Dear forum users,
We have purchased a mid-terrace house from a developer and now need to finalize the floor plan for the room layout.
Right from the start: The layout of the house does not at all match our preferences, nor does the character of it being a mid-terrace house – but with current prices, this was the best we could afford... 😱 🙄 So please, no need to rub salt in the wound, we know there are houses with much better layouts.
Regarding the room planning, we believe there isn’t much that can be changed due to the elongated shape and the fixed window positions. Unfortunately, we don’t see many or any alternatives for the layout of the first floor, although the very narrow “corridor room” is a real problem for us. But maybe someone has an idea?
We have only considered partitioning part of the narrow room to create a storage closet, but that would be quite complex. Plus, vacuum cleaners and similar items could maybe just be stored in a closet inside one of the rooms?
As for the intended use of the rooms: initially, the rooms will be used as planned — two children’s bedrooms and the large room as the master bedroom. In a few years, we plan to move upstairs into the studio; the children will get the two bigger rooms, and the small room will become a study and guest room (where the vacuum cleaner, etc., could then be stored conveniently).
We appreciate any constructive suggestions and hope we haven’t forgotten anything (this is our first post in the forum).
Thank you very much!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 162 sqm (1740 sq ft)
Slope: none
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of floors: 3
Roof type: mono-pitched roof
Style: townhouse
Orientation: north-south (garden on the south side)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: mid-terrace house
Basement: yes, 3 floors total
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people (parents + 2 years + 4 years)
Room needs on ground floor, upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, 1 master bedroom, 1 office/guest room
Office use: family use or home office? Home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen
1 dining space in open living-dining area
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: roof terrace + terrace
Garage, carport: no
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden
Additional wishes/features/routine, including reasons why certain things should or should not be included
House Design
Who designed the plan: developer
What do you dislike? Why? especially one children’s bedroom is very narrow and corridor-like
Price estimate from architect/planner: 580k
Personal budget limit for house, including fittings: 620k
Preferred heating method: district heating
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner? Yes
Which wishes from the architects were implemented?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What, in your opinion, makes it particularly good or bad?
We have purchased a mid-terrace house from a developer and now need to finalize the floor plan for the room layout.
Right from the start: The layout of the house does not at all match our preferences, nor does the character of it being a mid-terrace house – but with current prices, this was the best we could afford... 😱 🙄 So please, no need to rub salt in the wound, we know there are houses with much better layouts.
Regarding the room planning, we believe there isn’t much that can be changed due to the elongated shape and the fixed window positions. Unfortunately, we don’t see many or any alternatives for the layout of the first floor, although the very narrow “corridor room” is a real problem for us. But maybe someone has an idea?
We have only considered partitioning part of the narrow room to create a storage closet, but that would be quite complex. Plus, vacuum cleaners and similar items could maybe just be stored in a closet inside one of the rooms?
As for the intended use of the rooms: initially, the rooms will be used as planned — two children’s bedrooms and the large room as the master bedroom. In a few years, we plan to move upstairs into the studio; the children will get the two bigger rooms, and the small room will become a study and guest room (where the vacuum cleaner, etc., could then be stored conveniently).
We appreciate any constructive suggestions and hope we haven’t forgotten anything (this is our first post in the forum).
Thank you very much!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 162 sqm (1740 sq ft)
Slope: none
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of floors: 3
Roof type: mono-pitched roof
Style: townhouse
Orientation: north-south (garden on the south side)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: mid-terrace house
Basement: yes, 3 floors total
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people (parents + 2 years + 4 years)
Room needs on ground floor, upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, 1 master bedroom, 1 office/guest room
Office use: family use or home office? Home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen
1 dining space in open living-dining area
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: roof terrace + terrace
Garage, carport: no
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden
Additional wishes/features/routine, including reasons why certain things should or should not be included
House Design
Who designed the plan: developer
What do you dislike? Why? especially one children’s bedroom is very narrow and corridor-like
Price estimate from architect/planner: 580k
Personal budget limit for house, including fittings: 620k
Preferred heating method: district heating
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner? Yes
Which wishes from the architects were implemented?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What, in your opinion, makes it particularly good or bad?
Also, at the beds and technical workstations, at least triple sockets are required. To help you understand… table lamp, alarm clock, Alexa, mobile phone, laptop, monitor, TV, CD player, etc., freely combinable. Double sockets are simply not enough, or you end up with a power strip at every socket location.
JuliaAlex schrieb:
The attic is initially planned as a large studio, which will serve both as the parents’ living room and the home office space. But you do realize that sticking to rigid ideas will not lead to an optimal solution, right? I mean, if you already want to change the upper floor, why not include the attic in the redesign as well? Aside from that: What exactly does the average standard homeowner imagine by a parents’ living room? Is it the everyday living room, while the regular living room is only used "when guests come"?
J
JuliaAlex4 Jul 2021 14:56ypg schrieb:
Questions: How long is the long room?
Will the attic also be finished right away? Can it provide an office as well as a bedroom? Will there be a bathroom too?
Maybe consider combining the two kids’ rooms (are they the same gender?) Since they are close in age, the kids could probably share a large room for now?!
Or plan a drywall partition, so later you can turn two rooms into one and create a storage room.
Or whatever you think works best. The long room is just under 6 meters long (approximately 20 feet)... The attic or studio will be partially finished when we move in, and there will already be a full bathroom there, but we haven’t installed the wall yet that will later separate the master bedroom. The office will initially be upstairs; in the future, we’ll have to decide whether to keep it upstairs (there’s enough space) or move it down to the small kids’ room (which would then become a guest room).
The kids are male and female, and the older one will be starting school soon after we move in, so sharing a room is probably only an option for a short time. The idea of later combining the two small rooms into one larger room and using the leftover space from the narrow room to create a storage closet or walk-in wardrobe is great—that’s definitely something we’ll keep in mind. We definitely need a guest room somewhere since the whole family, including grandma and grandpa, live far away…
JuliaAlex schrieb:
We bought a terraced mid-terrace house from a developer and now need to finalize the floor plan for the room layout. But I still don’t understand the question: “Partition wall between K1 and K2, yes or no?”, or what other options would even be listed in the “catalog”?
JuliaAlex schrieb:
Just to be clear: The layout of the house is far from what we had hoped for, as is the nature of it being a mid-terrace house. That hardly matters. Think of it as a step on the property ladder 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
J
JuliaAlex4 Jul 2021 14:57Zaba12 schrieb:
At least triple sockets should be installed by the beds and technical workstations. To give you an idea… desk lamp, alarm clock, Alexa, phone, laptop, monitor, TV, CD player, etc., all freely combinable. Double sockets are just not enough, or you’ll end up with a power strip at every socket location.Thanks, we will definitely include that in the technical planning. The number of sockets in the basic design is definitely far too low; you can never have enough of them…J
JuliaAlex4 Jul 2021 15:03K1300S schrieb:
You do realize that you can’t achieve optimization with fixed ideas, right? I mean, if you want to change the upper floor, why don’t you include the attic floor as well? Apart from that: what exactly is an “parents’ living room” supposed to mean to the average homeowner? Is that the everyday living room, while the normal living room is only used when guests come?Well, these aren’t really our fixed ideas, but just what we have thought about so far 😉 Although we do want to use the upper area as the parents’ zone since the roof terrace is there, and we don’t want to give that up to the kids without a fight 😎 “Parents’ living room” means a place where the TV, wine cabinet, and other things are located, and we plan to spend evenings there after work, while the living area downstairs with open kitchen, dining room, sofa, and terrace access is supposed to serve as the (chaotic :eek 🙂 family area (without TV etc.). I have attached the (very rough) layout draft for the living and dining area on the ground floor. Similar topics