ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Gable Roof House (Knee Wall Height 2.20 m) Approximately 170 sqm

Hello everyone,

We would appreciate your suggestions and ideas on our first floor plan draft.
Please excuse the unprofessional sketches, but we are still at the beginning and have our first meeting with a potential construction company next week.

Zoning plan / restrictions
Plot size: 550 m² (5,920 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio (building coverage ratio): 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building boundaries, building line, and setbacks: 3 m (10 ft)
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof
Style: modern
Orientation as shown in pictures (almost perfect north-south orientation)
Maximum heights / limits
Ridge height: 10 m (33 ft)
Eaves height at least 1.5 m (5 ft) lower than ridge height

Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof house with a high knee wall 2.20 m (7 ft 3 in)
Basement, floors: no
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults and 1 child planned
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Both home offices
Guests sleeping per year: negligible
Open or closed architecture
Conservative or modern construction style
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why or why not for these elements
- Passage from garage to utility room for bringing dry groceries / beverage crates into the house
- 2 office options as both work from home
- Passage in front of the bed is sufficient for us; currently we only have 40 cm (16 inches) in front of a dresser with TV
- Wardrobe to be under the stairs (possibly enclosed)
- Child 2 room to serve as office / sports room

House design
Who created the planning:
- Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why? Preferably an additional storage room
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €395,000
Personal price limit for house including fittings: €500,000
Preferred heating system: heat pump

If you have to give up something, which details / expansions can you do without?
- Can do without: fireplace
- Cannot do without: walk-in closet (storage for bed linen / towels for the house)

Welcome everyone!

I’m not one of the layout experts here and admit I haven’t read everything in detail. However, a few points caught my attention quickly. The question is whether it’s worth addressing them “already,” because:

- What is the sketch based on? Is there a reference or a template? You need to be aware that if you take this to the general contractor (GC), in many cases they will simply try to replicate it… whether that makes sense or not.

- How long is the staircase supposed to be? What is the floor-to-floor height? It looks about one meter (3 feet) too short, which could throw off the entire layout.

- How did you arrive at a knee wall height of 2.2 meters (7 feet 3 inches)? Is that just a guess? Did you see it somewhere?

Hi and thank you,

face26 schrieb:

- How did you arrive at a knee wall height of 2.2m (7 ft 3 in)? Is that just a guess? Seen it somewhere?

We actually got inspired by many pictures from prefabricated house manufacturers, but we have also seen it in a solid construction building with a knee wall height of 2.20m (7 ft 3 in). It makes the space a bit cozier because of the small roof slope, but you can still place furniture properly.

face26 schrieb:

- How long is the staircase supposed to be? What is the floor-to-floor height? It looks about one meter (3 ft 3 in) too short, which would throw off the entire floor plan.

I also have concerns about the staircase and so far only used the data from the planning software, which was 3m (9 ft 10 in) and 12 steps.

face26 schrieb:

- What is the sketch based on? Is there a template? You have to be aware that if you take this to a general contractor (GC), in many cases they will just try to replicate it—whether that makes sense or not?

These are our first attempts to combine our needs based on sample floor plans, but you’re right, we need to examine the floor plan carefully to determine if it makes sense. To help with this, we plan to tape out the measurements room by room in a small hall and test how each space feels (similar to life-size floor plans, but room by room because the hall can’t accommodate more).

The staircase is at least 1 meter (3 feet) too short, so the floor plan no longer fits.
The wardrobe is missing.
Be sure to include accurately scaled furniture with clearance space. The dining area is not actually as spacious.
The passage between the bedroom and the wall bed is too narrow. You won’t get any younger.

The upper floor is a mix of wasted space and tightness. The bedroom would be a nightmare for me. First, you have a long, narrow, dark hallway, then a sharp right turn into a nook with barely any room to move. But at least there's a window right in front of the bed. And then a bit of a zigzag path to the bathroom... The chances of a pregnant person or children/parents with stomach flu vomiting all over the walk-through closet are pretty high. 😀

haydee schrieb:

Be sure to draw the furniture to scale, including clearance space. The dining area isn’t actually that spacious.

The drawn furniture is already sized according to our existing pieces.

haydee schrieb:

The passage between the bedroom wall and bed is too narrow. You won’t get any younger.

Currently, there is only a 40cm (16 inches) gap between the dresser and the bed, and here 70cm (28 inches) is planned. The bed is also planned at 2x2.20m (6.6x7.2 feet) to allow for beds with upholstered headboards.