Hello, we are currently planning a house. So far, we have a hand-drawn sketch at a scale of 1:100, which we like very much. However, we are looking for ideas on how to save some square meters to reach approximately 150–155 m² (1,615–1,669 sq ft). Current floor areas:
Ground floor:
- Bathroom: 4.5 m² (48 sq ft)
- Cloakroom: 3.5 m² (38 sq ft)
- Office: 14.5 m² (156 sq ft)
- Hallway: 10.5 m² (113 sq ft)
- Storage under the stairs: 1.5 m² (16 sq ft)
- Utility room: 8 m² (86 sq ft)
- Kitchen: 11.5 m² (124 sq ft)
- Dining: 19 m² (205 sq ft)
- Living room: 25 m² (269 sq ft)
= total approx. 98 m² (1,055 sq ft)
Upper floor:
- Bathroom: 7.5 m² (81 sq ft)
- Bedroom: 12.5 m² (135 sq ft)
- Walk-in closet: 5 m² (54 sq ft)
- Gallery: 10.5 m² (113 sq ft)
- Children's room 1: 13.5 m² (145 sq ft)
- Children's room 2: 13.5 m² (145 sq ft)
= total approx. 62.5 m² (673 sq ft)
This brings the overall total to approx. 160.5 m² (1,728 sq ft).
The extension (living room) should preferably remain to keep a view of the forest to the east from the sofa. On the upper floor, the children’s rooms should be swapped with the bathroom and the master bedroom.
Orientation: entrance to the north, kitchen on the east side, office on the west.
Do you have any other ideas for optimization? Possibly adding a (hidden) pantry. Different staircase design?
Are the room sizes sufficient or still too small?
Many thanks in advance!
Ground floor:
- Bathroom: 4.5 m² (48 sq ft)
- Cloakroom: 3.5 m² (38 sq ft)
- Office: 14.5 m² (156 sq ft)
- Hallway: 10.5 m² (113 sq ft)
- Storage under the stairs: 1.5 m² (16 sq ft)
- Utility room: 8 m² (86 sq ft)
- Kitchen: 11.5 m² (124 sq ft)
- Dining: 19 m² (205 sq ft)
- Living room: 25 m² (269 sq ft)
= total approx. 98 m² (1,055 sq ft)
Upper floor:
- Bathroom: 7.5 m² (81 sq ft)
- Bedroom: 12.5 m² (135 sq ft)
- Walk-in closet: 5 m² (54 sq ft)
- Gallery: 10.5 m² (113 sq ft)
- Children's room 1: 13.5 m² (145 sq ft)
- Children's room 2: 13.5 m² (145 sq ft)
= total approx. 62.5 m² (673 sq ft)
This brings the overall total to approx. 160.5 m² (1,728 sq ft).
The extension (living room) should preferably remain to keep a view of the forest to the east from the sofa. On the upper floor, the children’s rooms should be swapped with the bathroom and the master bedroom.
Orientation: entrance to the north, kitchen on the east side, office on the west.
Do you have any other ideas for optimization? Possibly adding a (hidden) pantry. Different staircase design?
Are the room sizes sufficient or still too small?
Many thanks in advance!
Sarah K. schrieb:
Our budget for the house alone would be between 350,000 and 370,000. Sarah K. schrieb:
to reach around 150–155 m² (1,615–1,670 sq ft). I see a maximum of about 140 m² (1,510 sq ft).
But as I said before, hand drawings without measurements are not enough to plan accurately with a tight budget. You should also agree on what you want to prioritize: the floor plan or saving money.
ypg schrieb:
I see a maximum of about 140m² (1506 sq ft). [...] And you should agree on what you want to stick to: the floor plan or a cost saving. The important thing is, no matter how much a design is oversized: you cannot (successfully) just cut off parts or trim it down. Instead, you need to create a smaller design from scratch. It’s best to calculate first, then draw.
ypg schrieb:
But as already mentioned, hand drawings without dimensions are not sufficient for planning on a tight budget with a sharp pencil. The dimensions should be correct even in a sketch—however, whether the measurements are written down is of secondary importance.
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11ant schrieb:
The dimensions should also be correct in a sketchIn this case, they are not, because the hallway would need to be a width that is not really feasible—only possible on paper.ypg schrieb:
I would see a maximum of about 140sqm (1507 sq ft).Yes, it would help here to use a standard floor plan without the costly living room bay window.Either increase the budget or reduce the wishes. You can't have it all...
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Are 10m (33 feet) boundary setbacks allowed in NI? Not that I know of.
SoL schrieb:
Yes, it would already help here to use a standard floor plan without the costly living room bay. I agree.
I also don’t see the wishes/extras here. A backup kitchen—there isn’t enough space for that. Direct access points or doors that only serve as connections or airlocks—I don’t see them either, as they take up space and reduce usable area. A utility room/cold storage that’s also supposed to serve as a laundry room with a sink and storage can hardly function as an airlock anymore.
A guest bathroom intended for use in old age (probably why there’s a large guest room) would, in my view, need more space to be suitable as the main bathroom for someone less mobile.
Then I read about swapping the children’s and parents’ areas. You can tell right away the children aren’t there yet, and the view from the parents’ bedroom is supposed to be a highlight.
I think a classic house without frills works perfectly here. The extension doesn’t make sense anyway, not even for the “view,” because the living area is for retreat, and you don’t sit on the sofa in the house to watch the panorama. You don’t do that on vacation either. Here, the time spent in the garden shouldn’t be underestimated. There’s no time left for idle contemplation.
Sarah K. schrieb:
Our budget for the house alone would be between 350,000 and 370,000.Wo1z3rl schrieb:
At about €3000 per square meter, that would allow for approximately 120 square meters (1,292 square feet) of living space.Instead of listing more wishes, it should gradually become clear that you will need to cut some. With that budget, I don’t see room for a walk-in closet or an office. And somehow, I have a feeling you are seriously underestimating the earthworks for the driveway.
Better stop planning castles in the air. For a 120 sqm (1,292 sq ft) house, it’s worth taking a look at catalogs to understand what is feasible and what is not.
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