Hello,
we are a family of four (ages: 36, 32, 10, 6) planning a single-family house with approximately 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) of living space and would appreciate your opinions and help regarding our floor plan. The house will measure 9 m x 11.5 m (30 ft x 38 ft), and the plot is only 17.5 m (57 ft) wide, which is why the house is only 9 m (30 ft) wide but 28 m (92 ft) long.
Currently, we live in a rented townhouse with an open floor plan (kitchen, dining, and living areas all in one large room) and the stairs lead off from the living room. This is frustrating! You think twice before running the dishwasher in the evening after dinner, and the open staircase is a problem—the children can’t sleep when there are guests, and so on. We would like to have all these areas separated.
Our planned layout now features a kitchen with a dining table, and the living room is a separate room. We have deliberately chosen two entrances to the living room, also to allow for easy division in the middle if needed later. We do not require a guest or storage room.
The terrace will be directly in front of the living room (southwest), although it is not shown on the plan. The stairs will be made of concrete (we currently have wooden stairs—the creaking and squeaking are unbearable), with a small pantry underneath.
Upper floor: The knee wall (also called the dwarf wall) is raised to 2 m (6.6 ft), and the roof is a pitched roof. There is a small utility room for the washing machine and dryer, plus another small utility room acting as a basement replacement, as we don’t believe everything will fit in the main utility room. The shower might be moved slightly upward to straighten the hallway. The windows on the upper floor are not yet finalized; we are still working on ideas for them.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and opinions—feel free to share them.
we are a family of four (ages: 36, 32, 10, 6) planning a single-family house with approximately 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) of living space and would appreciate your opinions and help regarding our floor plan. The house will measure 9 m x 11.5 m (30 ft x 38 ft), and the plot is only 17.5 m (57 ft) wide, which is why the house is only 9 m (30 ft) wide but 28 m (92 ft) long.
Currently, we live in a rented townhouse with an open floor plan (kitchen, dining, and living areas all in one large room) and the stairs lead off from the living room. This is frustrating! You think twice before running the dishwasher in the evening after dinner, and the open staircase is a problem—the children can’t sleep when there are guests, and so on. We would like to have all these areas separated.
Our planned layout now features a kitchen with a dining table, and the living room is a separate room. We have deliberately chosen two entrances to the living room, also to allow for easy division in the middle if needed later. We do not require a guest or storage room.
The terrace will be directly in front of the living room (southwest), although it is not shown on the plan. The stairs will be made of concrete (we currently have wooden stairs—the creaking and squeaking are unbearable), with a small pantry underneath.
Upper floor: The knee wall (also called the dwarf wall) is raised to 2 m (6.6 ft), and the roof is a pitched roof. There is a small utility room for the washing machine and dryer, plus another small utility room acting as a basement replacement, as we don’t believe everything will fit in the main utility room. The shower might be moved slightly upward to straighten the hallway. The windows on the upper floor are not yet finalized; we are still working on ideas for them.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and opinions—feel free to share them.
I would also enlarge the hallway towards the kitchen, as there is wasted space in the kitchen anyway. The hallway would then have a larger wardrobe closet.
I generally like the living room, but personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting on the sofa there... I would probably place the sofa somewhere else, possibly along the exterior wall.
Upstairs, consider whether the washing machine and dryer can fit in the bathroom, either with a partition door or as a built-in closet. Extend the shower area into the room. Of course 🙂
Overall, a lot of space is being used inefficiently, which you need to be able to afford. How should the elevations be arranged?
I generally like the living room, but personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting on the sofa there... I would probably place the sofa somewhere else, possibly along the exterior wall.
Upstairs, consider whether the washing machine and dryer can fit in the bathroom, either with a partition door or as a built-in closet. Extend the shower area into the room. Of course 🙂
Overall, a lot of space is being used inefficiently, which you need to be able to afford. How should the elevations be arranged?
We are currently considering swapping the bedroom and bathroom (due to noise from neighbors) and combining the two utility rooms upstairs into one larger room.
I really don’t understand the issue with washing machine noise: Who runs the washing machine at night while in bed? That has never happened in our case... it only runs during the day.
The corner in the living room—I would love to have a small covered terrace there to sit outside when it rains... but that would seriously disrupt the floor plan. I will have to think about it some more.
New floor plans and elevations are coming—they first need to be drawn.
I really don’t understand the issue with washing machine noise: Who runs the washing machine at night while in bed? That has never happened in our case... it only runs during the day.
The corner in the living room—I would love to have a small covered terrace there to sit outside when it rains... but that would seriously disrupt the floor plan. I will have to think about it some more.
New floor plans and elevations are coming—they first need to be drawn.
I don’t think the small corner will provide much shelter. Rain rarely falls straight down.
We also wanted a (larger) corner in front of the living room, but it didn’t fit with the rest of the design, so we have now planned a proper patio roof (pergola) instead.
At night, it’s not the washing machine but the dryer that’s often running here 😉
However, more space would definitely benefit the laundry room.
milkie 🙂
We also wanted a (larger) corner in front of the living room, but it didn’t fit with the rest of the design, so we have now planned a proper patio roof (pergola) instead.
At night, it’s not the washing machine but the dryer that’s often running here 😉
However, more space would definitely benefit the laundry room.
milkie 🙂
B
Bauexperte8 Apr 2014 11:01Hello,
Best regards, Bauexperte
enduser schrieb:I would really like to see how this planned later division can be reasonably realized as a livable solution based on the presented design.
Our planned floor plan now includes a kitchen with a dining table, and the living room is a separate room. We deliberately chose two entrances to the living room, also to allow for easy division in the middle later if needed.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
I would really like to see how this planned later subdivision in the presented design can be made reasonably livable?
Regards, BauexperteI don’t understand the question – just simply draw a vertical wall down from the staircase (where the sofa is now). One room would then be for sleeping (the right one), the other as the living room (about 10 square meters (108 square feet) and about 20 square meters (215 square feet) respectively). It’s only for an emergency, in case access to the upper floor is no longer possible – this will NOT be a guest room...
B
Bauexperte8 Apr 2014 13:32Hello,
Although you have roughly 32 sqm (345 sq ft) of living room space (the plaster thicknesses still need to be deducted), in my opinion the left-side recess makes it anything but practical to divide. In a 10 sqm (108 sq ft) room, you might at best fit a 1.50 m (5 ft) bed and a 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) wardrobe—if at all.
You have planned a straight staircase. Better make sure it can be equipped with a stairlift if necessary, and avoid dividing the space, which in my opinion will only cause difficulties—even in old age.
Regards, Bauexperte
enduser schrieb:
I don’t understand the question – just draw a vertical wall down from the staircase (where the couch is now), one room will then be for sleeping (the right one), the other as the living room (so about 10 sqm (108 sq ft), one about 20 sqm (215 sq ft)). It’s only for emergencies, in case you can no longer access the upper floor
Although you have roughly 32 sqm (345 sq ft) of living room space (the plaster thicknesses still need to be deducted), in my opinion the left-side recess makes it anything but practical to divide. In a 10 sqm (108 sq ft) room, you might at best fit a 1.50 m (5 ft) bed and a 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) wardrobe—if at all.
You have planned a straight staircase. Better make sure it can be equipped with a stairlift if necessary, and avoid dividing the space, which in my opinion will only cause difficulties—even in old age.
Regards, Bauexperte
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