ᐅ Floor plan of a single-family house with two full stories, approximately 185 m² on a 575 m² plot.

Hello everyone,
we are currently planning the floor plan of our house, and today I’m sharing the first draft from our designer. We plan to start construction in late 2022/early 2023 and would appreciate your open and honest feedback.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 575m² (6,187 sq ft)
Slope: No
Building line, setback, and boundary: 5 m (16.5 ft) distance from the street to the north
Number of parking spaces: minimum 2 behind the 5 m (16.5 ft) setback from the street

Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Gable roof with 25% pitch
Basement, floors: 2 full floors without a basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults in their mid-20s, possibly 2 children in the future
Space needs on ground and upper floors: Ground floor - kitchen, open living/dining area, utility room, office; upper floor - bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, bathroom
Front door orientation: preferably facing east
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with a kitchen island (not freestanding)
Fireplace: yes (possibly water-heated)
Balcony, roof terrace: no, but the flat roof of the garage might be converted later
Garage, carport: open parking space and single or double garage
Garden for use, greenhouse: yes, southeast part of the property
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things are preferred or avoided: The south and west garden areas, which we plan to use most, are connected to the main living spaces.

House Design
Planner: designer
What do you especially like? Why?: Open living-dining area, larger toilet on the ground floor with shower and urinal, T-shaped layout in the upstairs bathroom
What do you dislike? Why?: We find the house footprint quite large, but it hardly gets smaller without a basement, right?
Cost estimate according to architect/designer: 380,000€
Personal price limit for house including equipment: 450,000€

Heating Technology and Energy
Air-source heat pump
Photovoltaic system with energy storage
Solar thermal system (possibly)
Water-heated fireplace (since we have our own firewood)
Ventilation system with heat recovery (possibly)
Underfloor heating

If you had to give up certain features or extensions,
- which ones could you do without: walk-in closet in the master bedroom, single garage instead of double garage is also possible.

Why was the design created like this?
After much consideration regarding the best placement of the house and the orientation of living spaces according to cardinal directions and sunlight exposure.
Additionally, some rooms have been arranged following Feng Shui principles.

What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- Could the house be designed a bit smaller? What do you think?
- We are also considering whether to insulate the floor panels of the attic or to insulate the roof and possibly convert the attic later.
- Possibly, instead of a double garage, build a slightly larger single garage further south/lower, and add an open parking space in front of the house. This would allow us to shift the house further east and widen the garden on the west side of the house from currently 4.5 m (15 ft) to 6-7 m (20-23 ft). This would greatly improve afternoon and evening use.

I look forward to your suggestions and critiques!
Best regards, Snooze27

I know this wasn’t the question, but... The house will be about 180sqm (1,938 sq ft), right? How does the architect arrive at a price of around €2,100 per sqm (approximately $195 per sq ft) including these custom features? For a standard finish, you’d expect about €2,500 per sqm (approximately $232 per sq ft) * 180 sqm (1,938 sq ft) = €450,000 (approximately $419,000). On top of that, there are additional construction costs, photovoltaic system, landscaping, etc.

Hi Tom,
this price was given to us by the architect, who at that time probably only planned for an air-to-water heat pump.
We want to do a lot ourselves and also work in the building materials trade. I hope that with our budget of 450,000€ we should be able to manage.

Snooze27 schrieb:

What don’t you like? Why?: We find the house’s footprint relatively large, but without a basement, it hardly seems possible to make it smaller?

From the total depth of 11.49 meters (37.7 feet), at least 1 meter (3.3 feet) can be cut off without it being very noticeable. That would mean 20 m² (215 sq ft) less! 15 m² (161 sq ft) for the bathroom, 26 m² (280 sq ft) for the bedroom, 14 m² (151 sq ft) for the guest room, 12 m² (129 sq ft) just for technical installations and connections, and 6 m² (65 sq ft) for the second bathroom. It’s doable but you have to be able to afford it. If it’s not really necessary, then you will have more budget left or your existing budget will be more realistic.

When reducing size, I would start by removing the pantry. Only a narrow shelf would fit on the long side anyway, so it’s better to have two more full-height cabinets there, which offer more storage. The access to the open-plan area could then be moved further up (no need to walk around the corner anymore), ideally with double doors.

In the dining room, a round table for six; in the living room, a slightly smaller sofa, which should save at least 80 cm (31 inches) in depth, maybe even 100 cm (39 inches). The guest room (rotate the bed by 90°) and the technical room could each be shortened by 50 cm (20 inches) (a sliding door embedded in the wall would be nice).

The bedroom and dressing area could be shortened by a total of 50 cm (20 inches), and the children’s rooms likewise.

As mentioned, that would be about 20 m² (215 sq ft) less.

Building materials suppliers aside, you still have to pay for everything.
I also find the proposed technology quite expensive; that adds to the difference compared to current construction costs.
Let’s say 360,000 plus 20% (draftsman’s or architect’s estimate?), since the latter tend to underestimate by 20%...
Then additional construction costs of 50,000, landscaping costs of 30,000, a double garage... totaling 530,000. Minus the savings from direct purchasing...
Well then.
I find the statement interesting that the design was based on Feng Shui. What exactly is it supposed to be? I see a deficiency in the partnership area according to the Bagua map (pantry) – how did that come about?

The price will be unrealistic. @Tom1978 is right about that. Even with doing some work yourself and sourcing the materials independently, which not every contractor uses.

I don’t like the whole ground floor layout. The long hallway, the tiny pantry (what is supposed to go in there?), and the dining area feels very small. I would move the garage and place the entrance more centrally. Get rid of the pantry and design the open plan living area in an L-shape.

For the upper floor, I would insulate it, as I need the storage space.