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?
MarlenP schrieb:
Garages/carports must be at least 5m (16 feet) away from the street (at least in our building area). K a t j a schrieb:
Building a roof or cover for bicycles within the setback area from the street as shown – I would check on that first. This generally applies to the driveway area for parking spaces (carport/garage)... if the house can be built 3 meters (10 feet) from the street, then a shed or similar structure would normally be allowed there following the standard setback rules.
K a t j a schrieb:
Otherwise, in my opinion, this design would be approval-worthy. But honestly: I don’t find it attractive. The seniors have to wind along the hallway, is their bedroom upstairs or on the ground floor? Two-meter (6.5 feet) wardrobe with little space between it and the bed. The bathrooms are more like guest bathrooms. A total of five bathrooms overall...
Sunshine387 schrieb:
Here’s my suggestion. Yes, there is a room missing downstairs, It doesn’t really cover any of the family’s or the separate unit’s described needs. Privacy for a family of five is basically zero.
I am working on it as well. However, I’m waiting to see all the original poster’s replies first... because a proper utility room plus a student’s space plus a comfortable feeling for all permanent residents cannot be created in one day, even with compromises. For me, a sporadic long-term guest is definitely a considerable space waster. But he is there now...
ypg schrieb:
For me, the occasional long-term guest definitely takes up too much space. But they are there nonetheless..,The occasional long-term guest wastes less space than the unnecessary staircase. And you can hardly tell your parents, "give me something added to the house, but kick my brother out."https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
ypg schrieb:
But honestly: I don’t find it attractive. The seniors have to wind their way along the corridor; is their bedroom upstairs or on the ground floor? A 2-meter (6.5-foot) closet that leaves very little space around the bed. The bathrooms are more like guest bathrooms. In total, there are 5 bathrooms…Well, I didn’t find it that bad. Five bathrooms seem a bit excessive to me as well, but that comes from the original wish list of the OP.ypg schrieb:
I’m working on it too. 😎ypg schrieb:
For me, the occasional long-term guest is definitely a significant space waster. But they are there after all…Unwelcome nuisance, that one… 😀I took up the idea from @Sunshine387 again and targeted a two-family house, with the active parents accommodated upstairs as suggested. When the children have left home, it could be imagined that the grandparents might move back down for care or just to keep company, and then renting out the upper unit would be quite easy. Even separating the ground floor into two living units would be conceivable. Unfortunately, I couldn’t straighten the top wall of the plan without losing too much space. That’s why the kink remains.
K a t j a schrieb:
I picked up on the idea from @Sunshine387 again and aimed for the two-family house, with the active parents accommodated upstairs as suggested. If the children move out, one could imagine the grandparents moving back downstairs for care or just to live there again, making renting out the upstairs unit quite simple. It would even be possible to split the lower floor into two separate living units.
Unfortunately, I can’t get the upper wall of the plan straight without losing too much space. That’s why the kink remains.
Great, this floor plan is my favorite of all. It’s compact and prepared for most possible future scenarios. However, there are two definite drawbacks that you couldn’t have known. 1. The utility room must be on the ground floor and accessible from the street. This is a requirement from the local utilities due to the cold district heating network. 2. My parents prefer to live on the ground floor. They currently live on the first floor and do not want to anymore. I think as they get older, even more people will want to live on the ground floor. Other than that, the floor plan is excellent! Another positive aspect is that the roof over the parents’ bedroom could also be used as a roof terrace for the apartment on the first floor.
I obtained an alternative floor plan of our house, including furniture and new perspectives.
Perhaps this floor plan will make some things clearer and provide a better sense of the space.
I hope that after seeing the initial drafts from Katja and Sunshine (many thanks to both of you), it becomes clear how challenging the task was a few months ago and why the planning took a bit longer.
I also have to say that I'm starting to feel the very harsh criticism of our floor plan might have been somewhat exaggerated in places.
Please don’t misunderstand me—some of the criticism is justified, and I agree that the living room in the secondary apartment turned out a bit too small. But by far not everything about the floor plan is bad.
Perhaps this floor plan will make some things clearer and provide a better sense of the space.
I hope that after seeing the initial drafts from Katja and Sunshine (many thanks to both of you), it becomes clear how challenging the task was a few months ago and why the planning took a bit longer.
I also have to say that I'm starting to feel the very harsh criticism of our floor plan might have been somewhat exaggerated in places.
Please don’t misunderstand me—some of the criticism is justified, and I agree that the living room in the secondary apartment turned out a bit too small. But by far not everything about the floor plan is bad.
K a t j a schrieb:
But I agree with you that the original poster is planning a house that will be difficult to sell. When all the children have moved out (which is foreseeable), it will be a monster that is hard to rent out as well. The entire upper floor will then be like a ghost house. I don’t fully agree with that – 1. We are currently planning to build our house and are not thinking about selling it (and don’t want to). 2. If the children move out, we could move into the granny flat (at that point we’ll probably be at an age when we prefer to live on the ground floor) and rent our apartment to a family with two or three children.
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