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:
Likes: [...] Dislikes:Unfortunately, it seems you didn’t understand my point. I was trying to make it clear that you should 1. weigh the options between the drafts "89 / Cube" and "116 / Yvonne," and then 2. treat the decision as if it were your penultimate attempt to enter a PIN before a “Game over”; and from that, 3. distill an adjustment to the “building approval planning” that could be submitted finally with a decisive “plop, that’s a stop!” Instead, you’re acting as if you want to dethrone @Shiny86 from the throne of endlessly trying princesses, playing the “switch proposals” game until one of the two amateur planners is too exhausted and collapses like dead.If you want, you can now expand the choice to include the third semifinal draft "198 / Yvonne," but then make your decision, finito, basta! (Or do you really want to risk the general contractor terminating the contract because you, the client, are unable to make a decision?)
Of course, no one is obligated to follow my advice, but the business of contractors is not to watch their clients wait for Godot. Your general contractor’s already glowing brake pads are about to explode!
(and I’m considering whether I should just say a heartfelt “do whatever you want” and leave your thread; at least my popcorn bowl is almost empty of the very last crumb).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
ypg schrieb:
In the OP’s case, the building authority is quite lenient about a few things anyway. They probably have to be, otherwise no one could manage with the plots. Why shouldn’t the plot be sufficient? It’s quite suitable for a single-family house. The building authority is not to blame for the fact that the OP wants to build 2 or almost 3 dwelling units and has an incompetent planner for that.
So, @11ant is right. Even though I’m not a fan of making something simple sound complicated.
There are things I don’t like either. But you’re working with the exterior dimensions and volume defined by the approved plan. Then there’s the challenge of fitting 6 bedrooms, staying within budget, plus adding a granny flat or accessory dwelling unit for seniors. At some point, it’s not about preferences anymore, but about functionality. And this functionality means creating a space where 5 to 7 people can live together privately, with areas to retreat, and still have an attractive layout. Difficulties such as the straight staircase suggested a few days ago really aren’t necessary if they negatively affect everything else.
An 8 sqm (86 sq ft) utility room isn’t much. We have 8.5 sqm (91 sq ft) for two people, plus a laundry room of about 4 sqm (43 sq ft) on the upper floor, and I don’t want or can afford to give up any of that space.
If you think everything works better by outsourcing required storage space elsewhere, my advice is to try using a program like homebyme and redraw your house. It’s self-explanatory and manageable even alongside a full-time job.
There are things I don’t like either. But you’re working with the exterior dimensions and volume defined by the approved plan. Then there’s the challenge of fitting 6 bedrooms, staying within budget, plus adding a granny flat or accessory dwelling unit for seniors. At some point, it’s not about preferences anymore, but about functionality. And this functionality means creating a space where 5 to 7 people can live together privately, with areas to retreat, and still have an attractive layout. Difficulties such as the straight staircase suggested a few days ago really aren’t necessary if they negatively affect everything else.
An 8 sqm (86 sq ft) utility room isn’t much. We have 8.5 sqm (91 sq ft) for two people, plus a laundry room of about 4 sqm (43 sq ft) on the upper floor, and I don’t want or can afford to give up any of that space.
If you think everything works better by outsourcing required storage space elsewhere, my advice is to try using a program like homebyme and redraw your house. It’s self-explanatory and manageable even alongside a full-time job.
MarlenP schrieb:
I spoke with the building authority today; regarding parking spaces, there are no major restrictions from their side. In theory, we could still cover an additional 28m2 (300 sq ft) with pavement and park one car in front of the house on the north side. The official even said that we can park two cars in a row (one in the garage and one in front), and they no longer view that as a tight fit. Whether that’s desirable is another question.
I also brought up the topic of a utility room in the garage, which should be possible; we just need to provide them with a drawing from the architect.
I also spoke with the local utility company again today. They said it would basically be possible to have the utility room in the garage if it is accessible from the outside. We could plan a separate door next to the garage door for the utility room. However, they want to review this again when we submit a new drawing.
If necessary, we will do that as well. We are currently considering various options and hope to decide soon.
What’s important to us is that whatever we do, we do it with a clear conscience and not just because we feel pressured to act quickly. Finally, some sensible information.
Okay, here’s another suggestion based on the new information. I have used a half-landing staircase in the main apartment—which, in my opinion, works just as well as a straight staircase. But if that doesn’t work at all, feel free to insert your design here again—it will probably work just as well.
ypg schrieb:
Well, @11ant is right. Even though I'm not a fan of making something simple sound complicated. I thought I had made the message "just get to the point" clear enough before, but apparently I had to clarify further.
ypg schrieb:
But you are providing the external dimensions and volume according to the approved plan. No. Since this can’t be solved with just a facade alone, the cards are being reshuffled within the given restrictions. For the authorities, the building envelope remains the same, but for financial reasons it will now either be smaller or much harder to manage.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Since a render alone is no longer sufficient here, within the given constraints the options are being reconsidered. For the authority, the building envelope remains fixed, Since the original poster was basically just waiting for the walls to start, I think the building permit has basically limited the possibilities. We discussed this. I assume the building permit allows conditional changes. I am referring to the original dimensions. I also thought the original poster had communicated this.