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?
JuliaAlex schrieb:
So these aren’t really our rigid ideas, but rather what we’ve thought about so far 😉 We do want to use the upper area as the parents’ zone since that’s where the roof terrace is, and we don’t want to just give it up to the kids without a fight 😎 The “parents’ living room” means having a TV, wine fridge, and other things there, and we plan to spend evenings there after work, while the living area downstairs with the open kitchen, dining room, sofa, and access to the terrace is meant to be the (chaotic :eek 🙂 family area (no TV or such). I’ve attached a (very rough) draft for the furnishing of the living-dining area on the ground floor. It always sounds great in theory, but in reality, it’s different. I don’t know anyone with a loft or studio space, that is, a 2nd floor, who willingly goes up and down there. In summer, it will get unbearably hot, so you won’t want to spend any more time there than absolutely necessary. You can already plan to install air conditioning. Studios are like balconies in single-family homes—everyone loves them and spends money on them, but no one actually uses them because everyone stays in the garden.
My parents have a studio. I had to sleep there three weeks ago. It was a total disaster at 35°C (95°F). It’s mostly used as a storage room. My mother-in-law also has a studio, and guests have to suffer there in summer.
For you, this means you either have to plan for split air conditioning or accept that it will be a torture chamber for guests at least three months a year.
S
soneva20124 Jul 2021 15:44Zaba12 schrieb:
In theory, that always sounds great, but in reality, it’s different. I don’t know anyone with a studio or second floor who a) willingly goes up and down the stairs, and in summer it will get unbearably hot up there, so you won’t want to spend a minute longer than necessary. You might as well install air conditioning right away. Studios are like balconies in single-family homes. Everyone loves the idea, spends money, but no one actually uses them because everyone sits outside in the garden.
We live in a semi-detached house with a main floor and an attic. Our third child sleeps very well upstairs. When it’s hot, you need to ventilate first thing in the morning and then lower the blinds or shutters. Then ventilate again in the evening. This works great without air conditioning, and we’re in southern Bavaria where it can get quite hot.
We also enjoy our roof terrace. With a lot size under 200 square meters (2,150 square feet), there won’t be much garden space left. Then you look forward to the evening on the roof terrace where you’re not surrounded by sand toys and ride-on cars. For the same reasons, I completely understand what an “parents’ living room” is supposed to be!
JuliaAlex schrieb:
We definitely need a guest room somewhere, since the whole family including grandparents live far away... I would plan the parents' area upstairs in the medium term and the children’s area in the middle. Upstairs there will probably be space for a desk in the long run, a small retreat when the kids are asleep. And if you don’t end up using it, at least there is a workspace. For the grandparents, either a kid’s room is cleared out or a holiday apartment is rented.
Zaba12 schrieb:
I don’t know anyone with a studio, meaning the second floor, who voluntarily goes up and down all the time, and in summer it gets unbearably hot, so you won’t want to spend a minute more there than necessary. You might as well install air conditioning right away. Studios are like balconies in single-family homes. I know some who have the children’s rooms and open-plan kitchen/living area on the ground floor, and the TV room in front of the parents’ area upstairs.
I’m not sure what you’re trying to achieve with your post, since this is a townhouse where everyone ends up with a roof terrace (whether they want it or not). So you make the best of it. We don’t even know which direction the roof terrace or windows face, so I would avoid blanket statements like “this is all rubbish (quote: unbearably bad) you’re planning.”
I wouldn’t recommend a roof terrace to anyone either, but here something positive is made of what is offered, and that’s how it should be.
JuliaAlex schrieb:
The living area downstairs, with an open kitchen, dining room, sofa, and access to the terrace, is intended to serve as a (chaotic :eek 🙂 family space (without TV, etc.). I have attached the (very rough) layout draft for the living-dining area on the ground floor.I would reconsider placing the kitchen by the terrace and plan a sofa corner in the area currently designated for the kitchen.ypg schrieb:
In the medium term, I would plan the parents’ area at the top and the children’s zone in the middle.
Upstairs will likely have space for a desk in the long run. A small retreat for when the kids are in bed. And if you don’t end up using it, there’s at least a workspace.
For grandparents, a children’s room can be cleared or a holiday apartment rented.
I know some who have children’s rooms and an open-plan kitchen/living area on the ground floor, and a TV room in front of the parents’ area upstairs.
I’m not sure what you’re trying to achieve with your post, as this is a prefabricated house where everyone gets their own roof terrace (whether they want it or not). You just have to make the best of it. And we don’t know which direction the roof terrace or the windows face, so I would avoid blanket statements like “this is all rubbish (quote: disgusting), what you’re planning.”
I’m not recommending a roof terrace, but here something offered is being looked at positively, and that’s how it should be. Calm down a bit, I think you’re reading into things that weren’t even mentioned. I never said a mid-terrace house and the floor plan are nonsense. Quite the opposite: a functional layout is created on limited width. However, you have to plan for summer use of the studio as a parents’ living room, since this usage is generally not foreseen by the developer, and just because it’s tolerable in other houses doesn’t mean it has to be the case in developer-built homes, since cutting materials means more profit for them. The original poster can certainly share details about the roof construction!
Also, going up and down two flights of stairs to the parents’ living room 10 to 20 times a day is not common with today’s laundry chutes and smart home technology.
Similar topics