ᐅ Floor plan for a "temporary house" designed for 2 to 3.5 occupants

Greetings to the forum,

I am planning to build a house of about 100–110 sq m (1076–1184 sq ft) with one children’s room and a smaller room that can serve as an emergency children’s room for at least a few years. I like large windows and, due to my job, I will spend a lot of time in the living room, so I don’t want to cut back there. As a layperson, am I overlooking anything major, or are my ideas realistic?

Context of my situation:

I have a plot of land where building might be possible around 2026–2027, but so far there’s no guarantee that it will happen at all.

Since I want to move out of my parents’ place (or rather, my partner’s apartment, where I’ve been for a few months) and don’t expect house prices to get significantly cheaper, I would like to first buy and build on a plot of about 1000 sq m (0.25 acres) where a development plan is already in place. This won’t be my dream house, but there’s always a compromise somewhere, and finding that is currently causing me some stress.

My options are now:

• Wait quietly for another 3 years and possibly be disappointed that I still won’t be allowed to build on my dream plot
• Build a house the size of an apartment (around 80 sq m / 860 sq ft) and then regret the size when children come before I can build my larger dream home
• Build a 100–110 sq m house that is nice to live in but will likely be too small when the second child arrives
• Go all in and immediately build my dream house on a plot that isn’t ideal for me (location, layout, size)

No matter what I choose, the future may show me that I made a mistake in hindsight—which is why I am currently leaning toward option 3 as a compromise. I hope to finance my dream home by selling the interim house, but to sell it, it obviously needs to be something that others can also find appealing.

I didn’t like the floor plan suggested by the construction company, so I came up with my own layout, which after about 15 hours of adjusting back and forth I find quite okay. The professionals here will probably laugh that I am using home.by.me, but if you have no experience at all, it’s incredibly helpful to place rooms with furniture in 3D to get an idea of the space dimensions. The furniture itself doesn’t have to be exactly as shown—my main concern was dimensions, like how far a closet might protrude into the hallway.

The driveway and carport will be approximately like shown; everything else on the plot, including the lovingly placed swing, is just a reference for the size of the remaining land, and the terrace is only roughly positioned. Due to my lack of knowledge, I naively set the walls at 170 mm (6.7 inches) thick both inside and outside.

About the rooms:

The hallway might be about 20 cm (8 inches) narrower in favor of a smaller house width or slightly larger children’s rooms, but that shouldn’t make a huge difference now.

Bathroom 1 is relatively small compared to the bathroom in my parents’ house, but I think it has everything needed. The shower is 90 x 90 cm (35 x 35 inches), slightly larger than my current 80 x 80 cm (31.5 x 31.5 inches), allowing approximately 100 cm (39 inches) clearance between sink and shower for passage. It’s not huge, but I think it will work. This means the door opens into the hallway.

Bathroom 2 is tiny, but the same size as our current guest toilet.

The utility room, if I haven’t forgotten anything, is 5.7 sq m (61 sq ft), which should have everything needed; I read online the minimum size is around 6 sq m (65 sq ft).

The bedroom is rather minimal size; an additional closet would certainly be useful. I might add taller cabinets to the left and right of the TV.

I have no idea about kitchen design. Are kitchen units modular and standardized in width, or do you build the kitchen around the existing walls? If I need to enlarge bathroom 1 later, I would likely take space from the kitchen for that.

In the living room, I don’t know how to arrange a nice view of the plot, a TV, and a fireplace all at once. I do like the idea of corner windows (if that’s structurally possible), and rearranging furniture is always an option. What’s important to me is not regretting later having too little space or windows in the wrong places. I like the recessed wall toward the kitchen as it creates some separation between the kitchen and living room, especially if there are items left out in the kitchen, despite the open-concept design.

Orientation: The top edge of the plan faces north-northeast (NNE).

Here is the list; I have removed what was already answered or is not applicable:

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1000 sq m (0.25 acres)
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: Corner plot, neighbor’s property is 9 meters (30 feet) behind the plot boundary next to the carport
Number of parking spaces: Probably 2 in tandem, using whichever is in front to drive out
Number of floors: 1
Roof style: No preference
Architectural style: No preference

Homeowners’ requirements
Basement: None
Open kitchen to make living room appear larger
Carport: Yes

House design
Plan origin: DIY
Personal budget limit for the house: €275,000 for 106 sq m (without kitchen, furniture, carport, terrace, or hedge—hedge shown as fence in design)
Preferred heating system: Heat pump

Why is the design the way it is now?
What do you think is particularly good or bad about it? I hope I’ve arranged the rooms reasonably well considering the space, but as an amateur, I don’t really have a sense of that. I would appreciate any feedback very much; better to be criticized now than waste money later because something was overlooked.

Oops, I didn’t realize that interactive plans aren’t allowed to be linked here. So, here is the complete plan again as a screenshot:

czumplanen schrieb:

I’m not sure how to combine a nice view of the property, a TV, and a fireplace all into one sight line in the living room.

As a first priority, there should be nothing blocking any doorways (or patio doors) that would hinder passage.
The function of the patio doors is completely missed here.
Where you have walls to place furniture, or windows to look out or pass through, there shouldn’t be a problem. If you can’t manage that yourself – no worries, that’s what architects are for.
In your case (depending on budget), it should be a standard house model offered by your preferred general contractor.

Since you don’t yet know your specific needs or how large the house should be, I would recommend planning for one bedroom on the ground floor (EG) and then finishing the upper floor, which could accommodate 2–3 bedrooms plus a bathroom, when the need arises. Everything else risks wasting expensive money.
Regarding your design, apart from the windows:
A bungalow is not the most cost-effective building method. The entrance should be planned where a hallway leads out—large enough for a wardrobe but as small as possible.

A toilet room (WC) benefits from having a window, and the utility room is primarily intended for the building services. Secondly, it needs space for the washer (and dryer) and serves as storage if there is no other space to put everyday clutter.
Basically, the house should move away from an apartment-like layout so it’s clear that it isn’t a flat.

Your budget of €275,000 for 105m² (1130 sq ft) plus additional building-related costs may be tight.

One question: What do you do professionally in the living room? In other words, what requirements does the living room need to meet for your work?

A comment: There is a reason why architects study their field. The design includes many elements that could make the house difficult to sell. I would suggest looking at sample floor plans from prefabricated home manufacturers or consulting an architect directly.

Orientation: The top edge points in two directions (to the right and to the left on the plan). So, is north-northeast (NNE) to the right, or to the left? Or is simply the top of the plan pointing north-northeast (NNE)?

ypg schrieb:

So, as a first priority, there shouldn’t be anything blocking the passage in front of any door (or patio door).

Thank you for your reply!

My idea was simply to install doors in both places, so it doesn’t matter how the room is eventually laid out—you’ll always have an option to get out. That’s how we did it in our weekend house. Nothing is blocking them now, but whichever exit is most convenient depends on where you want to go on the property. I also assume the cost difference between a patio door and a floor-to-ceiling window won’t be that big?

I actually thought a bungalow would be cheaper, and my builder also mentioned that on the phone given the size, but I might have misunderstood. Another reason I lean toward a bungalow is that retirees might want to buy it someday because it’s all on one level. I’m far from that age, but a knee injury with subsequent problems last year made me hate stairs. Everything has healed now, and of course that’s anecdotal, but that’s why I can well imagine someone 40 years older appreciating this kind of layout.

>Basically, you should avoid the mentality of an apartment and make it clear that the house isn’t a flat.

I don’t quite understand that sentence—what exactly do you mean by it?

I consider additional building costs of around 20,000 as a separate item; I probably should have mentioned that.

NatureSys schrieb:

One question: What do you do professionally in the living room? In other words, what requirements does the living room need to meet for your job?

Very good question from you, I didn’t phrase it well. I run a company, and after years of 70-hour weeks, I’m now seriously hitting the brakes. That means instead of sitting at the desk in the home office day and night, I’m now delegating tasks here and there (strongly romanticized) which can also be done comfortably on the sofa with a nice view, since I only need to check the laptop for about 15 minutes every few hours. Basically, I’m looking at more leisure time than work going forward, and when I’m home, I naturally prefer to spend it in the most pleasant room.

>There’s a reason why architects study.

I wouldn’t dream of disputing that.

>The design includes many elements that will make the house hard to sell.

Can you name a few of those things? I’m genuinely curious what a stranger might stumble over. My partner and family, who have also all contributed their input (in my opinion for the better), are as content with the design as I am (except maybe for the living room), but of course that could also be because we’re all conditioned by the house we currently live in, and so the opinion of five people is worth about the same as that of one.

>Or is “planoben” simply northeast?

Today, thanks to you, I learned the word “planoben,” and that’s exactly what I meant.