ᐅ Minimum floor area – utility room and workroom on the ground floor – without basement

Good evening everyone,
we might be considering building a house sometime in the future, which is why I’ve been following this forum more passively lately.
Given the current prices, I want to use the space as efficiently as possible and build only as large as necessary. However, a few parameters are already set:

• No basement
• Utility/technical room on the ground floor
• Home office on the ground floor
• Staircase preferably straight-run
• Open kitchen, dining, and living area (of course)

How much living/floor area would you say is the minimum required under these conditions? The ground floor area would likely determine the upper floor area here.
Ideally, the house shouldn’t feel too cramped.

I’m asking also because prefabricated houses with this layout and under 180 sqm (1,938 sq ft) of living space are rarely found.

Perhaps someone here has built with similar requirements. Thank you, I’m looking forward to your input.

phil360 schrieb:

I’m asking this question partly because prefabricated houses with this kind of layout and under 180 sqm (1,938 sq ft) of living space are hard to find.

That’s no coincidence. A straight staircase requires quite a bit of space to feel spacious. Most people want an open-plan living area of 45–50 sqm (484–538 sq ft) and a bathroom with a shower on the ground floor. If you add a study and a utility/technical room, you end up with a fairly large footprint downstairs, which also affects the upstairs layout.

The simplest solution to this problem would be to move the study upstairs. We also placed the utility room in a small extension (warning: this was somewhat controversial here because of the aesthetics). Without these two adjustments, our house measuring 9 x 10 meters (30 x 33 feet) on the exterior would only have had an open-plan area of about 30 sqm (323 sq ft) and a 25 sqm (269 sq ft) children’s room upstairs.

But strictly speaking, the question of the best layout can’t be answered right now because it’s not clear what you want to include upstairs.

WilderSueden schrieb:

This is no coincidence. A straight staircase requires quite a bit of space to feel spacious. Most people want an open-plan living area of 45–50sqm (485–538 sq ft) and a shower bathroom on the ground floor as well. If you add a home office and a utility room to that, you end up with a fairly large footprint downstairs, which also affects the upper floor.

The simplest solution to this problem would be to move the home office upstairs. We also have the utility room in a small annex (warning: this was somewhat controversial here due to aesthetics). Without these two measures, our house, measuring 9 x 10 meters (30 x 33 feet) externally, would only have an open-plan living area of about 30sqm (323 sq ft) downstairs, with a 25sqm (269 sq ft) children’s room upstairs.

Strictly speaking, the question of the best layout cannot be answered at the moment because it is not yet clear what exactly you want to include on the upper floor.

Thank you for your answer. The upper floor is planned to have a bedroom, two children’s rooms, and a bathroom. I’m still relatively young but already have knee problems. Therefore, it would be convenient if there were no stairs between the kitchen and the home office, as that is one of my main walking routes. Due to my knee issues, I also prefer a straight staircase. However, there might be gently angled versions available, so I will need to look into that.

Whether it is possible to place the home office or utility room in a separate building likely depends on the building permit / planning permission.

phil360 schrieb:

The knee problem also leads to a preference for a straight staircase.

However, it could probably be a double-flight staircase as well (?).

I'll temporarily sing the old song from @ypg: please fill out the questionnaire!

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phil360 schrieb:

I’m not very old yet, but I already have problems with one knee. That’s why it would be convenient if there were no stairs between the kitchen and the office.

If the knee issue is only temporary, then disregard my advice. If the plot and building regulations allow it, then build a bungalow. You can definitely stay below 130 sqm (1400 sq ft) here.

The first thing that comes to mind is the NEO 100 from Fingerhaus. 125m² (1,345 sq ft) – everything included. The question of feeling "cramped" is subjective and varies from person to person; you will need to assess that yourself.