ᐅ Floor Plan Design: Single-Family Home with Basement; 560 sqm Plot

Hello everyone,

so far we have only been silent readers in this forum and have already gained some interesting ideas this way. We are currently in the planning phase of a single-family house with a basement and have tried to put our wishes into a floor plan. Maybe some of you would like to give feedback on our first drafts. Important: The design is not yet complete. For example, light wells are still missing, the bathroom on the upper floor is not yet fully planned, outdoor areas, etc. Therefore, some changes are still possible, and we would welcome constructive criticism.

Development Plan / Restrictions

• Size of the plot: 560m² (about 6,000 sq ft)
• Slope: slight, approx. 1m (3 ft) drop across the entire width of the plot
• Site occupancy index: 0.35
• Floor area ratio: 0.6
• Building envelope, building line and boundary: present
• Edge development: possible with garage
• Number of parking spaces: at least 2 required
• Number of floors: max. 2 full stories
• Roof type: no direct specification, except slope direction for shed roofs
• Architectural style: modern
• Orientation: no restrictions
• Maximum heights / limits: 7.5m (25 ft) eaves height, 10m (33 ft) ridge height
• Other requirements: should be considered, can be provided upon request/questions

Homeowners’ Requirements

• Architectural style, roof type, building type: staggered shed roof, preferably optimal orientation for photovoltaics or gabled roof
• Basement, floors: basement + 2 full stories
• Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (one toddler), possibly 3rd child
• Space requirements
• Ground floor, generally planned so two people can live comfortably on this level
• Hallway: as small as possible, as large as necessary. If no entrance area, space for shoes/coat storage etc. (cloakroom) must be provided
• Office: one of the parents works very often from home
• Large living room with separate kitchen and pantry
• Bathroom with shower and toilet
• Upper floor:
• Hallway: as small as possible, as large as necessary
• Office for home office in case both parents work from home
• Two children’s rooms
• Parents’ bedroom
• Larger (main) bathroom
• Small storage room for laundry, cleaning supplies, vacuum cleaner, etc.


• Office: family use or home office? Yes
• Guest stays per year: 5-8 overnight stays annually
• Open or closed layout: closed kitchen, open living-dining area, separate hallway
• Conservative or modern construction: modern
• Number of dining seats: at least 4, up to 12 for larger celebrations such as New Year’s Eve or Christmas
• Fireplace: yes
• Music/surround sound wall: surround system would be good and partially available
• Balcony, roof terrace: yes
• Garage, carport: yes, double garage
• Utility garden, greenhouse: no

House Design

• Designed by: architect in cooperation with us

What do we particularly like? Why?

• Laundry chute in both bathrooms
• Very wide and spacious staircase
• Wet rooms stacked above each other
• Nice large living room
• Kitchen with direct pantry and garden view
• Basement prepared for a possible sauna
• Large workshop
• Balcony on the upper floor
• Underground garage

What do we not like? Why?

• Garden is too small, but this is largely due to the plot, the required number of parking spaces, and building envelope restrictions and cannot really be changed
• Windows in the kitchen and second child’s room: windows facing the street were omitted for better furniture arrangement inside. Also, the view of the neighboring house is not to our liking. Unfortunately, the downside is that the exterior appearance of the house suffers from this. What do you think?
• We originally wanted direct access from the garage into the house on the ground floor. This could not be properly realized due to space constraints (staircase too small). That is why the staircase in the garage leads to the basement.

Unfortunately, room wall dimensions are missing.

Hallway on the ground floor .. where should the coat rack for 4 to 5 people and possibly guests be located?

It is inconvenient to take bicycles out. Also, is it possible that the shared wall is longer than 9 m (30 feet)?

The garage staircase reduces the ground-level space in the garage for the lawnmower and similar items .. If the basement garage is also used as a workshop, isn’t it sufficient to access it from inside the house? Why is there such a large workshop space at all?

Ground floor office .. due to the door position, it is not very suitable as a proper bedroom.

Kitchen .. as mentioned, dimensions are missing, but I would definitely plan to include the window at the bottom of the plan.

Why is there a chamfered (beveled) corner in the living area?

How is the roof supposed to look from the other side? Balcony and chamfered corner.

Bathroom on the upper floor .. it seems impractical to look directly into the shower niche when entering, and it could often be damp in front of it due to water coming out of the shower.

GENERAL:
Furniture is not drawn to scale, at least the sofa, dining table, etc.

kbt09 schrieb:

Unfortunately, interior wall dimensions are missing.

Hallway on the ground floor .. where should the wardrobe for 4 to 5 people and possibly guests go?

Since the hallway is 2m (6.5 ft) wide, we planned to furnish it accordingly – or do you think this is too narrow?

kbt09 schrieb:

It’s inconvenient to get the bicycles outside. And, could it be that the boundary wall is longer than 9m (29.5 ft)?

We’ll take that into consideration, thanks!

kbt09 schrieb:

The garage stairs reduce the ground-level space for lawnmower and similar equipment .. If the basement garage is a workshop, isn’t it enough to access it from inside the house? Why such a large workshop?

There is quite a bit of workshop equipment to store and use. That’s why the garage was designed with a basement; otherwise, it wouldn’t make much sense. The stairs in the garage allow heavy items, tools, and materials to be brought into the workshop without having to go through the house.

kbt09 schrieb:

Ground floor – office hardly suitable as a real bedroom due to door position.

What would your suggestion be here? We thought to place the door as high as possible to separate it from the entrance/mudroom area.

kbt09 schrieb:

Why the chamfered corner in the living area?

To ensure a proper passage width between the north and south gardens. Otherwise, it would be too tight and disrupt the flow between these garden areas.

kbt09 schrieb:

How should the roof look from the other side? Balcony and chamfered corner.

Please see the attached pictures.

kbt09 schrieb:

Bathroom upstairs .. rather impractical to look directly into the shower niche when entering; it might also often be damp in front due to stepping out of the shower.

Thanks! We’ll take that into account.

kbt09 schrieb:

GENERAL:
Furniture is not drawn to scale, at least the sofa, dining table, etc.

They should be to scale. The sofa is only shown as a large layout (2.5m x 3.5m (8 ft 2 in x 11 ft 6 in) drawn). The table length is 2.1m (6 ft 11 in) with chairs.

Hmm ... how many square meters does that actually add up to? And what budget have you planned?

Regarding the kitchen... do you want it to run along the wall like that? And then the large opening in the middle?

The hallway might be 2 meters (6.6 feet) wide, but think about where you can realistically fit a 2-meter (6.6 feet) wardrobe in that space.

Also, what kind of work do you usually do if you estimate needing around 70 to 80 square meters (750 to 860 square feet) of workshop space?

JKHandler schrieb:

Who was responsible for the design: Architect in collaboration with us

You should either consult an architect or, if it’s true that one was actually involved, you should step back a bit and let the professional work for their fee. Because there are quite a few small and large mistakes incorporated here that, in my opinion, should be basic architect knowledge.

JKHandler schrieb:

We thought of placing the door as high as possible

No, an architect designs doors and windows in a way that still allows for furniture placement next to them. Unfortunately, basic principles were not applied in this house at all. Basically, every door was planned exactly against standard practice. In some rooms, this is quite significant for the remaining furniture arrangement.

JKHandler schrieb:

Since the hallway is 2m (6.5 feet) wide, we wanted to furnish it accordingly – or do you think that is too small?

Again, no closet planned. Of course, a small dresser for handbags can be placed there.

JKHandler schrieb:

It disrupts the flow between the north and south garden.

There is no flow either. Not even with “abber” corner. I would rather call this a Feng Shui disaster; the partnership corner now has a flaw. But from the very beginning: Is there a reason why the budget hasn’t been disclosed? Do you not even know how much you can build? At least you set limits.

JKHandler schrieb:

As small as possible, as large as necessary

I don’t see that anywhere: Almost everything could be somewhat smaller in relation to the mentioned “as large as necessary.” Somehow, nearly everything was planned not just slightly bigger. Or does that only apply to the hallways? The wall of the double garage exceeds the allowed 9-meter (30 feet) boundary building line; the hallway is exceptionally long, and there are two upstairs because one access route wasn’t possible in a kind of Tetris layout, which also resulted in a balcony. The living/dining area is very, very spacious at over 50 square meters (over 538 square feet), plus kitchen and utility room. The bedroom at over 24 square meters (over 258 square feet) could give up 10 square meters (about 108 square feet), and a properly laid out bathroom could be smaller than the children’s rooms.

What is also noticeable: the utility rooms are just squeezed in. The office is a mutilated L-shape because a walk-in closet had to fit somewhere. On the ground floor, you have to walk around the pantry to enter it or reach the kitchen. Bathroom doors open into the shower. No access from the kitchen to the garden… These are the major flaws that make the house neither good nor functional. As for taste, for example, the wider side in relation to the house height or the emphasis on width through the roof angle, we don’t need to debate that. But it is quite obvious that “something wasn’t applied correctly” on the house facade.

kbt09 schrieb:

Hmm ... how many total square meters does that actually amount to? And what budget have you planned?

500,000 euros excluding exterior landscaping, with a high share of self-performed work.

kbt09 schrieb:

Regarding the kitchen… do you really want to have it running all along the wall like that? And then the large empty space in the middle?

The hallway might be 2 meters (6.5 feet) wide, but consider where you could realistically place a 2-meter (6.5 feet) long closet in that hallway.

After several attempts: Indeed, no satisfactory result. For me, and especially after reading the other comments, this more or less means back to square one?!

kbt09 schrieb:

And what kind of work do you do if you need an estimated 70 to 80 square meters (750 to 860 square feet) of workshop space?

Metalworking with custom machine construction.

ypg schrieb:

You should either consult an architect, or if it’s true that one was “involved,” you should step back a bit and let the professional work for their fee. There are quite a few small and large mistakes here that, in my opinion, should be part of the architect’s fundamentals.

Indeed, the current design is based on the architect’s initial draft. We then more or less extensively modified it. The architect is a friend of ours and is doing this more or less on the side.

ypg schrieb:

There is no flow at all. Not even with the “abber” corner. I’m more inclined to call this a Feng Shui disaster; for example, the partnership corner now has a flaw.
But to begin with:
Is there a reason why the budget hasn’t been mentioned? Is it perhaps not clear to you what you can afford to build? At least you set some limits.

I must have overlooked or deleted that. See my answer above.

ypg schrieb:

I don’t see this anywhere: almost everything could be somewhat smaller regarding the stated “as large as necessary.” Somehow, almost everything was planned not just a little bigger. Or does this only apply to the hallways?
The wall of the double garage is longer than the allowed 9 meters (30 feet) for boundary construction, the hallway is extraordinarily long; there are two upstairs because access wasn’t possible in the “Tetris” layout, which also resulted in a balcony.
The living/dining area is very generous at over 50 square meters (540 square feet), plus kitchen and utility room.
The bedroom, with over 24 square meters (260 square feet), could afford to give up 10 square meters (100 square feet), the bathroom could be smaller with a reasonable layout than the children’s rooms.
Another noticeable point: ancillary rooms are simply squeezed in. The office appears as a truncated L-shape because a storage room had to fit somewhere. On the ground floor, you have to walk around the pantry to access it or to reach the kitchen. Bathroom doors open into the shower. No direct access from the kitchen to the garden... These are the major flaws that make the house neither good nor functional.
As for taste, like the wider side relative to the house height or emphasizing width through the roof pitch, we don’t need to debate that. But it’s quite clear from the façade that “something was not applied correctly.”

That’s a lot to take in, but I appreciate the feedback. The question I now have is: Should we scrap the entire floor plan, or is it worth adjusting? Could I get some support from you here?