ᐅ Evaluation of floor plan for approximately 145 sqm single-family house with basement, ground floor, and upper floor
Created on: 14 Oct 2021 12:44
A
Arango18
Hello everyone,
Zoning plan/restrictions: Zoning plan and restrictions considered by the architect
Plot size: 675m² (7260 sq ft)
Slope: yes, running diagonally across the plot (see elevation plan)
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 feet) on all sides
Edge development: yes, neighbor to the southeast
Number of parking spaces: 2 in garage and 2 in front of garage
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof type: gable roof, 36 degrees
Architectural style: simple
Orientation: southwest
Maximum heights/limits: same as neighboring buildings, sufficiently high
Other requirements: none
Street: cul-de-sac; our house is at the end, with neighbors on one side and open view of forest, meadow, and valley on the other
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: interior as open and straightforward as possible, exterior simple
Basement, floors: basement, ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF)
Number and age of occupants: currently 2 (both 28 years old), planning 1-2 children
Space requirements for GF, UF: approx. 140 m² (1507 sq ft) of living space
Office: absolutely necessary due to 80% remote work
Guest bedrooms: very rare use
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative (mostly because it’s usually more affordable)
Open kitchen, cooking island: open kitchen with bar or island (due to space and layout, more likely a bar)
Dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: planned but not mandatory
Music/stereo wall: standard TV wall
Balcony, roof terrace: small terrace on the slightly extended garage towards southwest, terrace towards southeast
Garage, carport: double garage with a single door
Utility garden, greenhouse: standard
Other wishes/notes/daily routine, including reasons why some things are wanted or not: a small shower in the guest WC is very important to us, as well as a small room for the home office. Since I work from home 80% of the time, this is essential. Also, a small storage room for vacuum cleaner etc.
House design
Who designed it: architect
What do you particularly like? The dining and living area looks bright and cozy in our opinion. Not too big and not too small with a great view.
What don’t you like? Why? Bathroom layout feels too tight and awkward, hallway in the upper floor too narrow?
Preferred heating system: air source heat pump
If you had to give up some features, which ones?
Fireplace
Why did the design end up like it is now?
The original design was larger and included more details such as corner and roof windows, but it was optimized for cost.
However, the room layout and overall room concept basically remained unchanged.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
I would appreciate further suggestions, especially regarding the aspects we don’t like. Overall, we are quite happy with it. Do you see any major “no-gos”?
If any information is incomplete or unclear, I’m happy to check it again.
Zoning plan/restrictions: Zoning plan and restrictions considered by the architect
Plot size: 675m² (7260 sq ft)
Slope: yes, running diagonally across the plot (see elevation plan)
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 feet) on all sides
Edge development: yes, neighbor to the southeast
Number of parking spaces: 2 in garage and 2 in front of garage
Number of floors: 2.5
Roof type: gable roof, 36 degrees
Architectural style: simple
Orientation: southwest
Maximum heights/limits: same as neighboring buildings, sufficiently high
Other requirements: none
Street: cul-de-sac; our house is at the end, with neighbors on one side and open view of forest, meadow, and valley on the other
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: interior as open and straightforward as possible, exterior simple
Basement, floors: basement, ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF)
Number and age of occupants: currently 2 (both 28 years old), planning 1-2 children
Space requirements for GF, UF: approx. 140 m² (1507 sq ft) of living space
Office: absolutely necessary due to 80% remote work
Guest bedrooms: very rare use
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative (mostly because it’s usually more affordable)
Open kitchen, cooking island: open kitchen with bar or island (due to space and layout, more likely a bar)
Dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: planned but not mandatory
Music/stereo wall: standard TV wall
Balcony, roof terrace: small terrace on the slightly extended garage towards southwest, terrace towards southeast
Garage, carport: double garage with a single door
Utility garden, greenhouse: standard
Other wishes/notes/daily routine, including reasons why some things are wanted or not: a small shower in the guest WC is very important to us, as well as a small room for the home office. Since I work from home 80% of the time, this is essential. Also, a small storage room for vacuum cleaner etc.
House design
Who designed it: architect
What do you particularly like? The dining and living area looks bright and cozy in our opinion. Not too big and not too small with a great view.
What don’t you like? Why? Bathroom layout feels too tight and awkward, hallway in the upper floor too narrow?
Preferred heating system: air source heat pump
If you had to give up some features, which ones?
Fireplace
Why did the design end up like it is now?
The original design was larger and included more details such as corner and roof windows, but it was optimized for cost.
However, the room layout and overall room concept basically remained unchanged.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
I would appreciate further suggestions, especially regarding the aspects we don’t like. Overall, we are quite happy with it. Do you see any major “no-gos”?
If any information is incomplete or unclear, I’m happy to check it again.
So where is the open, nice view now? Surely not to the southeast, where the only neighbor is very close? From your description and the site plan with the north arrow, I thought the street was almost to the west and you would be looking northwest into the valley and at least northeast freely towards forest and meadow? Then I don’t understand why the terrace is "stuck" so close (within the setback area?) to the neighbor?
I find the floor plan quite successful. The bathroom needs some consideration. If you place a roof window above the toilet, it can work like in my suggestion (with a bench in the shower). I also once had a small dressing area under the sloped ceiling. That was quite tricky and annoying. I would put a large wardrobe along the 2-meter (6.5 feet) line—or better yet, a built-in closet with sliding doors. You can access it easily and have endless wardrobe space, plus room to breathe in bed.
For child 2’s room, I would lower or narrow the window so a wardrobe doesn’t block it!
I find the floor plan quite successful. The bathroom needs some consideration. If you place a roof window above the toilet, it can work like in my suggestion (with a bench in the shower). I also once had a small dressing area under the sloped ceiling. That was quite tricky and annoying. I would put a large wardrobe along the 2-meter (6.5 feet) line—or better yet, a built-in closet with sliding doors. You can access it easily and have endless wardrobe space, plus room to breathe in bed.
For child 2’s room, I would lower or narrow the window so a wardrobe doesn’t block it!
I find the floor plan to be acceptable. The bathroom and bedroom/dressing area can definitely be improved by taking the sloping roof into account, and the children’s rooms as well—but there is no need for a complete redesign. On the upper floor, the corridor should definitely be freed from the awkward spaces next to the bathroom and bedroom. Regarding the windows, one could be more daring and move away from the arrow-slit symmetry to better adapt them to living needs and the landscape/view.
What I am less comfortable with is the access path and orientation. In any case, I would try to keep the west-facing slope as the highlight: great sunsets, views, and privacy! Would it be possible to mirror the house or the ground floor/upper floor to move the access path to the other side of the property? Maybe the ridge direction could also be adjusted a bit if the site’s elevation requires it (which is a bit hard for me to judge without a site plan with elevation data).
What I am less comfortable with is the access path and orientation. In any case, I would try to keep the west-facing slope as the highlight: great sunsets, views, and privacy! Would it be possible to mirror the house or the ground floor/upper floor to move the access path to the other side of the property? Maybe the ridge direction could also be adjusted a bit if the site’s elevation requires it (which is a bit hard for me to judge without a site plan with elevation data).
Würfel* schrieb:
Where exactly is the open nice view? Surely not to the southeast, where the only neighbor is right next door? From your description and the site plan with the north arrow, I thought the street was almost to the west and you would be looking northwest into the valley and at least northeast towards the forest and meadow? Then I don’t understand why the terrace is so close to the neighbor there (within the setback area)?
I think the floor plan is quite good. The bathroom needs some consideration. If you place a skylight above the toilet, it can work like in my suggestion (with a bench in the shower). I once had a small dressing area under a sloping roof like that. It was quite inconvenient and annoying. I would place a large wardrobe at the 2-meter (6.5 feet) mark — or better yet, a built-in closet with sliding doors. That way you have easy access, plenty of closet space, and breathing room around the bed.
For child’s room 2, I would lower or narrow the window so the wardrobe doesn’t block it!
Exactly as you describe it. That was the main reason why we wanted to pull the garage out a bit to create a small terrace there where you can enjoy the view.
The terrace next to the house, facing the neighbor to the southeast, is ultimately on that side because that’s where the sun shines in the mornings and early afternoons. A terrace facing north, on the other side of the house, would be better for privacy and the view, but you would never get any sun there.
To be able to look from the living room down into the valley, we are considering rearranging the windows a bit. There was originally a corner window planned pointing exactly in that direction, but things like that were consistently cut for cost reasons.
I really like your bathroom suggestion; I had something similar in mind before.
The idea for the bedroom is also great, but my partner won’t give up on the “dressing room.” From my perspective, it doesn’t make much sense, but well, she deserves that — after all, both of us should be able to contribute and realize our ideas 🙂
Attached is a view from the upper edge of the property (east) looking west.
I’m still trying to remember where I’ve seen your cadastral extract before. In the meantime, I’ve already attempted a north-oriented insertion of your plot into it:
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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