Hello everyone,
The planning for our construction project is gradually becoming more concrete, so we would really appreciate your feedback on our floor plan ideas. I have attached our first floor plan concept below. Windows, doors, etc., are not yet finalized; at this stage, we are focusing mainly on the general room layout. The square meterage is probably not yet exact, as after subtracting the sloped ceilings (I believe!), it comes to about 150 m2 (1,615 sq ft), which is likely beyond our budget, but the overall shape and layout of the house roughly match our vision.
Our given conditions are:
Building plot 10x10 m (33x33 ft), one-and-a-half storey construction. The plot is approximately 575 m2 (6,190 sq ft), about 30 m (98 ft) east-west and about 20 m (66 ft) north-south. The house is planned to be positioned in the northeast corner, with the roof ridge running east-west (not sure if this is mandatory, but it seems logical, right?).
We are a family of five with grandparents living far outside our city (Berlin), and therefore we would like:
At minimum: open-plan living-dining-kitchen area, large utility/storage room, one shower bathroom, one family bathroom, four bedrooms
Ideally: an additional room (office/guest) and/or usable extra space in the attic
All this as cost-effectively as possible, since our budget for the house alone is 190,000 EUR.
Based on the previous recommendations, we would like to include a staircase to the attic right from the start, even if we may not finish the attic immediately.
After visiting a 134 m2 (1,442 sq ft) sample house of a well-known manufacturer over the weekend, we found that the six rooms we want are technically accommodated there with some charm, but it felt a bit cramped.
So, we tried creating a floor plan that makes the house somewhat larger overall, allowing space on the ground floor for a shower bathroom and a slightly bigger extra room, as follows:
The middle bedroom in the attic works because it is fully located in a dormer. We actually really like this layout, and a house with such a dormer also looks attractive from the outside. Our concern, however, is that the dormer might be too expensive, and/or that even with somewhat more square meters than the sample house, the rooms might still feel a bit tight.
The alternatives we are considering are as follows:
First, to forgo the fourth bedroom on the upper floor and instead have three equally sized bedrooms plus a bathroom there. In that case, a resident would have to temporarily relocate to another room when grandparents visit or the attic would need to be clearly designated as overflow space. It would then be important that the extra room on the ground floor is large enough to serve as a fully functional private room (which we have tried to plan accordingly on the ground floor).
Second, if we cannot afford the dormer, we attempted to maximize the attic space by moving the bathroom to the center, so that all four bedrooms still have proper windows. This resulted in the following layout:
Aside from the fact that the feeling of cramped space remains here as well, what bothers me about this variant is that, unlike the version with the dormer, it would later be difficult to create 2-3 well-shaped rooms from this space, which would actually be an attractive option for when the children move out.
This is where we are so far! Tomorrow we have an appointment with the architect’s office, into which we would like to go with as clear ideas as possible. Therefore, we would really appreciate any feedback today that could help us to refine and improve the ideas presented here. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Best regards,
Kazazi
The planning for our construction project is gradually becoming more concrete, so we would really appreciate your feedback on our floor plan ideas. I have attached our first floor plan concept below. Windows, doors, etc., are not yet finalized; at this stage, we are focusing mainly on the general room layout. The square meterage is probably not yet exact, as after subtracting the sloped ceilings (I believe!), it comes to about 150 m2 (1,615 sq ft), which is likely beyond our budget, but the overall shape and layout of the house roughly match our vision.
Our given conditions are:
Building plot 10x10 m (33x33 ft), one-and-a-half storey construction. The plot is approximately 575 m2 (6,190 sq ft), about 30 m (98 ft) east-west and about 20 m (66 ft) north-south. The house is planned to be positioned in the northeast corner, with the roof ridge running east-west (not sure if this is mandatory, but it seems logical, right?).
We are a family of five with grandparents living far outside our city (Berlin), and therefore we would like:
At minimum: open-plan living-dining-kitchen area, large utility/storage room, one shower bathroom, one family bathroom, four bedrooms
Ideally: an additional room (office/guest) and/or usable extra space in the attic
All this as cost-effectively as possible, since our budget for the house alone is 190,000 EUR.
Based on the previous recommendations, we would like to include a staircase to the attic right from the start, even if we may not finish the attic immediately.
After visiting a 134 m2 (1,442 sq ft) sample house of a well-known manufacturer over the weekend, we found that the six rooms we want are technically accommodated there with some charm, but it felt a bit cramped.
So, we tried creating a floor plan that makes the house somewhat larger overall, allowing space on the ground floor for a shower bathroom and a slightly bigger extra room, as follows:
The middle bedroom in the attic works because it is fully located in a dormer. We actually really like this layout, and a house with such a dormer also looks attractive from the outside. Our concern, however, is that the dormer might be too expensive, and/or that even with somewhat more square meters than the sample house, the rooms might still feel a bit tight.
The alternatives we are considering are as follows:
First, to forgo the fourth bedroom on the upper floor and instead have three equally sized bedrooms plus a bathroom there. In that case, a resident would have to temporarily relocate to another room when grandparents visit or the attic would need to be clearly designated as overflow space. It would then be important that the extra room on the ground floor is large enough to serve as a fully functional private room (which we have tried to plan accordingly on the ground floor).
Second, if we cannot afford the dormer, we attempted to maximize the attic space by moving the bathroom to the center, so that all four bedrooms still have proper windows. This resulted in the following layout:
Aside from the fact that the feeling of cramped space remains here as well, what bothers me about this variant is that, unlike the version with the dormer, it would later be difficult to create 2-3 well-shaped rooms from this space, which would actually be an attractive option for when the children move out.
This is where we are so far! Tomorrow we have an appointment with the architect’s office, into which we would like to go with as clear ideas as possible. Therefore, we would really appreciate any feedback today that could help us to refine and improve the ideas presented here. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Best regards,
Kazazi
Masipulami24 Jan 2014 08:23What immediately stands out to me:
- The staircase on the ground floor and the staircase on the upper floor do not align. This alone invalidates the entire floor plan.
- The living, dining, and kitchen area seems way too cramped. The dining table is practically inside the kitchen. The kitchen also appears very small, but without dimensions, it’s hard to judge accurately.
- Rooms 2 and 3 look very narrow. How wide are they?
- The washing machine in the upstairs bathroom can only be used if no one is currently sleeping in room 2.
- The staircase on the ground floor and the staircase on the upper floor do not align. This alone invalidates the entire floor plan.
- The living, dining, and kitchen area seems way too cramped. The dining table is practically inside the kitchen. The kitchen also appears very small, but without dimensions, it’s hard to judge accurately.
- Rooms 2 and 3 look very narrow. How wide are they?
- The washing machine in the upstairs bathroom can only be used if no one is currently sleeping in room 2.
Good morning,
attached are the pictures with the dimensions; I hope I haven’t missed any important ones. The site plan is included as well.
We might still have some flexibility with the exterior dimensions, but if and how much depends on the costs. My hope was to make the house slightly wider (just under half a meter (about 1.5 feet)).
However, I estimate that more than 140 m² (1,500 sq ft) of living space according to the living space regulation will definitely not be possible.
For the upper floor, there should hopefully be a dormer gable, as long as it’s affordable. The first draft also had a gable running along the entire south side. You can still see it faintly in the background of the floor plan images. Complete pictures of the first draft are in post 12. In my opinion, the gable makes the ground floor layout less flexible, as it then becomes harder to rearrange furniture, which we will probably do a lot depending on how we use the space.
In the second architect’s draft, by the way, the office made the house a bit wider and shorter to vary the dimensions while keeping roughly the same area (post 41 in this thread).
Is the dining table half in the kitchen really that impractical? My idea was that it should also be usable as a kitchen table. If you want it further away from the kitchen, you can always move it further across the room or place it in the glass corner for a nice meal.
I would be very grateful for any further advice.
Kind regards
attached are the pictures with the dimensions; I hope I haven’t missed any important ones. The site plan is included as well.
We might still have some flexibility with the exterior dimensions, but if and how much depends on the costs. My hope was to make the house slightly wider (just under half a meter (about 1.5 feet)).
However, I estimate that more than 140 m² (1,500 sq ft) of living space according to the living space regulation will definitely not be possible.
For the upper floor, there should hopefully be a dormer gable, as long as it’s affordable. The first draft also had a gable running along the entire south side. You can still see it faintly in the background of the floor plan images. Complete pictures of the first draft are in post 12. In my opinion, the gable makes the ground floor layout less flexible, as it then becomes harder to rearrange furniture, which we will probably do a lot depending on how we use the space.
In the second architect’s draft, by the way, the office made the house a bit wider and shorter to vary the dimensions while keeping roughly the same area (post 41 in this thread).
Is the dining table half in the kitchen really that impractical? My idea was that it should also be usable as a kitchen table. If you want it further away from the kitchen, you can always move it further across the room or place it in the glass corner for a nice meal.
I would be very grateful for any further advice.
Kind regards
Masipulami schrieb:
The shower bathroom downstairs doesn’t work like that. How are you supposed to close the door from the inside? You’d basically have to stand inside the shower to do so.
In this case, you’d have to have the door open outwards, but that’s not ideal considering the utility room and Bedroom 1. If someone just steps out of those rooms while you’re leaving the bathroom, you’d be swinging the door right into them.You might be right there.
3.08 meters (10 feet) for the closet could be tight. Subtract the plaster and baseboards, and a standard closet won’t fit into that niche anymore.
Even 3.45 meters (11 feet 4 inches) in the kitchen is a bit narrow. With a 90 cm (35 inches) wide table and 65 cm (26 inches) deep kitchen units... nobody can walk past the table when someone is sitting on the chairs.
I’m also not a fan of the washing machine location in the bathroom, but that can be rearranged.
-> The house could use a few extra centimeters in length (widening the kitchen and bedroom). That way, you could also move the dividing wall between the living room and bedroom to enlarge the guest WC.
That would be my suggestion... or go back to the start and create a completely new floor plan.
Thank you all. For the shower area reduction, we were inspired by this bathroom, which fits a shower into 2.1 m² (23 ft²), but in a way that its wall is not constantly in the way.
We have passed all other feedback on to the architects. Sigh, I feel like the more you think about it, the harder it gets, not easier. Did you experience the same during your planning phase?
We have passed all other feedback on to the architects. Sigh, I feel like the more you think about it, the harder it gets, not easier. Did you experience the same during your planning phase?
Masipulami24 Jan 2014 11:35I wouldn’t want to deal with that in a new build. In my opinion, that option feels more like a camper van toilet.
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