ᐅ House Floor Plan with a Separate Apartment – Suggestions for Improvement?
Created on: 31 Aug 2022 12:31
M
MarlenP
Hello everyone,
we plan to build a house with two residential units on a 472m2 (5,079 sq ft) plot of land (Unit 1: 143.39m2 (1,543 sq ft) / Unit 2: 69.57m2 (749 sq ft)).
The second unit is intended for my parents, while the main unit is for my family, which includes my spouse and three children (ages 7, 13, and 17).
Since our plot is relatively small, we want to build a compact house to maximize the garden space.
We are currently in the final planning stage and would appreciate your feedback on our project.
We have a feeling that we might have overlooked some important aspects or not paid enough attention to certain details because our planning focus was mainly on the compactness of the house.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 472m2 (5,079 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Perimeter development: south and east
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style:
Orientation: south/west
Maximum heights / limits: 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: urban villa
Basement, number of storeys: no basement
Number of occupants and ages: Unit 1 – 5 people (ages 43, 38, 17, 13, 7); Unit 2 – 2 people, both over 60
Space needs on ground floor / upper floor:
Office: family use or home office? -
Number of guest stays per year: 2-3 times per year
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern build style: modern
Open kitchen, with or without island: open kitchen, no island
Number of dining seats: 5
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routines, also reasons why certain features are included or excluded
The house should be compact but still feel spacious.
House Design
Planning by:
- planner from a construction company
- architect: by the architect
- do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? It is a relatively small house with two residential units.
What do you dislike? Why? Maybe some rooms (children’s rooms and the rooms in the secondary unit) are too small?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 600,000€
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 650,000€
Preferred heating system: district heating
If you had to give up something, which details or expansions
- could you do without: basically nothing – we have already minimized everything.
- could you not do without: the planned number of rooms
Why did the design end up like it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? Yes
A mix of many examples from various magazines…
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We wanted the house to be as compact as possible. Maybe we focused too much on compactness and neglected other important aspects.
What do you like about the house, what do you not like so much, and what would be unacceptable?
we plan to build a house with two residential units on a 472m2 (5,079 sq ft) plot of land (Unit 1: 143.39m2 (1,543 sq ft) / Unit 2: 69.57m2 (749 sq ft)).
The second unit is intended for my parents, while the main unit is for my family, which includes my spouse and three children (ages 7, 13, and 17).
Since our plot is relatively small, we want to build a compact house to maximize the garden space.
We are currently in the final planning stage and would appreciate your feedback on our project.
We have a feeling that we might have overlooked some important aspects or not paid enough attention to certain details because our planning focus was mainly on the compactness of the house.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 472m2 (5,079 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Perimeter development: south and east
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style:
Orientation: south/west
Maximum heights / limits: 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: urban villa
Basement, number of storeys: no basement
Number of occupants and ages: Unit 1 – 5 people (ages 43, 38, 17, 13, 7); Unit 2 – 2 people, both over 60
Space needs on ground floor / upper floor:
Office: family use or home office? -
Number of guest stays per year: 2-3 times per year
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern build style: modern
Open kitchen, with or without island: open kitchen, no island
Number of dining seats: 5
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routines, also reasons why certain features are included or excluded
The house should be compact but still feel spacious.
House Design
Planning by:
- planner from a construction company
- architect: by the architect
- do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? It is a relatively small house with two residential units.
What do you dislike? Why? Maybe some rooms (children’s rooms and the rooms in the secondary unit) are too small?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 600,000€
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 650,000€
Preferred heating system: district heating
If you had to give up something, which details or expansions
- could you do without: basically nothing – we have already minimized everything.
- could you not do without: the planned number of rooms
Why did the design end up like it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? Yes
A mix of many examples from various magazines…
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We wanted the house to be as compact as possible. Maybe we focused too much on compactness and neglected other important aspects.
What do you like about the house, what do you not like so much, and what would be unacceptable?
K a t j a schrieb:
This plot can only be roughly sketched like this. Take this… it was created as an improvement before the son studying appeared.
We have decided to pause the construction project indefinitely. My husband and I had a long discussion about our building plans today. Although my husband now wants to proceed, he ultimately agreed that it’s better to reconsider the entire floor plan. Any further changes will certainly cost us a significant amount of money, but it’s better to make adjustments now than to build the house and later wonder why certain issues were not noticed during the planning phase. I am very grateful that several members of this forum have put a lot of effort into helping us. We wish our architect had the same mindset during the planning process. However, I don’t want to place all the blame for this situation on our architect — that would be too easy. We should have simply been more careful and maybe looked for a different architect in time.
Still, we are optimistic that with the helpful advice and suggestions from this community, we will be able to realize our dream home, with all its special requirements and challenges.
P.S. I would like to sincerely apologize to all people who are 70 years old or around that age or will soon be. It was never my intention to demean any age group in any way.
Still, we are optimistic that with the helpful advice and suggestions from this community, we will be able to realize our dream home, with all its special requirements and challenges.
P.S. I would like to sincerely apologize to all people who are 70 years old or around that age or will soon be. It was never my intention to demean any age group in any way.
@ Katja; Thank you for this draft. I like it right away. Good idea with the shared main entrance – that saves a lot of space.
Could you please also provide the room dimensions, and how is the building oriented on the plot?
That is indeed a tough nut to crack. We also spent (too) much time on this during the planning phase.
Garages/carports must have a 5m (16 feet) setback from the street (at least in our building area).
I guess I have to take responsibility for that. I chose the plot in consultation with the architect.
Could you please also provide the room dimensions, and how is the building oriented on the plot?
K a t j a schrieb:
A bigger challenge: I can’t fit a guest toilet in the living area on the ground floor. Maybe someone has an idea for this?
That is indeed a tough nut to crack. We also spent (too) much time on this during the planning phase.
K a t j a schrieb:
The question is whether carports with only 3m (10 feet) distance from the street would be allowed.
Garages/carports must have a 5m (16 feet) setback from the street (at least in our building area).
K a t j a schrieb:
In the end, I have to say that the strong desire for a garden with these requirements and the tiny, poorly shaped plot is total nonsense. Why on earth did you buy it? It actually doesn’t really suit your wishes, as long as the parents have to move in here.
I guess I have to take responsibility for that. I chose the plot in consultation with the architect.
Apology accepted, and congratulations on your realization!
To all the know-it-alls, cowards, and password forgetters: we can help even better if you don’t suddenly appear here like a UFO, but instead openly share any background story you have and in which thread it is posted.
This wish is only justified when you personally pay and hire the architect. “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” A draftsman employed by the builder cannot do anything but act in the builder’s interest. An architect can only remain true to the art of design when without quotation marks around their professional title.
Within the framework of the above dilemma, where the general contractor is still your superior, the “architect” has served you impeccably. It was none other than yourselves who placed him on the wrong horse by essentially instructing him: “fold our many wishes like intestines into the building structure.” He did his best to deliver on that! So it would be ungrateful to blame him. I am happy to help with finding architects (and can be reached under my forum name via gmx de, as is well known).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
MarlenP schrieb:
I am very grateful that some people here in the forum have made a lot of effort to help us.
To all the know-it-alls, cowards, and password forgetters: we can help even better if you don’t suddenly appear here like a UFO, but instead openly share any background story you have and in which thread it is posted.
MarlenP schrieb:
We wish our architect had had the same attitude during the planning phase.
This wish is only justified when you personally pay and hire the architect. “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” A draftsman employed by the builder cannot do anything but act in the builder’s interest. An architect can only remain true to the art of design when without quotation marks around their professional title.
MarlenP schrieb:
But I don’t want to put all the blame for this disaster on our architect – that would be too easy. We should simply have been more careful and perhaps looked for another architect in time.
Within the framework of the above dilemma, where the general contractor is still your superior, the “architect” has served you impeccably. It was none other than yourselves who placed him on the wrong horse by essentially instructing him: “fold our many wishes like intestines into the building structure.” He did his best to deliver on that! So it would be ungrateful to blame him. I am happy to help with finding architects (and can be reached under my forum name via gmx de, as is well known).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
MarlenP schrieb:
@ Katja; Thank you very much for this draft. I like it right away. Good idea with the shared main entrance – that saves quite a bit of space.
Could you please also provide the room dimensions and explain how the building is oriented on the plot? This was a first idea. However, there are still some unclear points. The toilet, the distance between the carport and the street, also the entrance area for five people who want to put down their bags and jackets when they arrive. Is it reasonable to expect the parents-in-law to struggle through this before entering their own apartment? My sister has a similar setup. It works for her. But what is the general opinion on this?
Wow! That’s very brave of you!
MarlenP schrieb:
I’m very grateful that some members here in the forum have put a lot of effort into helping us.
MarlenP schrieb:You should go through all your threads, look for our questions, and also comment on the ideas mentioned… for example, whether you can imagine having the living room upstairs or a separate guest area with its own access. Then things like age/bond of the student, etc.… how many cars will there actually be after moving in, and so on. There’s a question hidden in every sentence that could help us move forward, meaning us as creatives and you finding the right way among many options. By the way, I also started yesterday with a shared hallway...
However, we are optimistic that with the good tips and suggestions from here, we will still be able to realize our dream house with its special requirements and challenges.
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