ᐅ Floor Plan Tips for a Single-Family Home with a Separate Apartment
Created on: 1 Oct 2021 00:17
N
Nicolefl
Hello everyone,
We already have a finalized floor plan for our single-family home with a granny flat. The building permit application has been submitted. Unfortunately, during the eight months of waiting for the approval, some uncertainties about the floor plan have arisen. We cannot change the exterior dimensions anymore, but the interior layout feels off.
A quick note about the granny flat: it is intended for my parents. They will be living partly here and partly abroad. We do not want them to access the granny flat through our main apartment. A separate entrance is important, even though it is a bit inconvenient that we have two staircases. Later, the granny flat could be used by our son when he is older, or it could be converted into a hobby room, or something else.
On the ground floor, I would much rather have the kitchen where the living room is now, including a kitchen island. The problem is that the living room would then have to move to where the kitchen currently is, which at 3.13 m (10.3 ft) is far too narrow.
On the upper floor, a small storage room could be added just after the stairs to house the washing machine and dryer.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 386 sqm (4,155 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: see attachment
Floor area ratio: see attachment
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attachment
Edge development
Parking spaces: 3
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof
Style: modern
Orientation: entrance faces north
Maximum heights/limits
Additional requirements: see attachment
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Modern style, gable roof, single-family house with granny flat
Basement, floors
Basement, ground floor, upper floor
Number of residents, ages
Four adults (two in their mid-30s, two in their mid-60s) and one child (3 years old), possibly two soon
Room needs on ground and upper floors
Ground floor: living/dining area, kitchen, guest WC, pantry would be nice
Upper floor: main bedroom, two children’s rooms, bathroom, storage room would be great
Office: family use or home office?
No office needed
Guests per year
No need, independent of the granny flat
Open or closed architecture
Open plan
Conservative or modern building style: no details provided
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Open kitchen with island, full-height kitchen units
Number of dining seats
4–6
Fireplace
No, maybe bioethanol
Music/sound system wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage 7 × 3 m (23 × 10 ft)
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why something should or should not be included
Swapping the living room and kitchen would allow conversations on the couch in the evening without it being too noisy upstairs (due to the open space).
House Design
Designed by: our architect, but the plan is not quite right.
What do you like most? Why? Not much, actually
What do you dislike? Why? The combined living, dining, and kitchen areas are too narrow.
Price estimate by architect/planner: 450,000
Personal price limit for house, including fittings: 510,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
If you have to give up something, on which details or features could you compromise?
Can give up: floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor
Cannot give up: straight staircase and the open space; I’d rather not lose those
Why is the design the way it is now?
This is the third version from our planner, which we initially liked, but now we are uncertain.
The number of rooms, open space, and straight staircase have been considered.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
The living/dining area is too small and too narrow.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Development Plan/Restrictions
1. Would swapping the living room and kitchen be sensible? The future living room would need to be made wider since 3.13 m (10.3 ft) is too narrow.
2. Could a storage room be planned on the upper floor, possibly after the staircase?
3. What do you like or dislike?
I appreciate any suggestions and advice.
Best regards,
Nicolefl
We already have a finalized floor plan for our single-family home with a granny flat. The building permit application has been submitted. Unfortunately, during the eight months of waiting for the approval, some uncertainties about the floor plan have arisen. We cannot change the exterior dimensions anymore, but the interior layout feels off.
A quick note about the granny flat: it is intended for my parents. They will be living partly here and partly abroad. We do not want them to access the granny flat through our main apartment. A separate entrance is important, even though it is a bit inconvenient that we have two staircases. Later, the granny flat could be used by our son when he is older, or it could be converted into a hobby room, or something else.
On the ground floor, I would much rather have the kitchen where the living room is now, including a kitchen island. The problem is that the living room would then have to move to where the kitchen currently is, which at 3.13 m (10.3 ft) is far too narrow.
On the upper floor, a small storage room could be added just after the stairs to house the washing machine and dryer.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 386 sqm (4,155 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: see attachment
Floor area ratio: see attachment
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see attachment
Edge development
Parking spaces: 3
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof
Style: modern
Orientation: entrance faces north
Maximum heights/limits
Additional requirements: see attachment
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Modern style, gable roof, single-family house with granny flat
Basement, floors
Basement, ground floor, upper floor
Number of residents, ages
Four adults (two in their mid-30s, two in their mid-60s) and one child (3 years old), possibly two soon
Room needs on ground and upper floors
Ground floor: living/dining area, kitchen, guest WC, pantry would be nice
Upper floor: main bedroom, two children’s rooms, bathroom, storage room would be great
Office: family use or home office?
No office needed
Guests per year
No need, independent of the granny flat
Open or closed architecture
Open plan
Conservative or modern building style: no details provided
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Open kitchen with island, full-height kitchen units
Number of dining seats
4–6
Fireplace
No, maybe bioethanol
Music/sound system wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage 7 × 3 m (23 × 10 ft)
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why something should or should not be included
Swapping the living room and kitchen would allow conversations on the couch in the evening without it being too noisy upstairs (due to the open space).
House Design
Designed by: our architect, but the plan is not quite right.
What do you like most? Why? Not much, actually
What do you dislike? Why? The combined living, dining, and kitchen areas are too narrow.
Price estimate by architect/planner: 450,000
Personal price limit for house, including fittings: 510,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
If you have to give up something, on which details or features could you compromise?
Can give up: floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floor
Cannot give up: straight staircase and the open space; I’d rather not lose those
Why is the design the way it is now?
This is the third version from our planner, which we initially liked, but now we are uncertain.
The number of rooms, open space, and straight staircase have been considered.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
The living/dining area is too small and too narrow.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Development Plan/Restrictions
1. Would swapping the living room and kitchen be sensible? The future living room would need to be made wider since 3.13 m (10.3 ft) is too narrow.
2. Could a storage room be planned on the upper floor, possibly after the staircase?
3. What do you like or dislike?
I appreciate any suggestions and advice.
Best regards,
Nicolefl
Nicolefl schrieb:
The idea that they would access the granny flat through our apartment is not desired. But they do? Or am I missing something?
Nicolefl schrieb:
It should definitely have a separate entrance. Where would that be? There’s only a window marked downstairs, isn’t there?
Nicolefl schrieb:
Cost estimate according to the architect/planner: 450,000 Not even close. I roughly counted a generous 225m² (2,422 sq ft) of living space, which is about 563,000 Euros, plus additional construction-related costs including above-average earthworks. So this easily starts with a 6 and the numbers behind won’t be low either.
Regarding the floor plan: I have no idea what else could be changed, so if @11ant is right, I’m out of my depth. But the incredibly large hallway area, due to the straight staircase, is painful…
Why air space instead of storage? Where do you plan to store all the stuff that accumulates? I don’t see either a garage or basement storage space.
G
GeradeSchräg1 Oct 2021 10:23The two staircases on the ground floor naturally take up a lot of space, and for a house of this size, a straight staircase is not optimal. A straight staircase looks great, but we will also forgo it because there are simply better solutions for an average floor plan.
It is difficult to find a good solution that provides both parties with the necessary privacy while also saving space.
Would an external entrance to the separate apartment be conceivable? Then the straight staircase could be removed, and where the current staircase to the separate apartment is, a half-turn staircase could be installed. This would open up the entire ground floor and the layout could be reconsidered. Of course, the upper and lower floors would also need to be adjusted accordingly.
But first, you should be clear about which direction you want to take since the building permit / planning permission has already been submitted. You can either submit a new application or keep it as is.
The budget has already been mentioned. It is far from sufficient. So this point should also be reconsidered.
It is difficult to find a good solution that provides both parties with the necessary privacy while also saving space.
Would an external entrance to the separate apartment be conceivable? Then the straight staircase could be removed, and where the current staircase to the separate apartment is, a half-turn staircase could be installed. This would open up the entire ground floor and the layout could be reconsidered. Of course, the upper and lower floors would also need to be adjusted accordingly.
But first, you should be clear about which direction you want to take since the building permit / planning permission has already been submitted. You can either submit a new application or keep it as is.
The budget has already been mentioned. It is far from sufficient. So this point should also be reconsidered.
M
Myrna_Loy1 Oct 2021 10:40About 25 percent of the floor area allocated for air circulation and traffic paths...? That might be feasible in a 400 sqm (4,306 sq ft) villa.
With your design, you end up with the usable space of a townhouse, including all the typical tight spots.
With your design, you end up with the usable space of a townhouse, including all the typical tight spots.
The real question is what you can and want to change at this point in time. Do you have a general contractor contract with fixed costs? I also find the budget extremely questionable or simply impossible. That would worry me the most. Otherwise, by the time you have a second child at the latest, you will face a significant storage problem. The empty space is a luxury you can’t afford due to size restrictions.
What also stands out to me as a planning mistake, which can be easily fixed by slightly moving walls and relocating doors, is that the seniors’ hallway in the basement is shared with you. I don’t see that as ideal – the seniors basically have no privacy. What happens if they want to go from the bathroom to bed in the evening while you are still working in the utility room down there?
Overall, I would advise against a “small change”: a design depends heavily on the stairs. If you make major changes or shift them roughly, it will seriously worsen the plan. Nothing will fit anymore, including the structural calculations, which are approved through the building permit/planning permission.
For the windows, I would submit a change request. This is usually approved without additional waiting time.
Or you completely overhaul everything (consider the budget). Then a year will be lost, but it will be well invested.
Regarding the budget planning, I don’t see the happiness you imagine. Or are the seniors contributing something? Maybe their apartment?
Overall, I would advise against a “small change”: a design depends heavily on the stairs. If you make major changes or shift them roughly, it will seriously worsen the plan. Nothing will fit anymore, including the structural calculations, which are approved through the building permit/planning permission.
For the windows, I would submit a change request. This is usually approved without additional waiting time.
Or you completely overhaul everything (consider the budget). Then a year will be lost, but it will be well invested.
Regarding the budget planning, I don’t see the happiness you imagine. Or are the seniors contributing something? Maybe their apartment?
Nemesis schrieb:
Regarding the floor plan: I have no idea what else could be changed, so whether @11ant is right, I’m not sure. But the incredibly large hallway area, caused by the straight staircase, is painful… Straight staircases require circulation space; square floor plans create wasted living space. At least the highest priority of symmetry was dropped here. Still, a roughly 100 m² (1076 sq ft) "townhouse" footprint is quite a tight framework. Alterations can generally be made during the building permit / planning permission process, yes, but if nothing besides the exterior walls remains intact, the building authority will politely let you know they’re not to be fooled—and the approval process basically starts over.
Crossy schrieb:
A void space is a luxury you can’t afford given the size limitation. "Luxury" would be an indulgence beyond your means; a void space in an "S-sized" townhouse is not really a luxury but simply an empty shell. Homeowners without knowledge of acoustics often think that this symbolically important “dream house feature they managed to keep within their means” only costs them the lost storage area floor space. But as the desired spatial exchange already shows, this creates a problem. For the effect of the dishwasher unloading concert, by the way, it does not matter whether the sound travels up from the left or right. What does not reach the teenager at their gaming device thanks to headphones is the call to dinner ;-)
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