ᐅ Floor Plan Design Single-Family House approximately 170 m² plus Attic as a Modern Brick-Faced Home
Created on: 3 Jan 2022 18:41
V
Varrader
Good evening,
as previously silent readers, we (a young family with 2 children) are now slowly reaching the point where we would like to ask for help, critique, and ideas here.
We plan to build a single-family house in early 2023 and have already been working with an architect on the design for some time (so far commissioned for phases 1–4).
Here is the forum questionnaire filled out to the best of our knowledge:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 560m² (6027 sq ft), cul-de-sac location; parking spaces on the west side, wide pedestrian path on the east side, followed by a field (likely to become building land in 10–15 years)
Slope: none
Site occupancy index (Grundflächenzahl): 0.4
Floor area ratio (Geschossflächenzahl): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: 3m (10 ft) all around
Border grouping: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full floors + attic
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: modern brick construction with a simple building shape, no roof overhangs
Orientation: east-west
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 6.5m (21 ft 4 in), eaves height 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements: hedge on the left side limited to 1m (3 ft) height, distance from first parking space to street at least 5m (16 ft)
Rooms:
Ground floor: living/dining area with open kitchen, small workspace “corner,” utility/storage room, guest toilet
First floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom (preferably with a separate closet area, main room oriented to the east side of the house!), master bathroom with shower and bathtub, children’s bathroom with shower, small laundry room for washing machine and drying rack
Attic: third children’s room, storage room, hobby/office room
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof type, building type: single-family house with gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, two full floors, attic to be used as living space
Number of people, age: 2 adults, 2 children (2 & 4 years old, another child planned)
Space needs on ground and first floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office space on the ground floor “close to the main activities,” additional more secluded space in the attic
Guests per year: none expected
Open or closed architecture: open living/dining area
Conservative or modern construction: modern construction
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, kitchen island optional
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: space for a large TV (about 1.9m (6 ft 3 in) wide expected, no additional equipment like speakers planned)
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage for one parking space plus storage for garden tools and equipment inside
Utility garden, greenhouse: decorative garden
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain things are or are not chosen: Our current house has very small windows (timber-frame house), so we especially want more light in the house and attractive sightlines into the garden
House design
Who created the plan:
- Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The arrangement of the south-facing rooms on the ground floor and the small study, which can feel connected to the living area when the door is open.
We also like that the staircase on the ground floor faces the living areas rather than the front door.
What do you dislike? Why?
We want to enjoy as much of our garden as possible, so our basic desire was to build a narrow but long house. In this design, however, the current platform staircase is very large and feels overwhelming in the hallway area.
On the practical side, this staircase also allows direct access to the attic with the same stair flight.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €500,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €550,000
Preferred heating technology: geothermal heat pump
If you have to give up anything, which details/finishes
- can you do without:
- can you not do without:
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Which wishes from the architect have been implemented: spatial plan discussed with the architect
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
We are worried about missing a good idea; we sometimes lack the creative input to find solutions that are a bit outside the box.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The arrangement of the staircase and the spatial feeling when entering the house are our main concerns. The staircase shapes the entire concept upstairs.
I’ve attached an alternative ground floor plan, where we try to reach the upper floor with an L-shaped staircase. However, this requires a second stair flight to access the attic, which also takes up space...
We look forward to your critique and suggestions!
Best regards,
Stefan
as previously silent readers, we (a young family with 2 children) are now slowly reaching the point where we would like to ask for help, critique, and ideas here.
We plan to build a single-family house in early 2023 and have already been working with an architect on the design for some time (so far commissioned for phases 1–4).
Here is the forum questionnaire filled out to the best of our knowledge:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 560m² (6027 sq ft), cul-de-sac location; parking spaces on the west side, wide pedestrian path on the east side, followed by a field (likely to become building land in 10–15 years)
Slope: none
Site occupancy index (Grundflächenzahl): 0.4
Floor area ratio (Geschossflächenzahl): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: 3m (10 ft) all around
Border grouping: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full floors + attic
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: modern brick construction with a simple building shape, no roof overhangs
Orientation: east-west
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 6.5m (21 ft 4 in), eaves height 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements: hedge on the left side limited to 1m (3 ft) height, distance from first parking space to street at least 5m (16 ft)
Rooms:
Ground floor: living/dining area with open kitchen, small workspace “corner,” utility/storage room, guest toilet
First floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom (preferably with a separate closet area, main room oriented to the east side of the house!), master bathroom with shower and bathtub, children’s bathroom with shower, small laundry room for washing machine and drying rack
Attic: third children’s room, storage room, hobby/office room
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof type, building type: single-family house with gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, two full floors, attic to be used as living space
Number of people, age: 2 adults, 2 children (2 & 4 years old, another child planned)
Space needs on ground and first floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office space on the ground floor “close to the main activities,” additional more secluded space in the attic
Guests per year: none expected
Open or closed architecture: open living/dining area
Conservative or modern construction: modern construction
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, kitchen island optional
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: space for a large TV (about 1.9m (6 ft 3 in) wide expected, no additional equipment like speakers planned)
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage for one parking space plus storage for garden tools and equipment inside
Utility garden, greenhouse: decorative garden
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain things are or are not chosen: Our current house has very small windows (timber-frame house), so we especially want more light in the house and attractive sightlines into the garden
House design
Who created the plan:
- Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The arrangement of the south-facing rooms on the ground floor and the small study, which can feel connected to the living area when the door is open.
We also like that the staircase on the ground floor faces the living areas rather than the front door.
What do you dislike? Why?
We want to enjoy as much of our garden as possible, so our basic desire was to build a narrow but long house. In this design, however, the current platform staircase is very large and feels overwhelming in the hallway area.
On the practical side, this staircase also allows direct access to the attic with the same stair flight.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €500,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €550,000
Preferred heating technology: geothermal heat pump
If you have to give up anything, which details/finishes
- can you do without:
- can you not do without:
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Which wishes from the architect have been implemented: spatial plan discussed with the architect
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
We are worried about missing a good idea; we sometimes lack the creative input to find solutions that are a bit outside the box.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The arrangement of the staircase and the spatial feeling when entering the house are our main concerns. The staircase shapes the entire concept upstairs.
I’ve attached an alternative ground floor plan, where we try to reach the upper floor with an L-shaped staircase. However, this requires a second stair flight to access the attic, which also takes up space...
We look forward to your critique and suggestions!
Best regards,
Stefan
Apart from the children's bathroom above the living room, I find the design quite appealing – including the WC/pantry solution. Someone here had also built a bathroom above the living room and mentioned that it was very well concealed and that hardly any noise could be heard. What does your general contractor say about this?
Shame, I meant pantry/bathroom on the ground floor, not the upper floor 🙂
We sent the latest draft to the general contractor who evaluated it last – we are still waiting for feedback regarding potential savings. My concern is less about soundproofing in the children’s bathroom and more about additional work related to the plumbing.
Here are the points I’m struggling with:
- The main bathroom is simply too large at 14m² (150 sq ft)
- The L-shaped staircase (because you always have to walk behind the short leg of the stairs). With the Baufritz floor plan, the staircase feels much more harmonious, also serving better as a room divider in the open-plan area
- Long distance between the bedroom and bathroom
Apart from that: I don’t even know why a pantry wasn’t included in our original requirements… now that we see it consciously in different floor plans, it seems very practical to us.
We sent the latest draft to the general contractor who evaluated it last – we are still waiting for feedback regarding potential savings. My concern is less about soundproofing in the children’s bathroom and more about additional work related to the plumbing.
Here are the points I’m struggling with:
- The main bathroom is simply too large at 14m² (150 sq ft)
- The L-shaped staircase (because you always have to walk behind the short leg of the stairs). With the Baufritz floor plan, the staircase feels much more harmonious, also serving better as a room divider in the open-plan area
- Long distance between the bedroom and bathroom
Apart from that: I don’t even know why a pantry wasn’t included in our original requirements… now that we see it consciously in different floor plans, it seems very practical to us.
Varrader schrieb:
My concern is less about soundproofing in the kids’ bathroom and more about the extra work involved with the plumbing. In my opinion, that concern is nonsense. One more pipe or less during the house build doesn’t make much difference. I believe if you asked your general contractor what extra cost that one pipe would add, they would probably step out laughing and quickly come up with some random number.
Varrader schrieb:
So these are the points I’m struggling with:
- The main bathroom is just too big at 14m² (150 sq ft) It would be no problem at all to reduce the bathroom size in favor of the bedroom. You could also consider separating the toilet. That would have the advantage that the family bathroom can be used more efficiently, since brushing teeth and showering can easily be done simultaneously.
Varrader schrieb:
- L-shaped staircase (because you always have to walk around the short leg of the stairs). You have to what? Everyone has different tastes, but I find a spiral or quarter-turn staircase much more appealing visually than a straight one. I love my 1/4-turn staircase – sometimes I secretly stroke it – but don’t tell anyone! 😉
Varrader schrieb:
also their function as a room divider in the open-plan area It still serves that purpose.
Varrader schrieb:
- long way between bedroom and bathroom If you can’t make it 5m (16 ft) to the bathroom anymore, you probably don’t live in this house anymore either. Try walking from the sofa to the bathroom in your current place and ask yourself if that distance was insurmountable! 😀
K a t j a schrieb:
You need to do what?
Tastes differ, of course, but I find a spiral staircase much more visually appealing than a straight one. I love my quarter-turn staircase – sometimes I secretly stroke it – but don’t tell anyone! 😉 Well, I meant those two "tunnels" that form at the top floor behind the stairs...
The attic is obviously even more isolated with a straight staircase (because of the third bedroom). With a spiral or a staircase with a landing where the top and bottom of the stairs are close together, it’s definitely more practical.
K a t j a schrieb:
It wouldn’t be a problem at all to reduce the bathroom size in favor of the bedroom. You could also consider separating the toilet. That would have the advantage that the family bathroom can be used more efficiently, since brushing teeth and showering can easily take place simultaneously. A larger bedroom doesn’t really help me 🙂. As I said, maybe swapping the rooms on the upper floor could help here.
I once installed the landing stairs asymmetrically. Access to the utility room is located under the stairs (the height should just be enough, right?).
We would definitely prefer the upper floor this way.
The downside is that a proper separation between the living area and the hallway wouldn’t be fully possible here, although it is very close.
We would definitely prefer the upper floor this way.
The downside is that a proper separation between the living area and the hallway wouldn’t be fully possible here, although it is very close.
Varrader schrieb:
(should just barely fit in terms of height?!).
The nice thing about stairs is that you can calculate everything quite precisely once you know the key measurements. So, what is the floor-to-floor height, the rise and tread depth of the stairs, and the height of your doors? Plus the exact dimensions of the hallway, and you’ll know where adjustments need to be made.Similar topics