á Floor Plan Design for KfW 40 Single-Family Home in an Established Residential Area with Fully Finished Basement
Created on: 11 Aug 2025 20:39
A
AnnaChris88A
AnnaChris8811 Aug 2025 20:39Hello everyone,
After reading many posts here and following the discussions closely, we would like to use the collective knowledge and your input to reconsider our design. Attached are the basic data.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 414 sqm (4455 sq ft)
Slope: hardly any â 1.5 m (5 ft) gradient from northwest to southeast
Site occupancy index: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: entire plot buildable, including a 4 m (13 ft) wide strip along the eastern property boundary, parcel 743/22
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full stories mandatory
Roof type: 28-degree (28°) pitched roof mandatory
Architectural style: classic
Orientation: south/west
Maximum height / limits: none
Other requirements:
Ownersâ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: classic with pitched roof
Basement, floors: finished basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 4 persons (42, 37, 3, 1)
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor: as in current design
Office: home office
Occasional overnight guests: few
Open floor plan
Conservative building method
Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: at least 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall
Balcony, roof terrace: originally planned above the terrace, canceled for cost reasons
Garage / carport: garage for storage purposes
Additional wishes / special features:
- There should be a large living-dining area separated from the stairwell by a door (sound insulation), a large kitchen with island, one bathroom with shower in the basement including two rooms to likely be used when the children move to the basement later; currently playing room and office/guest room, separate walk-in wardrobe from master bedroom, two large childrenâs rooms upstairs each larger than 15 sqm (160 sq ft)
House Design
Design by: architect and DIY
What do you particularly like?
- Ground floor is especially liked due to the combination of a large room with clearly defined areas
What do you dislike?
- Bathroom layout upstairs is not optimal so far, since window should actually be larger and face east
- Master bedroom should ideally be separated from childrenâs bathroom or walk-in wardrobe
- Window of guest WC faces north and not next to entrance door
Price estimate based on initial offer: âŹ500,000â520,000
Personal price limit for house including equipment: âŹ550,000
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with photovoltaic system
If you had to give up something, which details or additions
- You could give up: pantry on ground floor
- You cannot give up: separate walk-in wardrobe upstairs, shower bathroom in basement, door to hallway on ground floor
Why is the design like this? For example:
First discussion with architect and 7 rounds of âcorrectionsâ / revisions based on our wishes
We look forward to your feedback!!
After reading many posts here and following the discussions closely, we would like to use the collective knowledge and your input to reconsider our design. Attached are the basic data.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 414 sqm (4455 sq ft)
Slope: hardly any â 1.5 m (5 ft) gradient from northwest to southeast
Site occupancy index: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: entire plot buildable, including a 4 m (13 ft) wide strip along the eastern property boundary, parcel 743/22
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full stories mandatory
Roof type: 28-degree (28°) pitched roof mandatory
Architectural style: classic
Orientation: south/west
Maximum height / limits: none
Other requirements:
Ownersâ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: classic with pitched roof
Basement, floors: finished basement, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 4 persons (42, 37, 3, 1)
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor: as in current design
Office: home office
Occasional overnight guests: few
Open floor plan
Conservative building method
Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: at least 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall
Balcony, roof terrace: originally planned above the terrace, canceled for cost reasons
Garage / carport: garage for storage purposes
Additional wishes / special features:
- There should be a large living-dining area separated from the stairwell by a door (sound insulation), a large kitchen with island, one bathroom with shower in the basement including two rooms to likely be used when the children move to the basement later; currently playing room and office/guest room, separate walk-in wardrobe from master bedroom, two large childrenâs rooms upstairs each larger than 15 sqm (160 sq ft)
House Design
Design by: architect and DIY
What do you particularly like?
- Ground floor is especially liked due to the combination of a large room with clearly defined areas
What do you dislike?
- Bathroom layout upstairs is not optimal so far, since window should actually be larger and face east
- Master bedroom should ideally be separated from childrenâs bathroom or walk-in wardrobe
- Window of guest WC faces north and not next to entrance door
Price estimate based on initial offer: âŹ500,000â520,000
Personal price limit for house including equipment: âŹ550,000
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with photovoltaic system
If you had to give up something, which details or additions
- You could give up: pantry on ground floor
- You cannot give up: separate walk-in wardrobe upstairs, shower bathroom in basement, door to hallway on ground floor
Why is the design like this? For example:
First discussion with architect and 7 rounds of âcorrectionsâ / revisions based on our wishes
We look forward to your feedback!!
I havenât added up the total area individually, but thatâs already quite a few square meters, and I wonder if the costs will really fit within your budget.
In my opinion, 1.5 meters (5 feet) of slope on such a small plot is quite significant, which will increase landscaping and exterior work costs. Have you taken that into account?
As with every one of these designs, I question the necessity of an expensive basement, especially since, as you mentioned, you want to build on an almost flat plot. The proposed use has been discussed countless times, and opinions differ widely regarding the enormous 23.5 sqm (253 square feet) technical room and the additional basement playroom or future use by the children.
At first glance, considering your needs and the budget you mentioned, I could well imagine a house without a basement. In the floor plan, square meters seem to be thrown around quite liberally, resulting in rooms that are large but difficult to furnish.
Please try placing your actual furniture with measurements in the plan, and you will probably spot several critical points yourself. Iâm sure you donât want to furnish the living room as shown.
Who prepared the cost estimate?
I wouldnât like the very long corridor at all.
The âTâ-shaped bathroom layout is frequently used but remains intrusive here as well.
I donât know if this is just because of the missing real furniture, but it seems like a standard floor plan was simply stretched a bit to make it bigger without any obvious benefit to living comfort.
The island is more like a small peninsula, and the currently popular pantry behind the kitchen probably didnât come from a truly thoughtful architect. Place real furniture with accurate dimensions in there and youâll see what I mean.
Start by furnishing it realistically to see how it actually feels!
AnnaChris88 schrieb:
Slope: minimal â 1.5m (5 feet) gradient from northwest to southeast
In my opinion, 1.5 meters (5 feet) of slope on such a small plot is quite significant, which will increase landscaping and exterior work costs. Have you taken that into account?
As with every one of these designs, I question the necessity of an expensive basement, especially since, as you mentioned, you want to build on an almost flat plot. The proposed use has been discussed countless times, and opinions differ widely regarding the enormous 23.5 sqm (253 square feet) technical room and the additional basement playroom or future use by the children.
At first glance, considering your needs and the budget you mentioned, I could well imagine a house without a basement. In the floor plan, square meters seem to be thrown around quite liberally, resulting in rooms that are large but difficult to furnish.
Please try placing your actual furniture with measurements in the plan, and you will probably spot several critical points yourself. Iâm sure you donât want to furnish the living room as shown.
Who prepared the cost estimate?
I wouldnât like the very long corridor at all.
The âTâ-shaped bathroom layout is frequently used but remains intrusive here as well.
I donât know if this is just because of the missing real furniture, but it seems like a standard floor plan was simply stretched a bit to make it bigger without any obvious benefit to living comfort.
The island is more like a small peninsula, and the currently popular pantry behind the kitchen probably didnât come from a truly thoughtful architect. Place real furniture with accurate dimensions in there and youâll see what I mean.
Start by furnishing it realistically to see how it actually feels!
Arauki11 schrieb:
a lot of sqmOn the ground floor, I counted about 80 sqm (860 sq ft). Over three floors, that comes to 240 sqm (2,580 sq ft), and at 3,000 âŹ/sqm (approximately $279 per sq ft) for standard living space, the total is around âŹ720,000.The rooms themselves are huge and quite oversized. From the living area, you could create two separate lounge zones. The kitchen units are spaced too far apart. There are two childrenâs rooms planned (with a second separate one for later), but all four rooms are oversized. Even the utility room could be divided into two to serve two houses.
However, the service areas, including the bathroom, are very small.
If I were you, I would reconsider whether you really need that much space.
AnnaChris88 schrieb:
Number of parking spaces: 2Is the space in front of your garage recognized as a second parking spot?About the floor plan itself.
The classic layout usually works well. However, I find the cloakroom niche for four people too small. The hallway feels too narrow to me. I would try to create a sense of openness in the living area to improve that.
Upstairs, you can do without the hallway nook and still have doors for the children's rooms.
If you really want to build a basement into the slope, you will need to reduce the floor area due to the budget, but it should be possible.
I would plan the childrenâs floor upstairs and the parentsâ area in the basement. Upstairs, add a small bedroom (guest, hobby) which can initially serve as the parentsâ bedroom while the children are still small. The bathroom can be larger if desired. The T-shaped layout here takes up a lot of space.
Regarding toilets placed in these T-shaped areas, it should be noted that it is not easy to care for a small child with stomach flu or other needs on such days.
Keep in mind that the row house terrace on your south side has the driveway to the yard.
The classic layout usually works well. However, I find the cloakroom niche for four people too small. The hallway feels too narrow to me. I would try to create a sense of openness in the living area to improve that.
Upstairs, you can do without the hallway nook and still have doors for the children's rooms.
If you really want to build a basement into the slope, you will need to reduce the floor area due to the budget, but it should be possible.
I would plan the childrenâs floor upstairs and the parentsâ area in the basement. Upstairs, add a small bedroom (guest, hobby) which can initially serve as the parentsâ bedroom while the children are still small. The bathroom can be larger if desired. The T-shaped layout here takes up a lot of space.
Regarding toilets placed in these T-shaped areas, it should be noted that it is not easy to care for a small child with stomach flu or other needs on such days.
Keep in mind that the row house terrace on your south side has the driveway to the yard.
AnnaChris88 schrieb:
Initial meeting with the architect and 7 rounds of âcorrectionsâ/ revisions based on our requests Infinite Monkey is very popular among the âCAD generation of architectsâ and their clients, but in my opinion, it is not a recommendable design approach; I prefer a preliminary draft (only after the spatial program has been conceptually and âmathematically balancedâ into a building form is any drawing actually done) as a clean code foundation. Starting directly in the design phase is basically like âstarting off in third gearâ and regularly produces quirks such as originally essential elements being combined or completely eliminated. To me, this seems like the work of a discount architect (phases 1 to 3 of service).
By the way, there is something wrong with the file formats of your drawingsâthey prompt for download immediately but then canât be opened.
AnnaChris88 schrieb:
Number of floors: 2 full stories mandatory Are you seriously highlighting this with a circle?
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