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:
I have to say, I’m starting to feel that some of the very harsh criticism of our floor plan might have been a bit exaggerated in places.
It wasn’t. You’re just beginning to realize that what you want isn’t feasible for your budget. Out of desperation, you’re revisiting the old plans, when for a brief moment everything seemed fine (which, of course, wasn’t the case).I would actually be interested to hear your parents’ opinion. Why do they absolutely have to move in with you?
MarlenP schrieb:
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 (by then we’ll likely be at an age where we prefer to live on the ground floor) and rent our apartment to a family with two or three children.The children will be out in about 10 to 12 years. And by then your parents will have passed away or where will they be living?MarlenP schrieb:
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 would like to live on the ground floor. They currently live on the first floor and no longer want to. I think as they get older, even more people will want to live on the ground floor. Otherwise, the floor plan is excellent! Another good point is that the roof of the parents’ bedroom could also be used as a roof terrace for the apartment on the first floor. Then you just have to swap the ground floor and first floor. The parents get a covered terrace and you get the balcony.
But honestly, I can understand that the parents want to live on the ground floor, etc. However, the kitchen/dining/living area is really not well designed. The indicated dining table is only about 70x70 cm (28x28 inches) at most, and the kitchen... well, I wouldn’t even call it a kitchen. Do your parents not want to cook anymore or what?
And then I wonder how the building services are supposed to fit in the utility room on the ground floor if there are two entrances there. This definitely needs careful planning.
Also, it’s just a fact that a staircase, including the landing, takes up about 4 to 5 square meters (43 to 54 square feet) per floor.
Would it be possible to accommodate your brother from your apartment and completely save the second staircase? Then the multipurpose room in the secondary unit could be extended by the whole hallway area.
And then I wonder how the building services are supposed to fit in the utility room on the ground floor if there are two entrances there. This definitely needs careful planning.
Also, it’s just a fact that a staircase, including the landing, takes up about 4 to 5 square meters (43 to 54 square feet) per floor.
Would it be possible to accommodate your brother from your apartment and completely save the second staircase? Then the multipurpose room in the secondary unit could be extended by the whole hallway area.
K a t j a schrieb:I would be curious about that too.
I would be interested to hear the parents’ opinion. Why do they absolutely have to move in there?
haydee schrieb:
If the building permit / planning permission is applied for today, when would the move-in be? Sometime by the end of next year.
What about the 17-year-old today? Will they stay here or move away for training and only visit occasionally? The move-in is planned for the end of 2023. The 17-year-old will live with us for another 2-3 years and then move out at the latest when starting their vocational training.
We have already taken this into account – that’s why we didn’t plan a home office. Once our daughter moves out, we could use her room as a home office or guest room. At the moment, all rooms in the house are occupied, and there are no extra rooms because we know we will gradually need less space over time.
haydee schrieb:
What about the brother? Is it foreseeable that he will look for his own apartment or does he want to stay in the “parents’ hotel”?
I don’t want to kick anyone out, but these two are the uncertain cases you’re worried about now who might barely move in.
Maybe one room would be enough for both of them to share. The brother will stay with the parents for the next 4-5 years at least, that’s what he says, so we have planned a room for him as well.
If he didn’t want to live with his parents, we would have used his room as a home office or guest room, and his shower bathroom would have been our shower bathroom.
K a t j a schrieb:
That was not the case. You’re just starting to realize that what you want isn’t possible for your money. And out of desperation, you’re bringing up the old plans again, when for a brief moment everything still seemed okay (which of course wasn’t true). Unfortunately, I can’t follow you here; I haven’t pulled out any old plans. The plans I posted here today are exactly the same as those for which we received the building permit / planning permission. They were just created with different software.
K a t j a schrieb:
I’d be interested in the parents’ opinion. Why do they absolutely have to move in with you? We currently live in a multi-family house where we occupy the ground floor and my parents live upstairs.
My parents have a strong emotional bond with their grandchildren, and it would be too much for them if, after all the years we have lived together, we were to separate physically at this stage of life.
K a t j a schrieb:
The children will all be out in about 10 to 12 years. And your parents will already have passed away or where will they live then? The youngest child is 7, and I think it will still take about 13 years before they move out. Whether both parents, or just one, will have passed away in 10–12 years or will still be living in the granny flat / separate apartment, I do not know. And to be honest, the parents will die at some point (as will we), but I don’t want to speculate now about when that might happen.
MarlenP schrieb:
I’m afraid I can’t follow you here; I didn’t pull out any old plans. The plans I posted today here are exactly the same as the ones for which we received the building permit / planning permission. They were just created using different software.
We are currently living in a multi-family house, with us on the ground floor and my parents on the upper floor.
My parents have a strong emotional bond with their grandchildren, and it would be too much for them if, after all these years of living together, we were to separate physically at this stage of life.
The youngest child is 7, and I think it will probably be about 13 more years before they move out. Whether both parents, one of them, or neither will be alive in 10–12 years, or still living in the granny flat, I don’t know. And honestly, the parents will eventually pass away (just like we will), but I don’t want to speculate on when that might happen. By the way, I am a qualified nurse and could care for my parents at home if they should become in need of care. The issue of care was also important to us in all our considerations.
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