ᐅ Floor Plan Design: Single-Family Home with 4 Bedrooms and Office, 160 sqm
Created on: 9 Mar 2024 21:55
J
JKL_2024
Hello dear community,
we are a family of five (2 adults, 3 children) currently planning to build a house. It is quite challenging to find a floor plan with 4 bedrooms plus an office/guest room while keeping the overall size affordable. We have already tested several layouts and would appreciate your feedback and comments. Our current plan is a compromise between construction costs and size. So our main focus is to get the most out of the available space. Of course, having more space would be better, but unfortunately, we are limited to about 160 square meters (1,722 square feet). We would like to use this floor plan to obtain comparable offers from home builders.
Thank you in advance!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 550 square meters (5,920 square feet)
Building envelope: 12 m x 20 m (39 feet x 66 feet)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hip roof
Architectural style: classic city villa
No formal development plan, §34
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: city villa with hip roof, 2 floors without basement
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: approx. 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) (2 adults, 3 children)
Office: home office with 2 workstations
Guest stays per year: mainly grandparents, 2-3 times
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern design: modern, open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: no
Additional requirements:
House Design
Origin of the plans: self-designed based on several examples and inspirations from the internet. The windows are still placeholders.
We are unsure about the bay window. We have planned it to gain some extra space for the dining table, especially when guests come, as we can easily have 10 people. Additionally, it helps to fit in the 3rd children’s bedroom better. The question is how the cost of a bay window compares to simply increasing the overall floor area. Maybe someone here has experience with this. Also, if other arrangements might exist that use the space more efficiently.
Budget limit for the house, including fixtures: 550,000 euros (approx. $) (including photovoltaic system and ready to move in)
Preferred heating system: heat pump
Ground Floor
Upper Floor
Site Plan
we are a family of five (2 adults, 3 children) currently planning to build a house. It is quite challenging to find a floor plan with 4 bedrooms plus an office/guest room while keeping the overall size affordable. We have already tested several layouts and would appreciate your feedback and comments. Our current plan is a compromise between construction costs and size. So our main focus is to get the most out of the available space. Of course, having more space would be better, but unfortunately, we are limited to about 160 square meters (1,722 square feet). We would like to use this floor plan to obtain comparable offers from home builders.
Thank you in advance!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 550 square meters (5,920 square feet)
Building envelope: 12 m x 20 m (39 feet x 66 feet)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hip roof
Architectural style: classic city villa
No formal development plan, §34
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: city villa with hip roof, 2 floors without basement
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: approx. 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) (2 adults, 3 children)
Office: home office with 2 workstations
Guest stays per year: mainly grandparents, 2-3 times
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern design: modern, open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: no
Additional requirements:
- Open living/dining area and kitchen
- Utility/technical room large enough for laundry and with exterior access
- Bathroom with double sink and preferably a T-layout
- Guest toilet with shower on the ground floor
- Office for home office that can also serve as a guest room
- Option to have a second small desk in the master bedroom or a second workspace (both work from home frequently)
House Design
Origin of the plans: self-designed based on several examples and inspirations from the internet. The windows are still placeholders.
We are unsure about the bay window. We have planned it to gain some extra space for the dining table, especially when guests come, as we can easily have 10 people. Additionally, it helps to fit in the 3rd children’s bedroom better. The question is how the cost of a bay window compares to simply increasing the overall floor area. Maybe someone here has experience with this. Also, if other arrangements might exist that use the space more efficiently.
Budget limit for the house, including fixtures: 550,000 euros (approx. $) (including photovoltaic system and ready to move in)
Preferred heating system: heat pump
Ground Floor
Upper Floor
Site Plan
We don’t mind it. Sometimes I’d like to add a room divider in the form of a large bookshelf (since I could really use the extra storage—there are still some boxes of books I haven’t unpacked yet), but my wife doesn’t like it; she prefers the open visual feel.
Others might be bothered by the fact that any potential clutter in the kitchen is visible unless everything is put away immediately. But that probably depends on the individual—either because they don’t mind or because they always tidy up right away.
I would maybe prefer a bit more depth in the space, both in the kitchen/dining area and the living area. In the final design, we have about 4.25m (14 feet), but half a meter (about 20 inches) more would actually make everything feel more relaxed and would even allow for a small island in the kitchen.
The only place where extra depth wouldn’t be needed is in the center, in front of the double casement window—basically a negative bay or two side bay windows. I’m not sure what that’s called.
In the end, I can say that having 1m (3 feet) more in each dimension (current size: 8.91 x 11.29m / 29 x 37 feet) would have been nice, but you have to keep everything affordable. It doesn’t affect functionality; it would just offer more comfort (though possibly more waste as well).
Others might be bothered by the fact that any potential clutter in the kitchen is visible unless everything is put away immediately. But that probably depends on the individual—either because they don’t mind or because they always tidy up right away.
I would maybe prefer a bit more depth in the space, both in the kitchen/dining area and the living area. In the final design, we have about 4.25m (14 feet), but half a meter (about 20 inches) more would actually make everything feel more relaxed and would even allow for a small island in the kitchen.
The only place where extra depth wouldn’t be needed is in the center, in front of the double casement window—basically a negative bay or two side bay windows. I’m not sure what that’s called.
In the end, I can say that having 1m (3 feet) more in each dimension (current size: 8.91 x 11.29m / 29 x 37 feet) would have been nice, but you have to keep everything affordable. It doesn’t affect functionality; it would just offer more comfort (though possibly more waste as well).
Thank you very much for your assessment; it really helped me a lot!
Your comments definitely helped me reconsider the latest floor plan and identify its weak points. I think we can manage the open-plan layout for the living area; Tolentino also confirmed that it depends on personal preference.
You’re probably thinking I’m completely crazy for presenting yet another different floor plan. But after reviewing Tolentino’s thread more closely, I came across the design by kaho674, which we really like. I’ve slightly reduced its size so that the floor area is almost identical to what we had planned so far. Everything is just roughly sketched in.
Before I talk to the builder about potential extra costs for the bay window, I would really like to hear your opinion. Does this make sense, or are there major flaws? I am aware that the bay window will probably be more expensive than simply increasing the floor area a bit. Thanks in advance!
Your comments definitely helped me reconsider the latest floor plan and identify its weak points. I think we can manage the open-plan layout for the living area; Tolentino also confirmed that it depends on personal preference.
You’re probably thinking I’m completely crazy for presenting yet another different floor plan. But after reviewing Tolentino’s thread more closely, I came across the design by kaho674, which we really like. I’ve slightly reduced its size so that the floor area is almost identical to what we had planned so far. Everything is just roughly sketched in.
Before I talk to the builder about potential extra costs for the bay window, I would really like to hear your opinion. Does this make sense, or are there major flaws? I am aware that the bay window will probably be more expensive than simply increasing the floor area a bit. Thanks in advance!
Well,
basically we’re back to the original draft with just a few minor changes. If you keep coming back to this design, it seems like it’s really your favorite. So, if I were you, I would also ask about the additional costs. The expensive part will probably be the roof.
Personally, I don’t think the floor plan from #1 is that bad. I would simply remove the enclosure around the staircase on the ground floor, replace the single door to the living room with double doors, possibly try to straighten the utility room wall, reduce the space allocated for the coat area to just sideboards and wall hooks, and use the space under the stairs for a deep cupboard. Also, I would rotate the front door and straighten the hallway upstairs a bit by aligning the bathroom door again and moving the children’s room door slightly downward.
It’s also worth mentioning the disadvantages of this floor plan: The staircase by the entrance carries the risk of bringing dirt up to the upper floor. Additionally, the hallway upstairs lacks natural light. The first issue can be mitigated by keeping a clean path outside, while for the light in the upper hallway, you could consider a narrow window in the stairwell or skylights above the room doors. This is also a matter of aesthetics.
Just as a side question: The driveway to the rear property is surely sold entirely to that property, right? So, that land doesn’t belong to you and a 3m (10 feet) setback from the boundary applies. Do you have a registered building obligation (building encumbrance) that allows direct boundary construction?
basically we’re back to the original draft with just a few minor changes. If you keep coming back to this design, it seems like it’s really your favorite. So, if I were you, I would also ask about the additional costs. The expensive part will probably be the roof.
Personally, I don’t think the floor plan from #1 is that bad. I would simply remove the enclosure around the staircase on the ground floor, replace the single door to the living room with double doors, possibly try to straighten the utility room wall, reduce the space allocated for the coat area to just sideboards and wall hooks, and use the space under the stairs for a deep cupboard. Also, I would rotate the front door and straighten the hallway upstairs a bit by aligning the bathroom door again and moving the children’s room door slightly downward.
It’s also worth mentioning the disadvantages of this floor plan: The staircase by the entrance carries the risk of bringing dirt up to the upper floor. Additionally, the hallway upstairs lacks natural light. The first issue can be mitigated by keeping a clean path outside, while for the light in the upper hallway, you could consider a narrow window in the stairwell or skylights above the room doors. This is also a matter of aesthetics.
Just as a side question: The driveway to the rear property is surely sold entirely to that property, right? So, that land doesn’t belong to you and a 3m (10 feet) setback from the boundary applies. Do you have a registered building obligation (building encumbrance) that allows direct boundary construction?
K a t j a schrieb:
Just a quick question: The driveway to the rear property will definitely be sold entirely to them, right? Therefore, it’s no longer your land, and a 3m (10 ft) setback from the boundary applies. Do you have a registered building obligation (easement) allowing construction directly on the boundary? The driveway is part of our plot, so the 3m (10 ft) setback applies from the neighbor’s property line. Of course, the driveway is lost space, but otherwise the plot would be too small to build a reasonable floor area due to the limited site occupancy ratio / floor area ratio.
JKL_2024 schrieb:
The driveway is part of our property, so the 3m (10 feet) boundary setback is measured from the neighbor's property line. Obviously, the driveway is lost space, but otherwise the plot would be too small to build a reasonable floor area due to the limited floor area ratio/site coverage ratio. Do I understand correctly that you lease a large part of your land to the adjacent rear neighbor? I hope they pay well for it, because that would really bother me.
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