ᐅ Single-Family House on a South-Facing Slope Floor Plan – Request for Feedback
Created on: 18 May 2021 15:35
E
EFH-Sued-Hang
Hello everyone, after a lot of tinkering, we would really appreciate some feedback on our floor plan ☺️
Development Plan / Restrictions
This is a new residential area.
Plot size approx. 700 sqm (8,000 sq ft)
South-facing slope with access from the north and a nice view towards the south
2 parking spaces per housing unit: 2 in the carport, 2 in front of the house parallel to the street
Floor area ratio, gross floor area ratio, and other regulations are quite generous in the development plan and have been taken into account in the design
Homeowners’ Requirements
Timber frame construction with a shallow pitched roof
Currently 2 adults (32 years old) and 1 child (1 year old), with 1-2 more children planned in the future
Rooms:
Special features:
House Design
Mainly own planning
Collaboration with a construction company and an architect
Initially, it is important for us to create our dream floor plan. Roughly, the price given to us is around 540,000 €.
KfW40+ standard with 10 kWP photovoltaic system and 10 kWh battery
Heating & ventilation:
• Air-source heat pump
• Central ventilation system with possible enthalpy heat exchanger
• Underfloor heating (except in the pantry, possibly with cooling option)
Other:
• Probably a basic Loxone smart home system
• Possibly a water softening system
• Possibly ceiling LED lighting in rooms without visible roof structure
Why did the design turn out this way?
Due to the slope, we want the living and common rooms on the ground floor (= upper level), plus two additional rooms. Because the ground floor is above the second level (the basement) due to the slope, the basement necessarily has to be the same size. Alternatively, you would need a cantilevered upper floor, which is probably extremely expensive.
The extra area in the basement that we don’t need as living space is located partly in the slope, so it basically functions as a cellar.
What is the most important basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think about the room layout? Is there anything you see negatively or would change?
What do you think about the room sizes?
Will the south orientation and many windows make it too warm in summer?
We look forward to your ideas, thoughts, and tips!
Development Plan / Restrictions
This is a new residential area.
Plot size approx. 700 sqm (8,000 sq ft)
South-facing slope with access from the north and a nice view towards the south
2 parking spaces per housing unit: 2 in the carport, 2 in front of the house parallel to the street
Floor area ratio, gross floor area ratio, and other regulations are quite generous in the development plan and have been taken into account in the design
Homeowners’ Requirements
Timber frame construction with a shallow pitched roof
Currently 2 adults (32 years old) and 1 child (1 year old), with 1-2 more children planned in the future
Rooms:
- Open living-dining-kitchen area
- 5 (almost) equally sized rooms to be used flexibly as parents’ bedroom, children’s rooms, office, home office, or rental units as a granny flat
- Family bathroom (including washing machine and dryer)
- Children’s bathroom (alternatively as a bathroom for the granny flat)
- Guest toilet (including utility sink)
- Pantry / storage room
- Storage including technical room
- Carport with bicycle shed and partial basement (used as garden shed)
- Balcony
Special features:
- Ground floor = living space, due to the nice view
- Basement = partly cellar, partly regular rooms facing the garden (possible due to the slope)
- Open roof structure over the large living-dining area
- Intermediate ceiling with attic over the other rooms on the ground floor
- Window seats in the living-dining area and possibly in rooms in the basement
- Barrier-reduced design
- Direct, level, covered entrance from the carport into the house
- Generous balcony → How would you recommend shading the balcony so it’s comfortable in high summer, but also usable in breezy and rainy spring weather, while still feeling like being outside (no conservatory)?
- We have purposely omitted a utility room
- Currently, we have planned external venetian blinds (Raffstores) on all windows. Since the two children’s rooms in the basement face south, shading will be necessary there. Do you find external venetian blinds suitable for bedrooms?
- We have not planned any skylights so far, as they are said to require more maintenance. Would you still consider using skylights?
- Due to the layout in the basement, one room—or with an added partition wall, two or even three rooms—could be rented out.
House Design
Mainly own planning
Collaboration with a construction company and an architect
- We really like the room layout and floor plan on the ground floor—what do you think?
- We still need to move a few walls in the basement, but we already like the layout as it is. Your thoughts?
- We oriented the house towards the south. Will it be too warm in summer?
- We have planned many windows (only a few of which open). → Would you recommend fewer windows? (due to heat in summer, view from neighbors)
→ Is it enough if only a few windows can be opened in each room?
Initially, it is important for us to create our dream floor plan. Roughly, the price given to us is around 540,000 €.
KfW40+ standard with 10 kWP photovoltaic system and 10 kWh battery
Heating & ventilation:
• Air-source heat pump
• Central ventilation system with possible enthalpy heat exchanger
• Underfloor heating (except in the pantry, possibly with cooling option)
Other:
• Probably a basic Loxone smart home system
• Possibly a water softening system
• Possibly ceiling LED lighting in rooms without visible roof structure
Why did the design turn out this way?
Due to the slope, we want the living and common rooms on the ground floor (= upper level), plus two additional rooms. Because the ground floor is above the second level (the basement) due to the slope, the basement necessarily has to be the same size. Alternatively, you would need a cantilevered upper floor, which is probably extremely expensive.
The extra area in the basement that we don’t need as living space is located partly in the slope, so it basically functions as a cellar.
What is the most important basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think about the room layout? Is there anything you see negatively or would change?
What do you think about the room sizes?
Will the south orientation and many windows make it too warm in summer?
We look forward to your ideas, thoughts, and tips!
hampshire schrieb:
And in the end, everyone carries something back up again. This is the reality in some apartments (in small residential units with garden access), and for almost all of these people, it is the main reason to finally build, in order to change this state of constant carrying.
@hampshire I always find it impressive how you tend to describe the situation positively. But when it comes to planning, we are dealing with an ideal scenario – it’s the optimization phase and there’s no need to sugarcoat things that can no longer be changed. That approach is fine if the current situation must remain as it is. Then psychology can and even should come into play.
Let’s leave the childish stuff aside: even an adult wants to quickly grab a drink from the fridge — a Caipirinha, for example — to enjoy in the garden.
Without having to carry things around.
We also have several seating areas and are still not finished. A landscape architect recently said that you need to create reasons to use a slope.
However, the main seating area is connected to the house infrastructure. This is where eating, playing, chatting, and celebrating happen. Not where Mom quietly enjoys a coffee, reads a book, or Dad wants to relax in the hammock. Sloped lots allow the garden to be nicely divided into different zones or areas. Don’t forget a wind-protected spot with Wi-Fi for the home office.
Upstairs is the large open-plan room (please measure the dining area again carefully, it could be tight with the terrace access) with the windows, the view, and the rest? It feels uninspired and full of compromises.
For the outside, be sure to plan for a step-free garden access. Ideally accessible by a trailer, at least by a wheelbarrow.
However, the main seating area is connected to the house infrastructure. This is where eating, playing, chatting, and celebrating happen. Not where Mom quietly enjoys a coffee, reads a book, or Dad wants to relax in the hammock. Sloped lots allow the garden to be nicely divided into different zones or areas. Don’t forget a wind-protected spot with Wi-Fi for the home office.
Upstairs is the large open-plan room (please measure the dining area again carefully, it could be tight with the terrace access) with the windows, the view, and the rest? It feels uninspired and full of compromises.
For the outside, be sure to plan for a step-free garden access. Ideally accessible by a trailer, at least by a wheelbarrow.
H
hanghaus200019 May 2021 10:46ypg schrieb:
@hampshire I always find it impressive how you tend to describe the situation in a rather positive way. But when it comes to planning, it is about a planned state — you are still in the optimization phase and shouldn’t sugarcoat things that can no longer be changed. That approach is fine when dealing with an actual state that must remain as is. Then psychology may also need to come into play, or even must.So much constructive criticism has left @EFH-Sued-Hang speechless.
P
pagoni202019 May 2021 11:04I would personally consider swapping the positions of the staircase and the entrance hall; currently, you face the bathroom door immediately upon entering, which feels awkward. Moving the entrance area further in could even allow it to be integrated into the desired open floor plan. I also think it wouldn’t be a disadvantage if the staircase access to the basement were located a bit further away from the living area.
Many people would gladly pay extra for a possible south-facing orientation like yours. 😀
Perhaps the pantry/storage room could be moved further forward or even omitted entirely to create more space for the bedroom. Here, too, I find it essential to include actual furniture layouts in the plans!
The basement bathroom having two doors is not ideal, and the rest of the basement layout seems unnecessarily complicated. You might want to reconsider giving each room too many functions; the planned use as a separate apartment brings some design disadvantages.
For example, depending on the children’s ages, we moved our bedroom from the ground floor to the basement. Maybe you could completely keep the children’s bedroom out of the ground floor or plan for a potential later swap between parents’ and children’s rooms. A piano placed against a sun-facing outer wall could present challenges. I can also well imagine a music room or area located in the basement. I am not sure if you would actually still want to use a window seat with these large window fronts; essentially, the entire living area already functions as a window seat. 😀
In the basement, you could have a generously sized terrace under the balcony and in front of the bedroom/children’s room. For me, it’s also conceivable to move both parent and children bedrooms completely to the basement, provided you can install enough windows, and have a larger office/children’s room on the ground floor. In general, I would keep this possible swap of sleeping areas in mind, as I have experienced it myself and found it beneficial. Renting out the property would be a lower priority for me, so I wouldn’t want to compromise the floor plan for that reason.
With the large balcony, I can easily imagine not going down to the garden to barbecue and so on. My niece, for example, has a similar setup; they have a side staircase to the garden, and we always enjoy sitting elevated on the big terrace/balcony—but it definitely needs to be spacious enough for that.
Many people would gladly pay extra for a possible south-facing orientation like yours. 😀
Perhaps the pantry/storage room could be moved further forward or even omitted entirely to create more space for the bedroom. Here, too, I find it essential to include actual furniture layouts in the plans!
The basement bathroom having two doors is not ideal, and the rest of the basement layout seems unnecessarily complicated. You might want to reconsider giving each room too many functions; the planned use as a separate apartment brings some design disadvantages.
For example, depending on the children’s ages, we moved our bedroom from the ground floor to the basement. Maybe you could completely keep the children’s bedroom out of the ground floor or plan for a potential later swap between parents’ and children’s rooms. A piano placed against a sun-facing outer wall could present challenges. I can also well imagine a music room or area located in the basement. I am not sure if you would actually still want to use a window seat with these large window fronts; essentially, the entire living area already functions as a window seat. 😀
In the basement, you could have a generously sized terrace under the balcony and in front of the bedroom/children’s room. For me, it’s also conceivable to move both parent and children bedrooms completely to the basement, provided you can install enough windows, and have a larger office/children’s room on the ground floor. In general, I would keep this possible swap of sleeping areas in mind, as I have experienced it myself and found it beneficial. Renting out the property would be a lower priority for me, so I wouldn’t want to compromise the floor plan for that reason.
With the large balcony, I can easily imagine not going down to the garden to barbecue and so on. My niece, for example, has a similar setup; they have a side staircase to the garden, and we always enjoy sitting elevated on the big terrace/balcony—but it definitely needs to be spacious enough for that.
hanghaus2000 schrieb:
So much constructive criticism left @EFH-Sued-Hang speechless. My constructive criticism is recorded in the other forum. No need to repeat myself twice 🙂
Considering the many conciliatory comments from @hampshire, I should probably join the critics and complain a bit. But I have to admit, the apprentice-level joke quality of the house design *LOL, SCNR* leaves me speechless: main entrance through the open double garage, pantry in the sleeping area, the entire basement miserably messed up but somehow still topped by the interior toilet – well, honestly, you know ...
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