ᐅ Suggestion – Feedback on Floor Plan for Single-Family House, 320 sqm

chaosandi schrieb:


The right staircase near the utility room leads down to the basement. I didn’t want the staircases positioned directly above each other because, as I mentioned, I want to keep the basement level out of everyday use (work). There will be a door in front of this staircase.

I don’t understand the explanation. Even staircases stacked above each other (with a door leading to the basement stairs) still provide separation... Now you’re moving the basement stairs further into the house: is this supposed to be a better separation of everything?

How do you access the guest toilet? Am I missing something or is everyone else overlooking this: the staircase there is way too low to install a door underneath it???? 😕
How wide are the passageways around the kitchen island? They seem very narrow to me, especially since cupboards also need to be accessed there.
I roughly estimate about 100m² (1,076 sq ft) of living space on the ground floor, and the sloped ceilings must be deducted from the upper floor... 180m² (1,938 sq ft) plus basement.
If all this is supposed to be over 200/300m² (2,153/3,229 sq ft), then I would say it’s wasted money on a house that could be smaller.
The bedroom won’t feel cozy. Sure, there’s space for yoga sessions or Wii games for the parents, but you still have a basement, so somehow the size doesn’t justify such a modest house. That’s my opinion.
Everything still needs to be maintained 😱 Do you have a cleaner?

How much money do you have available for the house?
Probably quite a lot — with that surplus, I would rather add some small highlights like an integrated entrance canopy (connecting the garage to the house), large light wells for the basement, and so on.

chaosandi schrieb:
The building permit application will be submitted at the end of May. There should still be enough time to plan changes and details.

A workable design and lifelong comfortable living are more important than meeting a fixed deadline.

Regarding the floor plans:
They are actually incredibly inefficient and poorly designed.
On the ground floor, the cloakroom is missing! You have a living room that offers no space for cabinets, and watching TV is also not possible.
Your ideas for the stairs are awkwardly implemented.
The staircase to the upper floor feels more like a makeshift solution, and even if you want the staircase to the basement separate, it would make more sense to place it in the public area near the entrance.
The upper floor isn’t any better. If one parent wants to use the bathroom, the other is disturbed, and then you have to walk through the hallway in your underwear to get to the dressing room — not well planned at all…

WD

To me, it also seems like it was planned by a first-year student... there is definitely a lot of tutoring needed... please start over once again...

Alright, let’s start from the beginning 🙂

I don’t want an open basement hole inside the house. The idea with the door and the basement stairs behind it is still under consideration.
The bedroom arrangement wasn’t my preference, but I don’t find it particularly bad either.
ALL items currently shown on the floor plan are just placeholders. They were never discussed with me and are only there for illustration purposes. That’s why neither the bedroom, the kitchen, nor the living room layouts are correct.
The utility room will eventually hold the washing machine, dryer, and storage. Cleaning supplies, vacuum cleaner, etc. Furthermore, it serves as a passageway to the garage and the garden.

emer schrieb:
I think way too much space is wasted here.

Two staircases side by side? Why?

There’s still room to dance the polka in the bedroom. 27sqm (290 sq ft) for just a bed and two nightstands? You could skip the walk-in closet.

A kitchen with 14sqm (150 sq ft) and an island? Without exact measurements, I guess this won’t work. At least not if you want to open the doors of the adjacent cabinets.

My opinion: it’s built large, with plenty of space, but very poorly distributed. You could be much more creative.

You have a basement and then such a large utility room?

You can build like that if money is no object. Otherwise, the rooms are already on the wrong floors. Just my opinion.

We also had the idea of a guest room/office on the ground floor. But then the upper floor became huge. So big you didn’t know what to do with the space. And this is how it looks now.

The stairs are already in progress.
The guest toilet will be moved toward the utility room, so it will be about 4.5sqm (48 sq ft) in the end.
We already considered the kitchen.
Yes, we will have a cleaner. But the house will cost about €500,000.
The entrance canopy, daylight shaft for the office, laundry chute, door to the living room — all of those are planned but just not shown on the current plan.

ypg schrieb:
I don’t understand the explanation. Even with staircases above each other (with a door to the basement stairs), that still creates separation… You are now moving the basement stairs further into the house: is that a better separation all around?

How do you even crawl into the guest toilet? Am I seeing this wrong or are others overlooking this? The stairs there are way too low to place a door underneath, right??? 😕
How wide are the walkways around the kitchen island? They seem very narrow, especially with cabinets to open as well.
I roughly estimate about 100sqm (1,070 sq ft) of living space on the ground floor, in the upper floor you have to subtract the sloped ceiling areas… 180sqm (1,940 sq ft) plus basement.
If it’s supposed to be over 200/300sqm (2,150/3,230 sq ft), then I’d say it’s wasted money on a house that could be smaller.
The bedroom won’t be cozy. Sure, there is room for yoga or Wii games for the parents, but you still have a basement, so this size isn’t really justified. That’s my opinion.
You still need to manage the house 😱 Do you have a cleaning service?

How much money do you have for the house?
Probably quite a lot — with that excess budget, I’d rather add small highlights like an integrated entrance canopy (a nice transition between garage and house), large light wells for the basement, and so on.

The wardrobe is currently planned under the stairs going up, so it’s tricky to represent it accurately in the drawing. A potential basement staircase or door could replace that spot.
The staircase placement is deliberate because I don’t want to head upstairs immediately when entering the house, but rather when coming from the living room or kitchen at the end of the day. Conversely, when coming down from upstairs, I don’t want to leave the house right away but instead have coffee first, put on my shoes, and then leave.
Also, I wanted a more spacious entrance area where you’re not immediately standing on a staircase.

At the far end of the living room, there are 60cm (24 inches) depth planned for a media wall. Not very wide, but enough for a TV 🙂
Please disregard the furniture currently shown in the living room.

In the master bedroom, there is a sliding door to the walk-in closet, so no one has to walk through the hallway unclothed 😀
And having an en-suite master bathroom is pretty standard nowadays, right?

Wanderdüne schrieb:
A functional design and lifelong comfortable living are more important than meeting a set date.

About the floor plans:
They are really inefficient and not well thought-out.
The ground floor lacks a proper wardrobe area! The living room has no space for furniture placement, and watching TV isn’t possible either.
The staircase concept is poorly executed.
The stairs to the upper floor feel like a makeshift solution. And even if you want a separate basement staircase, it makes more sense to position it in the public entrance area.
The upper floor isn’t any better. If one parent wants to use the bathroom, the other is disturbed, and then you have to walk unclothed down the hallway to the walk-in closet — well planned…

WD

I will pass this on to my architect; I can’t do much with it myself right now.

Mycraft schrieb:
It looks more like a first semester student’s work… definitely needs some tutoring… please start over…

So, of course, this sounds like I’m trying to defend “my” house.
No, I just want to share my thoughts and make it clear why we designed it this way.
Sure, the house is large, but that’s what I want except for the bedroom. But what’s the alternative? Start a completely new floor plan?
No, I’d rather live with this luxury problem. 🙂

A big thank you for all your responses so far!

I still don't understand how you plan to access the guest bathroom. The door shown on the floor plan doesn't fit there.

The ceiling height on the ground floor is 2.80m (9 ft 2 in), which is usually enough height for a door under the stairs.