ᐅ Two-story single-family house without a basement, with an outbuilding and driveway on the south side
Created on: 12 Jan 2025 21:11
L
leinoel
Hello! Happy New Year to you all!
My husband and I recently purchased a plot of land and are currently busy planning how our house should look. I have already read several forum posts and have been able to take away a few tips – many thanks for that!
We are now gathering initial quotes to roughly estimate whether our current plans are completely off, within budget, or if we might even be able to plan a bit more generously. We aimed for a compact design but still allowed for a bit of luxury – at least on paper. We would appreciate feedback on our plan – both positive and negative comments are very welcome.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1000m2 (10,764 sq ft)
Slope: no, flat plot
Site coverage ratio: no restrictions
Floor area ratio: no restrictions
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: street side 3–5 m (10–16 ft), 3 m (10 ft) on both left and right sides, rear building boundary about 30 m (98 ft) – so plenty of space
Edge development – what does this mean? Open construction method is required; neighbors are at least 3 m (10 ft) from the property boundary
Number of parking spaces: 2 cars
Number of storeys: no requirements; we want 2 above-ground storeys but no basement (due to high groundwater level)
Roof type: pitched roof is mandatory; our idea is shown in the elevations (maximum roof area facing south for photovoltaic panels). Whether this makes sense cost-wise will depend on the quotes. Otherwise, it will be a traditional gable roof with the ridge running parallel to the street
Architectural style: Bauhaus or modern country house style (we like the combination of plaster and wood)
Orientation: garden to the northeast, street to the southwest
Maximum heights/limits: maximum building height at the building line 7 m (23 ft), maximum ridge height 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional requirements
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: modern country house style, pitched roof, two storeys without basement
Basement, storeys: no basement, 2 storeys
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people, 37 years, 33 years, 4 years, 1 year
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor: living-dining-kitchen area, home office/guest room, bathroom, utility room, cloakroom; Upper floor: 3 bedrooms, bathroom, laundry/storage room
Office use: family use or home office? Home office twice a week, sleeping accommodation for parents-in-law
Guest stays per year: 3–4 weeks
Open or closed layout: living areas on the ground floor open but preferably with the option to install a sliding door later when the children are older and visitors come, in order to have some privacy
Conservative or modern construction: open to both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: absolutely open to the dining room; a kitchen island would be my wish but takes a lot of space ... might end up as a peninsula instead
Number of dining seats: 4 people, but should have space for up to 15 people for events like Christmas or birthdays – it’s fine if an additional large table is placed in the living room and the sofa moved temporarily
Fireplace: YES
Music/stereo wall: not a must
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, carport in the front building setback; behind that, a garage as a basement substitute room plus a room for a sauna (alternatively, placing the sauna inside the main building is also fine, but we didn’t manage that in our planning; the sauna should measure at least 2 m x 2 m (6.5 ft x 6.5 ft))
Utility garden, greenhouse: no greenhouse, but a few fruit trees are already on the plot; we want to add native perennials and small vegetable beds to be cultivated with the children
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons for why certain things should or should not be included: we want at least one living room to have a view of the garden – so to the north. Therefore, the living rooms are arranged in an L-shape. The other two living rooms should face the street (south). This street has very little traffic and currently a nice undeveloped view (it is farmed). The toilet on the upper floor should be a separate room. Maximizing afternoon sunlight in the living rooms would be desirable (appropriate sun protection for the hot period is planned).
House Design
Who designed the plan:
- Do-it-Yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? I especially like our plot because it is so quiet, and we are already looking forward to sleeping with open windows in summer. I like the – compared to our current home – large bathroom where, hopefully, people won’t bump into each other brushing their teeth and where there is still space for a laundry hamper. The kitchen next to the dining area is also very important to us. We don’t have that now, and it can be a challenge with the children.
What do you not like? Why? The entrance area – I’m not sure whether there will be enough space for our clothes. Also, perhaps it would be practical to have a direct connection from the garage into the house. I also worry that the long corridor between the buildings might be too dark.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: we are currently waiting for this
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €600,000 (about 600,000), but we would prefer to target €500,000 (about 500,000)
Preferred heating technology: geothermal (deep drilling or horizontal collector)
If you have to give up on details/extensions
- can you do without: lift-and-slide door (a hinged door is also fine), straight staircase, kitchen island, staircase from living room to upper floor
- cannot do without: guest room, garden view from at least one living room, bathroom on the ground floor, separate toilet on the upper floor
Why is the design the way it is?
We conducted a needs analysis and arranged the rooms according to cardinal directions (lighting is important to me — it will also be important later). After many pencil sketches and moving paper furniture around, this design finally emerged. This is the first one I haven’t completely reworked after just a few days. Let’s see if it stays that way 😀
My husband and I recently purchased a plot of land and are currently busy planning how our house should look. I have already read several forum posts and have been able to take away a few tips – many thanks for that!
We are now gathering initial quotes to roughly estimate whether our current plans are completely off, within budget, or if we might even be able to plan a bit more generously. We aimed for a compact design but still allowed for a bit of luxury – at least on paper. We would appreciate feedback on our plan – both positive and negative comments are very welcome.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1000m2 (10,764 sq ft)
Slope: no, flat plot
Site coverage ratio: no restrictions
Floor area ratio: no restrictions
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: street side 3–5 m (10–16 ft), 3 m (10 ft) on both left and right sides, rear building boundary about 30 m (98 ft) – so plenty of space
Edge development – what does this mean? Open construction method is required; neighbors are at least 3 m (10 ft) from the property boundary
Number of parking spaces: 2 cars
Number of storeys: no requirements; we want 2 above-ground storeys but no basement (due to high groundwater level)
Roof type: pitched roof is mandatory; our idea is shown in the elevations (maximum roof area facing south for photovoltaic panels). Whether this makes sense cost-wise will depend on the quotes. Otherwise, it will be a traditional gable roof with the ridge running parallel to the street
Architectural style: Bauhaus or modern country house style (we like the combination of plaster and wood)
Orientation: garden to the northeast, street to the southwest
Maximum heights/limits: maximum building height at the building line 7 m (23 ft), maximum ridge height 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional requirements
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: modern country house style, pitched roof, two storeys without basement
Basement, storeys: no basement, 2 storeys
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people, 37 years, 33 years, 4 years, 1 year
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor: living-dining-kitchen area, home office/guest room, bathroom, utility room, cloakroom; Upper floor: 3 bedrooms, bathroom, laundry/storage room
Office use: family use or home office? Home office twice a week, sleeping accommodation for parents-in-law
Guest stays per year: 3–4 weeks
Open or closed layout: living areas on the ground floor open but preferably with the option to install a sliding door later when the children are older and visitors come, in order to have some privacy
Conservative or modern construction: open to both
Open kitchen, kitchen island: absolutely open to the dining room; a kitchen island would be my wish but takes a lot of space ... might end up as a peninsula instead
Number of dining seats: 4 people, but should have space for up to 15 people for events like Christmas or birthdays – it’s fine if an additional large table is placed in the living room and the sofa moved temporarily
Fireplace: YES
Music/stereo wall: not a must
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, carport in the front building setback; behind that, a garage as a basement substitute room plus a room for a sauna (alternatively, placing the sauna inside the main building is also fine, but we didn’t manage that in our planning; the sauna should measure at least 2 m x 2 m (6.5 ft x 6.5 ft))
Utility garden, greenhouse: no greenhouse, but a few fruit trees are already on the plot; we want to add native perennials and small vegetable beds to be cultivated with the children
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons for why certain things should or should not be included: we want at least one living room to have a view of the garden – so to the north. Therefore, the living rooms are arranged in an L-shape. The other two living rooms should face the street (south). This street has very little traffic and currently a nice undeveloped view (it is farmed). The toilet on the upper floor should be a separate room. Maximizing afternoon sunlight in the living rooms would be desirable (appropriate sun protection for the hot period is planned).
House Design
Who designed the plan:
- Do-it-Yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? I especially like our plot because it is so quiet, and we are already looking forward to sleeping with open windows in summer. I like the – compared to our current home – large bathroom where, hopefully, people won’t bump into each other brushing their teeth and where there is still space for a laundry hamper. The kitchen next to the dining area is also very important to us. We don’t have that now, and it can be a challenge with the children.
What do you not like? Why? The entrance area – I’m not sure whether there will be enough space for our clothes. Also, perhaps it would be practical to have a direct connection from the garage into the house. I also worry that the long corridor between the buildings might be too dark.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: we are currently waiting for this
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €600,000 (about 600,000), but we would prefer to target €500,000 (about 500,000)
Preferred heating technology: geothermal (deep drilling or horizontal collector)
If you have to give up on details/extensions
- can you do without: lift-and-slide door (a hinged door is also fine), straight staircase, kitchen island, staircase from living room to upper floor
- cannot do without: guest room, garden view from at least one living room, bathroom on the ground floor, separate toilet on the upper floor
Why is the design the way it is?
We conducted a needs analysis and arranged the rooms according to cardinal directions (lighting is important to me — it will also be important later). After many pencil sketches and moving paper furniture around, this design finally emerged. This is the first one I haven’t completely reworked after just a few days. Let’s see if it stays that way 😀
W
wiltshire12 Jan 2025 22:53leinoel schrieb:
At least this way I have a shorter route from the front door to the kitchen for groceries. Instead of the window to the terrace, build a second proper entrance to the kitchen area, and from March to October you will appreciate the wonderfully short path. Then the route becomes really convenient.
T
Teimo198813 Jan 2025 08:06I’m not a floor plan expert, but I do own a sauna. On a 1000 m² (12,000 sq ft) plot, I probably wouldn’t place my wellness area or sauna behind the garage. It could be a separate structure in the garden. Running electricity and cold water for a shower in the garden isn’t that difficult either. We also have an outdoor sauna connected to our terrace. Every time, I’m glad we didn’t install the sauna in the basement, as it’s simply wonderful to be outside after using the sauna. You might also have space for a natural swimming pond or something similar...
wiltshire schrieb:
I quite like the layout, and it fits well with your considerations. Of course, the straight staircase takes up a lot of circulation space, which makes the construction somewhat more expensive compared to the actual usable living area. The cost per square meter estimators in the forum can give you more details on this; I’m not up to date on that, so this is just a general note.Thanks for the note, we will now wait for the quotes and then we will know which direction to take and whether we need to revise the staircase to save space. wiltshire schrieb:
The hallway to the front door will naturally be somewhat darker. Too dark? Certainly not. When the sun is gone, a light will simply turn on. Maybe you can even go the other way and grow vines over it, turning it into a sheltered entrance nook.
I would be more concerned that the living areas might be too dark – I don’t see any light on the long wall facing southeast.
Also, I would like to have some morning sunlight in the bedroom.Thanks for your assessment – the idea of an entrance nook sounds quite nice, I will think about that 🙂 Regarding light in the living areas, I have one window each on the southeast side right at the top and bottom corners. At the top, there is a narrow floor-to-ceiling window to let in the low morning sun, and at the bottom, a window with a higher sill to allow for more usable wall space or, if there happens to be a dining area there, more comfortable seating. (I think the pictures got quite pixelated when I uploaded them; when I get a chance, I will try to upload better-quality versions… I also believe my furniture layout is hard to see — I’ve already marked the furniture we would take with us to estimate if the space is sufficient.) Unfortunately, I found that the adjacent building casts quite a bit of shadow on the southeast side during autumn and winter, so I placed windows only at the corners where some sunlight might come in. I will take another close look on site.ypg schrieb:
That’s exactly what I’m looking for. Do you mean the children’s bathroom? By “extra WC,” I understand that the toilet is separated. But okay…
The shower is more like a foot bath, so small?! Hi, yes, the “children’s bathroom” is mainly intended to function as a separate toilet, so if someone occupies the bathroom longer, we don’t have to go downstairs every time. For the shower, we would initially just prepare the plumbing so that we could install one later if needed (for example, when the kids no longer want to share the bathroom with us and block it for a longer time). So, it’s planned to be very small, basically just an emergency shower. Although I’m not sure if people wouldn’t just go downstairs to shower then, so for now, we’ll just prepare the pipes. At the moment, the kids are always close by anyway, so I can’t really judge how it will be in a few years.
ypg schrieb:
On one hand, I think it’s good that you’ve structured the front area of the plot a bit. Also that the children’s rooms get the sunny side. Thanks, having the children’s rooms on the sunny side was one of the most important planning aspects for me.
ypg schrieb:
But here comes the “but,” and I’ll start at the beginning:
The different regional building regulations (LBOs) are similar but differ. Still, I don’t know of any state building code that allows more than 12 meters (39 feet) of edge development on one side. I rechecked the building regulations, and in our case, only a maximum built-up area of 100m2 (1076 sq ft) and a building height of 3m (10 feet) for the secondary building apply – we are below that, and the builders we’ve spoken with so far haven’t mentioned anything contrary. Only for the wooden shed at the front would we need to be a bit creative in execution, but that is probably a common approach here.
ypg schrieb:
Also, I believe a sauna is considered a habitable room, and if not, it’s not allowed to plan or build a room with a heat source as edge development. So at least the sauna is excluded where it is now. Probably the storage as well. Whether the sauna counts as a habitable room seems to depend on the municipality’s interpretation – a bathroom, on the other hand, is explicitly listed in our building code as a permitted room use in a secondary building since it’s not a habitable room. But this probably varies between different states.
ypg schrieb:
Regarding the design: I think the utility room (TK) is too small. Since the toilet and utility room depend on location, I would place the utility room close to the street for short pipe runs and the toilet facing the garden due to a sauna there. Really too small? That surprises me. We recently visited friends with a comparable house whose utility room was even smaller than 5m2 (54 sq ft), and they still managed to fit a washing machine and freezer in there. But I will keep that in mind and have already asked my husband to research the exact dimensions of the necessary appliances, so we know for sure. The location of the utility room is a very good point; I will probably implement that if the wastewater connections for the toilet work out well, thank you!
ypg schrieb:
You want the view, you want the sun—both completely justified. I agree with Katja: kitchen on the main terrace and vegetable garden. The vegetable garden wants partial shade, so not south-facing. Perhaps the vegetable garden would work well in the southeast, which wouldn’t be too far from the kitchen. I will try moving the kitchen location around again, but so far, I haven’t found a good solution for the kitchen furniture layout. If I put a kitchen line on the north side, I’m concerned the garden view would be very limited.. :/
ypg schrieb:
Ask yourselves when you use the living room or sofa in which months: in the darker months, you only get sunlight during the day on weekends. In summer, you want to be in the garden all day. Is the living room well placed where it is? I thought about that and realized that we actually spend most time at the dining table or playing on the floor, so the sofa is less important. We lie on the sofa mostly in the evenings when the kids are in bed or when a child is sick. I don’t know how things will be in the future, but my feeling is that we will move away from floor play toward table games, and the dining area will become our main living space during the day.
ypg schrieb:
With a split living room: do you want to exclude yourself from using the fireplace in the evenings by locking one part out? I’d just say: the staircase is wrongly positioned for a household with children. Yes, that’s true; it’s not ideally solved.. hmm.. I’ll think about it, but where should the stairs go? A new stair location changes everything. However, I would have placed the sliding door on the wall with the kitchen line; then the fireplace wouldn’t be excluded.
ypg schrieb:
The 80 cm (31 inch) doors catch my eye (sorry! The images are a bit pixelated). They should be widened to 100 cm (39 inches). Right, I will at least expand them to 90 cm (35 inches), and on the ground floor to 100 cm (39 inches) where possible! Good tip, I completely overlooked that! The guest toilet and children’s bathroom can stay as they are.
ypg schrieb:
There is no cloakroom. As a reader of some threads, you should know the usefulness of one. Yes, I’m aware and struggling with that as well.. I hope to make good use of the space under the stairs for a bench and hooks. A cabinet might still fit next to the entrance door or vice versa. That area is definitely still a problem zone. I’ve considered a small bay window as a windbreak but haven’t come to a good solution yet. The “wasted space” without really generating storage bothers me, too.. That is the big disadvantage of a straight stair. But we want to go into initial negotiations with this stair since experience shows we use stairs often, and it would be very convenient. If costs rise too much because of that, I will have to redesign anyway. I initially thought there would still be space for some coats or stuff in the utility room, but it seems your assessment is different.
ypg schrieb:
24m2 (258 sq ft) hallway only on the upper floor is quite something. Yes, but the space shouldn’t remain unused. There will surely be room for some narrow bookshelves, and the rowing machine must also find its place; I had planned to put it there.
ypg schrieb:
I really don’t understand the roof. From the street, it looks like half a house. Haha 😀 yes, it’s visually unusual—so it probably won’t look as charming as a three-sided farmhouse? We will try to estimate how much additional value the roof area creates for photovoltaics – if that’s not very significant, we would probably prefer a gable roof.
Thanks for taking so much trouble and for the honest feedback!
Arauki11 schrieb:
I like the idea of the entrance area, also because it’s easy to find nice solutions to design that space; the adjacent extension with the sauna turned out well, but the sauna itself could be placed elsewhere on the property without significant extra cost. Yes, if in doubt, it will probably be one of those “barrel saunas” that you place somewhere in the garden. You just have to walk through the cold in winter to heat it up – I haven’t looked into this in detail yet but will get informed on how such a sauna would work.
Arauki11 schrieb:
The carport is supposed to be made of wood, and there are options to design it to allow more light so the entrance area doesn’t become too dark. Hmm.. design-wise, I’m not very creative – I’m open to suggestions. The carport will be wooden, but the garage behind it will be solid and won’t let in much light, so I haven’t planned a window there yet. I need to look more closely at the sun’s position…
Arauki11 schrieb:
I’d carefully check the rather small utility room regarding the necessary equipment; I also think it would be sensible to store a few small tools etc. in there. We will do that!
Arauki11 schrieb:
The hallway, partly due to the straight staircase, feels like a long tunnel, which usually I don’t like; it lacks natural light there. The foyer takes up space but currently offers little room for coats, shoes, etc. Yes, the narrowest width is about 1.2 meters (4 feet) next to the stairs for a length of about 3 meters (10 feet). I think that’s still acceptable. It does lack daylight, that’s true. Maybe it will help if I add a floor-to-ceiling window on the opposite side in the living room – even if no direct sunlight will come through because of the neighboring building, it might still make the space feel friendlier. The sliding door will probably be open most of the time anyway. Yes, I already wrote something about storage upstairs. At the moment, we have to make do with less space, so maybe it’s not a big issue. But I will think about it some more.
Arauki11 schrieb:
I’m rather critical about having a fireplace combined with underfloor heating; I would prefer a large window instead. Actually, I feel the window areas are rather sparse compared to specific expectations. I see it differently. We once had a heating failure in winter and were very glad to keep the house a bit warm with the decorative fireplace… the electric heaters hardly helped at all. And of course, it’s also nice to have. The windows on the southeast side are sparse because the neighboring building casts a lot of shadow on this side of the house, especially in the transition periods. I placed windows where sunlight actually reaches. I think the glass areas in the kitchen and dining room make up about 20% of the floor area if I remember correctly. In the living room, I just barely reach 10%, that’s true. I will check again on-site with the sun’s position now that the days are getting longer.
Arauki11 schrieb:
The living room only starts after the beam, so the planned area seems quite tight; I would also be interested in the actual furniture layout you’ve planned. Well, I haven’t defined such strict room boundaries – the living and dining areas basically share the space in front of the stairs. I assume the potential sliding door will be open most of the time anyway. But I could be wrong. I have drawn a large sofa, which we would buy eventually. Currently, we have a smaller seating set, so that fits. But yes, I’ve tried to keep it small because we mostly use the living room only for relaxing in the evenings. I thought we wouldn’t need that much space, but maybe I am mistaken. I will reconsider and might extend the living room area by 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6 feet) forward, then I could add a window there for better lighting.
Arauki11 schrieb:
I would actually question the staircase shape, which strongly influences, or to say disadvantages, the living spaces behind it. At the moment, we have a narrow half-turn staircase, so we want a straight staircase instead. Do you mean the disadvantage with regards to the living room size or something specific?
Arauki11 schrieb:
The stairwell/hallway might also be quite dark on the upper floor. Do you think so? Despite the window?
wiltshire schrieb:
Instead of a window facing the terrace, build a second proper entrance in the kitchen area, and from March to October you will really appreciate the wonderfully short route. That way, the path will be truly convenient.Hmm.. does the path become longer during the winter months? 😀 I think there are patio doors that can be opened and locked from the outside, so with a handle on the outside; I can definitely imagine that.Similar topics