Hello everyone, after picking up many valuable tips here as a silent reader, I would now like to present our floor plan for discussion (Note: there are still a few errors in the plan because the planner sent the draft quickly; these will of course be corrected, e.g., the 2-meter (6.6 ft) line on the upper floor right side, escape routes, etc.).
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 807 sqm (8688 sqft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio:
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see site plan
Perimeter development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2 carports
Number of stories: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: classic
Orientation: south
Maximum heights / limits: n/a
Other requirements: utility line along the western property boundary with a 4 m (13 ft) protection zone
Requirements of the Homeowners
Style, roof type, building type: classic single-family house with a gable roof
Basement, stories: no basement, 1 full story
Number of occupants, ages: 3 (33, 33, 2), a 4th is possible
Room requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): GF: open living/dining area, guest room, shower/WC; UF: 2 children’s rooms, bedroom, dressing/storage, bathroom
Office: family use or home office; primarily guest room with storage option for important documents
Overnight guests per year: about 12
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: classic modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: both yes
Number of permanent dining seats: 6 with option for 10-12
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other: moderately busy circular road to the south (50 km/h (31 mph)), no direct view due to raised earth embankment (additionally noise protection wall planned if needed), view of greenery from living room
Wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why or why not: desire for storage option in the kitchen for glass recycling, paper, water crates; guest room must be on the ground floor to ensure necessary privacy
House Design
Planner: planner from a construction company, based on our specifications
What do you particularly like? Why?: living area because of the kitchen island, storage under the stairs, recessed living area with garden view (no traffic area), large dressing/storage on the upper floor, bathroom not visible due to double casement window, utility/mudroom, distance from stairs to main entrance—> we really like the ground floor except for the small utility room; we are uncertain whether the children’s rooms on the upper floor are comfortable and easy to furnish
What do you dislike? Why?: utility room very small, children’s rooms are very awkwardly shaped, bedroom very large compared to kids’ rooms (12-14 sqm (130-150 sqft) would have been enough for us), location of the outdoor unit for the air-to-water heat pump
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €315,000 without kitchen, floors, painting, landscaping, and additional construction costs
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: €420,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
If you had to give up, which details or additions
-you could give up: straight staircase, but not storage underneath
-you could not give up: storage on the ground floor, guest room on the ground floor with nearby shower/WC
Why did the design end up as it is now?
Which of your wishes were implemented by the planner: living area, storage under the stairs accessible from the kitchen; wishes stemmed from a mix of many examples from various magazines
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion? Tailored individually to our wishes (especially on the ground floor)
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are there suggestions for a better divided upper floor, possibly with a different staircase? It is important to us that the children’s rooms remain on the south side. Or do you think concerns about the awkward children’s rooms are not justified?
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 807 sqm (8688 sqft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio:
Building envelope, building line and boundary: see site plan
Perimeter development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2 carports
Number of stories: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: classic
Orientation: south
Maximum heights / limits: n/a
Other requirements: utility line along the western property boundary with a 4 m (13 ft) protection zone
Requirements of the Homeowners
Style, roof type, building type: classic single-family house with a gable roof
Basement, stories: no basement, 1 full story
Number of occupants, ages: 3 (33, 33, 2), a 4th is possible
Room requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): GF: open living/dining area, guest room, shower/WC; UF: 2 children’s rooms, bedroom, dressing/storage, bathroom
Office: family use or home office; primarily guest room with storage option for important documents
Overnight guests per year: about 12
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: classic modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: both yes
Number of permanent dining seats: 6 with option for 10-12
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other: moderately busy circular road to the south (50 km/h (31 mph)), no direct view due to raised earth embankment (additionally noise protection wall planned if needed), view of greenery from living room
Wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why or why not: desire for storage option in the kitchen for glass recycling, paper, water crates; guest room must be on the ground floor to ensure necessary privacy
House Design
Planner: planner from a construction company, based on our specifications
What do you particularly like? Why?: living area because of the kitchen island, storage under the stairs, recessed living area with garden view (no traffic area), large dressing/storage on the upper floor, bathroom not visible due to double casement window, utility/mudroom, distance from stairs to main entrance—> we really like the ground floor except for the small utility room; we are uncertain whether the children’s rooms on the upper floor are comfortable and easy to furnish
What do you dislike? Why?: utility room very small, children’s rooms are very awkwardly shaped, bedroom very large compared to kids’ rooms (12-14 sqm (130-150 sqft) would have been enough for us), location of the outdoor unit for the air-to-water heat pump
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €315,000 without kitchen, floors, painting, landscaping, and additional construction costs
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: €420,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump
If you had to give up, which details or additions
-you could give up: straight staircase, but not storage underneath
-you could not give up: storage on the ground floor, guest room on the ground floor with nearby shower/WC
Why did the design end up as it is now?
Which of your wishes were implemented by the planner: living area, storage under the stairs accessible from the kitchen; wishes stemmed from a mix of many examples from various magazines
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion? Tailored individually to our wishes (especially on the ground floor)
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are there suggestions for a better divided upper floor, possibly with a different staircase? It is important to us that the children’s rooms remain on the south side. Or do you think concerns about the awkward children’s rooms are not justified?
N
Neubau20221 May 2022 18:39Regarding the floor plan. I would actually start from scratch. Some rooms are simply oversized. For example, the walk-in closet and the bedroom. How much time do you realistically spend in the bedroom when you’re not sleeping? Probably very little. The nearly 17 square meters (183 square feet) would make sense if there wasn’t a walk-in closet. But you also have a 12 square meter (129 square feet) walk-in closet. This means the bedroom is almost as large as the living room... And it’s the same with other areas. If your budget is already tight, I suggest planning more functionally. With an 800 square meter (8,611 square feet) plot, you could also consider a bungalow of about 150-160 square meters (1,615-1,722 square feet).
Angel88 schrieb:
additional requirements: cable at the western property boundary with a 4 m (13 ft) safety clearanceAre you even allowed to build a carport there? My instinct would be to place the carport on the north side (without any design or floor plan expertise) and to plan for more space in the front yard. Tight spaces at entrances are inconvenient!
Regarding the floor plan, brief points due to lack of time
- Position doors inside rooms so that there is space behind them for cabinets. This tends to make the living area feel larger.
Note: none of your doors meet this ideal 🙁
- The electrical panel will definitely be relocated to the utility room, as there must be a clearance of 120 or 140 cm (47 or 55 inches) in front of it.
- The staircase could be placed under the knee wall and aligned with the roof slope.
- Kitchen: very little usable space. Not enough! Where will the tall cabinets for the oven, pantry, and refrigerator go?
- Bathroom: swap the washbasin and toilet – this has proven effective for decades!
- Living room: mark the TV location. Currently, there is none.
uoos, saved by accident, the upper floor is still pending.
- Position doors inside rooms so that there is space behind them for cabinets. This tends to make the living area feel larger.
Note: none of your doors meet this ideal 🙁
- The electrical panel will definitely be relocated to the utility room, as there must be a clearance of 120 or 140 cm (47 or 55 inches) in front of it.
- The staircase could be placed under the knee wall and aligned with the roof slope.
- Kitchen: very little usable space. Not enough! Where will the tall cabinets for the oven, pantry, and refrigerator go?
- Bathroom: swap the washbasin and toilet – this has proven effective for decades!
- Living room: mark the TV location. Currently, there is none.
uoos, saved by accident, the upper floor is still pending.
Upper Floor
- The staircase defines the upper floor. Here, everything is basically accepted without thoughtful planning, because the ground floor looks so well put together… This is, however, not a good reason to skip proper planning.
- Bedroom too large, the enclosed walk-in closet disturbs those sleeping,
- Walk-in closet size is comparable to a child's bedroom
- Double casement window in the bathroom… you can try to justify it 😉 Personally, I wouldn’t mind if this is the only thing that can’t be optimized.
I would plan the house a bit narrower and longer so there is more garden space remaining on the west side. I would also swap the utility room and office if possible, and place the staircase along the long exterior wall.
- The staircase defines the upper floor. Here, everything is basically accepted without thoughtful planning, because the ground floor looks so well put together… This is, however, not a good reason to skip proper planning.
- Bedroom too large, the enclosed walk-in closet disturbs those sleeping,
- Walk-in closet size is comparable to a child's bedroom
- Double casement window in the bathroom… you can try to justify it 😉 Personally, I wouldn’t mind if this is the only thing that can’t be optimized.
I would plan the house a bit narrower and longer so there is more garden space remaining on the west side. I would also swap the utility room and office if possible, and place the staircase along the long exterior wall.
ypg schrieb:
- Double casement window in the bathroom... you can try to convince yourself it's nice 😉 But honestly, I wouldn’t mind if that were the only thing that couldn’t be optimized.We had that during my childhood, as well as in the last flat my wife and I had before moving into our house.Yes, it can be improved, but it actually restricts much less than you might think...
Neubau2022 schrieb:
With an 800 sqm (8,600 sq ft) plot, you could also consider a bungalow of about 150-160 sqm (1,600-1,700 sq ft). We know you are building a bungalow 😉. It’s not cheaper than a regular pitched roof house either. But I agree with you on the other points.
ypg schrieb:
Kitchen: very little counter space. Too little! Where are you going to put tall cabinets for the oven, pantry, and refrigerator? What I noticed on that occasion: the kitchen not only has quite limited counter space, but also not enough room in between. Only about 60 cm (24 inches) between the sink and the island, is that right? I would advise you, @Angel88, to start the kitchen planning before the floor plan is finalized.
ypg schrieb:
Double casement window in the bathroom... you can try to rationalize it 😉 But I probably wouldn’t mind either if that’s the last thing that can’t be optimized. Honestly, it doesn’t bother me at all. On the contrary, no one can look in 😀 And with tight neighboring buildings, the view is just the neighbor’s house anyway.
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