Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Building on a slope, flat roof
Basement, floors: 1 basement, 1 ground floor, 1 upper floor
Number of people, age: 2-4
Use: Family use, work (office)
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Semi-open?
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: Yes, a masonry fireplace is planned
Balcony, roof terrace: Terrace/garden accessible from the upper floor
Garage, carport: Double garage in the basement
House Design
Who created the design: Architect
Why does the design look the way it does?
The architect designed the house based on a room plan we developed, which was very well implemented with some economically sensible adjustments in the current plan. The basement includes a double garage, a utility room, and the entrance hall. On the ground floor are 2 children’s rooms, a bedroom, a large bathroom, and a storage room. The basement and ground floor are kept simple and meet our needs perfectly. Due to the slope, the living area is located on the upper floor, as well as the terrace and garden, which are accessible from there.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
In our opinion, the upper floor still needs some optimization.
Living Area
The distance from the TV wall to the exterior wall is currently 4.7 meters (15 ft 5 in). In our current apartment, it is 4.5 meters (14 ft 9 in), and we would like a bit more space here.
Bathroom
There is a second bathroom with a large shower on the upper floor. However, the shower is too large for us — the bathroom on the upper floor should be smaller and more functional (which also saves costs).
Dining Table
In the architect’s plan, the dining table is integrated into the living room. This is possible for us but not our preferred choice. We would prefer the kitchen and dining table to be separate yet still openly connected.
I traced the architect’s plan roughly and made some changes to the floor plans. The following adjustments were made:
- I replaced the large shower with a corner shower and reduced the shower area, converting the remaining corner into a built-in closet. This allowed me to move the kitchen slightly forward. I adjusted the storage room accordingly. The space gained was used to move the dining table closer to the kitchen. The small corner next to the dining table and kitchen (marked with a blue line) was intended as a small cloakroom to store items like slippers or vests for quick trips to the terrace (since the main entrance is in the basement).
- I reduced the office width from 3 meters (9 ft 10 in) to 2.9 meters (9 ft 6 in) to increase the living room width to about 4.8 meters (15 ft 9 in). I might reduce the office size further? (The original office layout is no longer visible in the pictures.)
What are your thoughts?
Style, roof type, building type: Building on a slope, flat roof
Basement, floors: 1 basement, 1 ground floor, 1 upper floor
Number of people, age: 2-4
Use: Family use, work (office)
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Semi-open?
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: Yes, a masonry fireplace is planned
Balcony, roof terrace: Terrace/garden accessible from the upper floor
Garage, carport: Double garage in the basement
House Design
Who created the design: Architect
Why does the design look the way it does?
The architect designed the house based on a room plan we developed, which was very well implemented with some economically sensible adjustments in the current plan. The basement includes a double garage, a utility room, and the entrance hall. On the ground floor are 2 children’s rooms, a bedroom, a large bathroom, and a storage room. The basement and ground floor are kept simple and meet our needs perfectly. Due to the slope, the living area is located on the upper floor, as well as the terrace and garden, which are accessible from there.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
In our opinion, the upper floor still needs some optimization.
Living Area
The distance from the TV wall to the exterior wall is currently 4.7 meters (15 ft 5 in). In our current apartment, it is 4.5 meters (14 ft 9 in), and we would like a bit more space here.
Bathroom
There is a second bathroom with a large shower on the upper floor. However, the shower is too large for us — the bathroom on the upper floor should be smaller and more functional (which also saves costs).
Dining Table
In the architect’s plan, the dining table is integrated into the living room. This is possible for us but not our preferred choice. We would prefer the kitchen and dining table to be separate yet still openly connected.
I traced the architect’s plan roughly and made some changes to the floor plans. The following adjustments were made:
- I replaced the large shower with a corner shower and reduced the shower area, converting the remaining corner into a built-in closet. This allowed me to move the kitchen slightly forward. I adjusted the storage room accordingly. The space gained was used to move the dining table closer to the kitchen. The small corner next to the dining table and kitchen (marked with a blue line) was intended as a small cloakroom to store items like slippers or vests for quick trips to the terrace (since the main entrance is in the basement).
- I reduced the office width from 3 meters (9 ft 10 in) to 2.9 meters (9 ft 6 in) to increase the living room width to about 4.8 meters (15 ft 9 in). I might reduce the office size further? (The original office layout is no longer visible in the pictures.)
What are your thoughts?
Without evaluating door swings and storage options:
In version 1, the (main) dining area is too far from the kitchen. The counter isn’t really suitable for homework and so on, so I would rule out V1.
Version 2: the dining table is completely undervalued in a corner of a room that offers much more potential than just a show kitchen and a kids’ eating area.
Swap the kitchen and dining area! The rest will follow.
In version 1, the (main) dining area is too far from the kitchen. The counter isn’t really suitable for homework and so on, so I would rule out V1.
Version 2: the dining table is completely undervalued in a corner of a room that offers much more potential than just a show kitchen and a kids’ eating area.
Swap the kitchen and dining area! The rest will follow.
Thank you for the suggestions, I will take another look at it soon.
But the basement also includes the entrance/hallway—would you keep a clear height of 2.32 meters (7 ft 7 in) there?
I’m not sure how window height would be affected. Assuming we go with 2.7 meters (8 ft 10 in) on the ground floor and 2.8 meters (9 ft 2 in) on the upper floor, I would probably need to raise the windows on the upper floor by about 10 cm (4 inches) as well. Wouldn’t that look asymmetrical? Or would no one really notice in the end?
Kati.com schrieb:
Regarding ceiling height. I would keep the lower ceiling height in the basement since it is mainly used for storage. In the living areas, I would definitely add height, especially on the upper floor.
But the basement also includes the entrance/hallway—would you keep a clear height of 2.32 meters (7 ft 7 in) there?
I’m not sure how window height would be affected. Assuming we go with 2.7 meters (8 ft 10 in) on the ground floor and 2.8 meters (9 ft 2 in) on the upper floor, I would probably need to raise the windows on the upper floor by about 10 cm (4 inches) as well. Wouldn’t that look asymmetrical? Or would no one really notice in the end?
bowbow91 schrieb:
But in the basement there is also the entrance/hallway; would you leave a clear ceiling height of 2.32 meters (7 ft 7 in) there?In our condominium, the clear ceiling height is about 235 cm (7 ft 8 in), and it bothers me a lot. In the smaller rooms, it’s not such a big deal, but in the living room plus open kitchen area (about 40 m² (430 sq ft) total), it just looks awkward. The larger the room, the more of the ceiling you see. In our future house, the living area MUST have at least 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) clear ceiling height.
Of course, the windows would need to be adjusted accordingly.
I once visited a very nice show house. The beautiful large window front was only 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high. That immediately caught my eye and didn’t look good. I think from the inside you notice the windows are too low right away, but from the outside not so much.
But that’s just my amateur opinion.
Hello everyone,
we have further developed both versions of the floor plan. Unfortunately, we are still having trouble making a decision....
My thoughts on the two versions:
Version 1:
I really like the living and dining area. In my opinion, it offers good options for arranging a seating area and furniture. Unfortunately, the orientation doesn’t seem to be used optimally; the living room has southwest-facing floor-to-ceiling windows but is located quite deep (which means little to no reflection on the TV). The kitchen is spacious but feels somewhat isolated. Also, we find it a bit disappointing that the office faces south towards the garden.
Version 2:
We really like the south-facing kitchen and dining area. The garden is fully visible, and the south side is filled with lively rooms. In my opinion, the office in the north is better suited for work than in the south. The living room is also wonderfully bright since it is not as deep as in version 1 and has large southwest-facing window fronts. Overall, the orientation seems very well utilized here. Unfortunately, we are quite concerned about the arrangement options in the living room. A large seating area easily reaches about 3.5m (11.5 ft), but the room is only 4.9m (16 ft) wide – with a sideboard, it already feels quite tight. We’re also not happy about placing the sofa away from a wall, and putting it in front of the windows would be a shame because of the large window fronts and the view. Despite the possible pantry, the floor plan feels like it has less storage space.
we have further developed both versions of the floor plan. Unfortunately, we are still having trouble making a decision....
My thoughts on the two versions:
Version 1:
I really like the living and dining area. In my opinion, it offers good options for arranging a seating area and furniture. Unfortunately, the orientation doesn’t seem to be used optimally; the living room has southwest-facing floor-to-ceiling windows but is located quite deep (which means little to no reflection on the TV). The kitchen is spacious but feels somewhat isolated. Also, we find it a bit disappointing that the office faces south towards the garden.
Version 2:
We really like the south-facing kitchen and dining area. The garden is fully visible, and the south side is filled with lively rooms. In my opinion, the office in the north is better suited for work than in the south. The living room is also wonderfully bright since it is not as deep as in version 1 and has large southwest-facing window fronts. Overall, the orientation seems very well utilized here. Unfortunately, we are quite concerned about the arrangement options in the living room. A large seating area easily reaches about 3.5m (11.5 ft), but the room is only 4.9m (16 ft) wide – with a sideboard, it already feels quite tight. We’re also not happy about placing the sofa away from a wall, and putting it in front of the windows would be a shame because of the large window fronts and the view. Despite the possible pantry, the floor plan feels like it has less storage space.
Was the chimney always planned there? No.
I find it completely unnecessary in that corner. That was done more in the past with tiled stoves... anyway. Version 2 is better for everyday living in my opinion. I would place the sofa at the top of the plan and the TV on the wall at the bottom of the plan. If you still need storage, there is space on the left side of the plan. What do you have so much of that you need to accommodate it all in the living room?
I find it completely unnecessary in that corner. That was done more in the past with tiled stoves... anyway. Version 2 is better for everyday living in my opinion. I would place the sofa at the top of the plan and the TV on the wall at the bottom of the plan. If you still need storage, there is space on the left side of the plan. What do you have so much of that you need to accommodate it all in the living room?
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