ᐅ Floor plan of a semi-detached house, 7 by 16 meters, on a 390-square-meter plot in a residential development

Created on: 8 Oct 2021 10:28

Marc1990

Hello everyone,
we are currently in the middle of planning the floor plan. Unfortunately, I don’t have the architect’s drawing yet, but I wanted to get your opinions already. I’m afraid the house might be too dark because of the north-facing side, so I actually want to include as many windows as possible.
Thanks in advance!

Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 390
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.4
Building envelope, building line, and boundary fully utilized
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable roof 38 degrees

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof type, building type: modern
Basement, floors: ground floor, first floor, attic
Number of occupants, age: 4 (2 adults + 2 children aged 4 & 3), but more children are planned
Office: family use or home office?
Guest bedrooms per year: 5-10
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open & island
Number of dining seats: 6-8
Fireplace: no
Carport later: yes
Utility garden
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things are desired or not: I would like everything open on the ground floor. Since we have the north side, I’m worried it will be too dark, so I try to plan windows everywhere or doors with side panels. The utility/technical room must be behind the kitchen. First floor: knee wall at 50cm (20 inches). 2 children’s bedrooms & 1 bedroom with walk-in closet. If more children come, the parents will move to the attic. I also want a laundry/utility room upstairs.
Attic: to be finished later.

House design
Planning by: self-planned
What do you particularly like? Why? Open, spacious living area
What do you not like? Why? Bathroom and toilet arrangement bothers me
Preferred heating system: not decided yet, probably heat pump

If you have to give up any details or additions
- can give up: upstairs utility room, freestanding bathtub
- cannot give up: kitchen layout, windows

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Can I plan the windows better so it stays nice and bright? And I don’t like the bathroom 100%, would appreciate tips.

Floor plan of a house with kitchen, dining table, sofa, stairs and parking spaces.

Floor plan of an apartment with bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and hallway; measurements visible

Floor plan of an interior space with measurements, doors, walls and furniture.

Marc19909 Oct 2021 21:38

#49

driver55 schrieb:

The sun, as we know, comes from above, and the wall won’t be more than 10 meters (33 feet) high.

You mentioned at the beginning that you want to install many windows. I can only agree with that.
That’s also why there’s an entrance on the north side and windows on the west. If you place the entrance, bathroom, or utility room there instead, it will stay dark.

Are the 7 by 16 meters (23 by 52 feet) fixed dimensions?

My concern is really that it will be dark... We will have a door with a glass element in the middle and a side panel made of glass, but that won’t brighten the room much. However, the entire north side is facing me nine times, and I have to make the best of it.

barfly6669 Oct 2021 22:47

#50

Marc1990 schrieb:

Yes, the 7x16 meters (23x52 feet) dimensions are fixed. I tried planning with a side entrance (mentioned earlier), but I don’t like it because I want to keep the layout very open.

Without a side entrance, in my opinion, the floor plan feels quite narrow and corridor-like. By placing the entrance and staircase on the left side, the spatial experience would change completely and feel more open. Consider large windows on the east side and possibly locating the master bedroom on the west side of the ground floor.

Your footprint exactly matches a property I was once interested in. That floor plan could serve as inspiration. Unfortunately, I cannot share it here due to (c) reasons, but maybe by email!?

ypg10 Oct 2021 10:06

#51

Marc1990 schrieb:

You enter the neighborhood from the north side..

Okay.. into the neighborhood. But how do you access the plot? I don’t see any turning area for cars.

Marc1990 schrieb:

My concern is actually that it will get dark..

I would actually put lighting aside for now and focus more on zoning the ground floor.

barfly666 schrieb:

Large windows on the east side, possibly place the master bedroom on the ground floor west side.

That’s exactly how I would do it.

Pinkiponk10 Oct 2021 10:42

#52

Marc1990 schrieb:

...

What will the ceiling height be? I ask because your ground floor layout reminds me of a “loft,” which would typically have unusually high ceilings.

Regarding windows and natural light, you might want to use one of the online tools available to check when, how much, and where light will enter.

What I’ve noticed—not just with your project but with ours and many others—is that people often talk about floor-to-ceiling windows, but almost never about windows that actually reach the full height of the ceiling. I seem to recall that ceiling-height windows provide more light than floor-to-ceiling windows. However, I might be wrong and hope to be corrected soon by a more experienced (? the question mark refers to grammar, not experience ;-) ) commenter here.
(I also find it unfortunate that apparently the thicker the insulation, the less natural light comes in. :-( )

Marc199010 Oct 2021 11:11

#53

ypg schrieb:

Okay... into the residential area. But how do you access the plot? I don’t see any parking spaces for cars.

That’s exactly how I would do it.

I have added the image.

Why should I have the bedroom on the ground floor when there is enough space upstairs? I will be moving to the attic in a few years anyway. I could imagine putting the utility room on the ground floor to have a bit more space upstairs, BUT honestly, I like that it is nicely spacious on the ground floor. We spend the whole day down there. What bothers me more is that the cloakroom is opposite the kitchen, and that only because the technical room (“TK”) is allegedly not allowed to be located in the center of the house. But a bathroom without a window, located near the living room, I find even worse.

Site plan of a plot with house floor plan, neighbors, turning area and street.

Marc199010 Oct 2021 11:13

#54

Pinkiponk schrieb:

What will the ceiling height be? I ask because your floor plan on the ground floor reminds me of a "loft," but usually lofts have higher than typical ceilings.

Regarding windows and natural light, you might want to try one of the websites available online that show when, how much, and where light will fall as a supplement.

What I’ve noticed, not only with you but also with ourselves and many other builders, is that people often talk about floor-to-ceiling windows but almost never about ceiling-height windows. I seem to remember that ceiling-height windows provide more light than floor-to-ceiling windows. But I could be wrong and hopefully will be corrected soon by a more experienced (?) commenter here (the question mark refers to the grammar, not the experience ;-) ).
(I find it unfortunate that apparently, the thicker the insulation, the less natural light you get. :-( )

The ceiling height is 2.50 meters (8.2 feet). I will try to find such a website, that would really help me. Thank you.
I BELIEVE ceiling-height windows won’t work for me since we will have roller blinds.

ᐅ Floor plan of a semi-detached house, 7 by 16 meters, on a 390-square-meter plot in a residential development

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