ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house on a 10% south-facing slope. Entrance with a landing staircase.
Created on: 2 Aug 2025 23:15
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Hanger1
Hello everyone,
Some time ago, I created a post about the layout and optimal use of our approximately 600 sqm (6460 sq ft) plot of land with about a 10% south-facing slope.
We have now spent some time drawing, considering, erasing, and so on, and have developed the following floor plan.
Since we have about a 10% slope, I want to make optimal use of the hillside. My idea is that the main entrance is on the landing staircase, meaning on the level between the ground floor and the first floor, but with an enlarged landing.
From there, half a flight of stairs leads up to the upper floor (sleeping area) or half a flight down to the ground floor (living area).
This idea comes from the split-level concept.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Size of the plot: 600 sqm (6460 sq ft)
Slope: 10% south-facing slope
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Number of parking spaces: not yet decided, probably 2
Number of stories: currently planning 2 full stories
Roof type: gable or hip roof
Architectural style: classic
Orientation: north-south
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, number of floors
Number of residents, age: 2 adults, currently 1 child, 2-3 children planned in future
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? The office could alternatively be used as a third child’s bedroom
Overnight guests are negligible
Open or closed architecture: open design
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: U-shaped kitchen, already planned at the kitchen studio. The optimal size for us is 3 x 4 m (10 x 13 ft). We want a hidden door on the short side leading to the storage/pantry.
Number of dining seats: 1
Fireplace: no
Guest WC should include a shower, as my wife will be working shift work again in the future and having a shower away from the bedrooms is convenient.
House Design
Who created the plan:
- Planner from a building company: ideas from a builder, but we are doing it ourselves (DIY)
What do you like about it? Why?
What do you not like? Why? We are uncertain whether the north side near the entrance on the intermediate level looks too disjointed, because the upper floor windows start at the height where the front door ends.
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: 500k
Preferred heating technology: heat pump
If you have to give up anything, which details or extras
- could you give up? Preferably less square meters.
- cannot do without? WC/shower on the ground floor.
The following rooms are planned:
1: Living room with sliding door to dining area
2: Dining area
3: Kitchen with sliding door to dining area
4: Utility room
5: Guest WC/shower
6: Corridor
7: Landing staircase with enlarged landing
8: Storage room
9: Bathroom
10: Child I
11: Child II
12: Parents’ bedroom, possibly with a partition wall so you enter the bedroom through a small dressing room
13: Corridor (the landing staircase is not shown here)
14: Office / Child III
I look forward to your feedback!
Some time ago, I created a post about the layout and optimal use of our approximately 600 sqm (6460 sq ft) plot of land with about a 10% south-facing slope.
We have now spent some time drawing, considering, erasing, and so on, and have developed the following floor plan.
Since we have about a 10% slope, I want to make optimal use of the hillside. My idea is that the main entrance is on the landing staircase, meaning on the level between the ground floor and the first floor, but with an enlarged landing.
From there, half a flight of stairs leads up to the upper floor (sleeping area) or half a flight down to the ground floor (living area).
This idea comes from the split-level concept.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Size of the plot: 600 sqm (6460 sq ft)
Slope: 10% south-facing slope
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Number of parking spaces: not yet decided, probably 2
Number of stories: currently planning 2 full stories
Roof type: gable or hip roof
Architectural style: classic
Orientation: north-south
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, number of floors
Number of residents, age: 2 adults, currently 1 child, 2-3 children planned in future
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? The office could alternatively be used as a third child’s bedroom
Overnight guests are negligible
Open or closed architecture: open design
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: U-shaped kitchen, already planned at the kitchen studio. The optimal size for us is 3 x 4 m (10 x 13 ft). We want a hidden door on the short side leading to the storage/pantry.
Number of dining seats: 1
Fireplace: no
Guest WC should include a shower, as my wife will be working shift work again in the future and having a shower away from the bedrooms is convenient.
House Design
Who created the plan:
- Planner from a building company: ideas from a builder, but we are doing it ourselves (DIY)
What do you like about it? Why?
What do you not like? Why? We are uncertain whether the north side near the entrance on the intermediate level looks too disjointed, because the upper floor windows start at the height where the front door ends.
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: 500k
Preferred heating technology: heat pump
If you have to give up anything, which details or extras
- could you give up? Preferably less square meters.
- cannot do without? WC/shower on the ground floor.
The following rooms are planned:
1: Living room with sliding door to dining area
2: Dining area
3: Kitchen with sliding door to dining area
4: Utility room
5: Guest WC/shower
6: Corridor
7: Landing staircase with enlarged landing
8: Storage room
9: Bathroom
10: Child I
11: Child II
12: Parents’ bedroom, possibly with a partition wall so you enter the bedroom through a small dressing room
13: Corridor (the landing staircase is not shown here)
14: Office / Child III
I look forward to your feedback!
nordanney schrieb:
You must have miscalculated there 😉Oh my… slap right on my face. 720,000€ for the record! 🙂
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hanghaus20233 Aug 2025 11:23A somewhat more straightforward and open layout is also possible. The staircase would then be placed closer to a wall.
However, the design definitely needs to be scaled back. Maximum 130–150m² (1400–1615 sq ft).
Is there also a site plan available?
However, the design definitely needs to be scaled back. Maximum 130–150m² (1400–1615 sq ft).
Is there also a site plan available?
Hanger1 schrieb:
I started a thread some time ago already which could have continued here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/sued-hang-grundstueck-700qm-einfamilienhaus-ca-150qm-ideen-input.49143/page-7.
Hanger1 schrieb:
We have spent quite some time drawing, thinking, erasing, etc., and have now created the following floor plan. Designing is more important than erasing.
Hanger1 schrieb:
My idea is that the main entrance is on the landing staircase—that is, the level between the ground floor and the first floor—but with an enlarged landing.
From there, you go half a flight up to the upper floor (bedrooms) or half a flight down to the ground floor (living area).
The idea came from the split-level concept. Haha. That is almost mislabeling.
ypg schrieb:
Is there a reason why room 5, the guest toilet, awkwardly leads into the utility room (room 4), so that the guest toilet has no window and the utility room ends up with a lot of walking space instead of usable area? I wonder the same. The toilet could have been arranged parallel to the staircase instead of perpendicular, which doesn’t seem justified to me.
Hanger1 schrieb:
Ideas from a construction company, but do it yourself. It would be interesting to see their version before the DIY modifications.
The living room being smaller than the dining room probably means that "living" actually refers to "watching TV," right?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Hello everyone,
I was prepared for many changes, but I didn’t expect it to turn out such a disaster.
I actually haven’t drawn in the windows yet. Regarding the open concept in the living/dining/kitchen area, I have placed sliding doors between each space. We want to be able to close off all three rooms when guests come.
To bring light into the hallway, we planned a window on the north side in the stairwell. The door to the dining area is also glass to allow light into the lower hallway.
The idea was to have some space under the landing in the utility room for the underfloor heating manifold.
I just noticed a door is missing. I had planned an exterior door in the utility room to provide direct ground-level access from outside, for example for groceries or the stroller.
Why do you consider a bathroom above the living room as not ideal?
I had planned a built-in cloakroom on the left side of the landing, integrated into the wall towards the utility room. This would reduce some space in the utility room at landing height, but that wouldn’t bother me.
We put up walls here because we like the idea that if guests are in the dining area, someone else can be in the kitchen or living room in peace. However, I did include sliding walls to keep it somewhat open.
There is no plot plan yet; this was just a discussion about the ideas he had.
Sorry, I didn’t know, I thought a separate thread would be better.
The idea here was to have optimal access under the landing; alternatively, access could be via the storage room and the WC rotated 90°.
I was prepared for many changes, but I didn’t expect it to turn out such a disaster.
Gerddieter schrieb:
I think the floor plan is a disaster. What’s this supposed to be – a 1970s apartment? Does your house even have windows? And you don’t like the popular “open concept” living area either?
GD
I actually haven’t drawn in the windows yet. Regarding the open concept in the living/dining/kitchen area, I have placed sliding doors between each space. We want to be able to close off all three rooms when guests come.
To bring light into the hallway, we planned a window on the north side in the stairwell. The door to the dining area is also glass to allow light into the lower hallway.
ypg schrieb:
Is there a reason why room 5, the guest toilet, leads so awkwardly into the utility room (room 4), causing the guest toilet to have no window and the utility room to have a lot of circulation space rather than usable area?
Also, where do you park the stroller, meaning where is the cloakroom, the hallway where one is welcomed, takes off shoes, and hangs jackets?
Bathrooms are not stacked, which is not a big deal, but a bathroom above the living room is not ideal. On the ground floor, the layout feels more like an apartment than a single-family home.
240 sqm (2580 sq ft) would cost around 520,000€ in a standard build, excluding additional construction costs and without a split level. Split levels don’t cost a fortune but do add extra cost.
The idea was to have some space under the landing in the utility room for the underfloor heating manifold.
I just noticed a door is missing. I had planned an exterior door in the utility room to provide direct ground-level access from outside, for example for groceries or the stroller.
Why do you consider a bathroom above the living room as not ideal?
I had planned a built-in cloakroom on the left side of the landing, integrated into the wall towards the utility room. This would reduce some space in the utility room at landing height, but that wouldn’t bother me.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Something more straightforward and open would also work. The staircase could be placed more along a wall.
But this plan needs serious revision anyway. 130–150 sqm (1400–1600 sq ft) max.
Is there a plan for the plot?
We put up walls here because we like the idea that if guests are in the dining area, someone else can be in the kitchen or living room in peace. However, I did include sliding walls to keep it somewhat open.
There is no plot plan yet; this was just a discussion about the ideas he had.
11ant schrieb:
which would also have been welcomed here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/sued-hang-grundstueck-700qm-einfamilienhaus-ca-150qm-ideen-input.49143/page-7
Designing beats erasing.
Haha. That’s almost false advertising.
I wonder the same. The WC could have been oriented parallel to the stairs instead of perpendicular, for which I see no reason.
It would be interesting to see their version before the “Verdoityourselfing.”
The living room being smaller than the dining room probably means that by “living” they really mean “watching TV,” right?
Sorry, I didn’t know, I thought a separate thread would be better.
The idea here was to have optimal access under the landing; alternatively, access could be via the storage room and the WC rotated 90°.
Hanger1 schrieb:
But I didn’t expect it to be such a disaster now. You don’t have a third level, at least it’s not visible.
And you have planned 100sqm (1076 sq ft) too much.
Hanger1 schrieb:
The idea was to have some space below the platform from the utility room for the underfloor heating manifold. Huh? Your platform serves a different purpose and is located on another level.
Better leave the technical installations to a professional.
Hanger1 schrieb:
I had planned a wardrobe on the left side of the platform, but built into the wall towards the utility room. That way I would lose some space in the utility room at the height of the platform, but that wouldn’t bother me. Give up a window because of poor planning?
Your house is a two-story building with the front door offset between levels. An entirely crazy effort that doesn’t benefit anyone here and isn’t reasonable.
There was recently a split-level idea here with no actual third level—though not perfect, at least doable.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-zweifamilienhaus-nebeneinander-am-suedhang.49076/
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Gerddieter3 Aug 2025 14:34Hello, I think you need to decide on the concept you want to build. Right now, it seems like you want a bit of everything without a clear direction.
A split-level staircase without the corresponding floors,
a living area that is somewhat enclosed but also partially open with sliding doors.
Also, you are approaching the DIY planning the wrong way. You are lining up rooms and moving walls without having a clear idea of where the windows should be for sightlines and the façade – that leads to poor results. First, consider how it should be, then plan everything together with all the components.
It’s like not throwing eggs, flour, and milk into a bowl and mixing first, then deciding what kind of cake you want to bake afterward...
Gerddieter
A split-level staircase without the corresponding floors,
a living area that is somewhat enclosed but also partially open with sliding doors.
Also, you are approaching the DIY planning the wrong way. You are lining up rooms and moving walls without having a clear idea of where the windows should be for sightlines and the façade – that leads to poor results. First, consider how it should be, then plan everything together with all the components.
It’s like not throwing eggs, flour, and milk into a bowl and mixing first, then deciding what kind of cake you want to bake afterward...
Gerddieter