip the covered terrace and somehow use that space for the house instead? Later, we could just put up a kind of pavilion behind the house, which would also give us a covered terrace.
When people talk about "for old age," it’s always easy to say. What condition do you think you will be in when you say "for old age"?
The bungalow, as planned, is not suitable once anyone has more than just minor difficulties with stairs.
You now need a home office, children’s rooms, and more storage space. Why leave the attic unused? You are missing a cloakroom, storage room, HVAC space, and laundry area is getting tight. The home office with a wardrobe serving as a walk-through room.
Why don’t you include the attic in your plans? A spacious master suite can still remain downstairs, so later on you effectively have a bungalow.
Always draw all existing and desired furniture to scale. When drawing the table, also consider the space needed for occupied chairs. What doesn’t work on graph paper won’t work in reality either. Suddenly, the washing machine ends up in the bathroom because the HVAC space needed a few centimeters (inches) more.
The bungalow, as planned, is not suitable once anyone has more than just minor difficulties with stairs.
You now need a home office, children’s rooms, and more storage space. Why leave the attic unused? You are missing a cloakroom, storage room, HVAC space, and laundry area is getting tight. The home office with a wardrobe serving as a walk-through room.
Why don’t you include the attic in your plans? A spacious master suite can still remain downstairs, so later on you effectively have a bungalow.
Always draw all existing and desired furniture to scale. When drawing the table, also consider the space needed for occupied chairs. What doesn’t work on graph paper won’t work in reality either. Suddenly, the washing machine ends up in the bathroom because the HVAC space needed a few centimeters (inches) more.
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