ᐅ Initial Floor Plan Draft – Backyard Development – 1.5 Stories

Created on: 15 Oct 2025 14:31

Hello everyone,

we would like to present our first floor plan draft and kindly ask for your honest feedback.
The house is designed for 2 adults plus potentially 2 children in the future and will be built on a rural plot of land. We are currently in the design phase and welcome all constructive comments and suggestions for improvement.
The plot is a backyard development, which means there are some restrictions. For example, we are not allowed to exceed a length of 7.0 m (23 feet) and an eave height of 3.7 m (12 feet). In addition, the assigned plots are not yet developed, so we will need to build a road access here.
On the site plan we were allocated plot number 4.
More details are included in the notes..

Building Plan / Restrictions

Plot size: approximately 27.5 m (90 feet) wide × 41 m (135 feet) deep (~1,100 m² (12,000 sq ft))
Terrain: flat, no slope
Site coverage ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
Floor space index (floor area ratio): 0.4
Building envelope / setbacks: 3 m (10 feet) boundary setback, house positioned on the right side, garage may be built on the boundary
Number of floors: 1.5 stories (maximum ridge height 7 m (23 feet), eave height approx. 3.7 m (12 feet))
Roof type: gable roof, minimum 25° pitch
Architectural style: modern country house style
Orientation: south is at the top of the plan
Maximum heights: 7 m (23 feet) ridge, 3.7 m (12 feet) eave
Additional requirements: the plot must be accessed via a new road. The style must blend with the neighborhood.

Homeowner Requirements

Building type: single-family home, 1.5 stories, no basement
Occupants: 2 adults, later 2 children
Ground floor needs: parents’ area fully on the ground floor (bedroom, dressing room, bathroom), living/dining/kitchen area (living area preferably separate), utility room with access to the garage, guest toilet
Upper floor needs: 2 children’s bedrooms, 1 office, 1 bathroom, storage room
Office: for home office and flexible use
Guest accommodation: rare (max. 2–3 times per year)
Architecture: open, welcoming, with clear sightlines
Construction method: rather conservative-modern (no flat roof, but light materials, clean lines)
Kitchen: open kitchen with island
Dining area: spacious, table for 6–8 people
Fireplace: optional, mainly for design/coziness, probably no
Music/stereo: no specific plans yet
Balcony/roof terrace: no
Garage/carport: double garage, direct access to utility room, cars might be parked under a covered entrance to keep the garage space free since there will be no attic
Garden: usable garden area, south-facing terrace → I would like to plan a conservatory here for the future or optionally build it right away. Since we will have a south-facing garden with farmland behind, a conservatory is desired as a separated area to be used all year round.
Special features:

Smart home planned
Parents’ area deliberately on the ground floor
Conservatory desired either in the future or built-in from the start

House Design

Designed by: architect
What we particularly like:

South orientation with bright rooms
Functional floor plan and parents’ area

What we don’t like (yet):

Children’s bathroom upstairs might be too large
Bedroom too small
Pantry/storage room has a door to the utility room; maybe reduce utility room size to enlarge pantry
Children’s bedroom closets block windows and might reduce lighting
Driveway to garage is not ideal. The garage may need to be moved further back

Price estimate from architect: not available yet
Personal price limit (house + fittings): around 500,000 € (approximately), completely self-built, land already purchased
Heating system: ground source heat pump with borehole, underfloor heating, technical room probably in the garage equipment room

Why the design looks like this

We wanted a home that is family-friendly, functional, and suitable for aging in place, while complying with the building plan.
The basic idea: parents live fully on the ground floor, children live upstairs.

We are still optimizing and would appreciate feedback on:

Room layout on the ground floor (hallway, sleeping area)
Living/dining/kitchen area: solution with an adjacent conservatory. Living area preferably separate, so children or adults can use different paths when guests visit.
Garage size
Children’s bathroom: size and whether the storage room could be bigger and the bathroom smaller. Possibly separate the toilet from the children’s bathroom?

We look forward to your honest feedback!
What would you improve or arrange differently?
Thank you very much in advance for your time and suggestions.

Attic floor plan of a house with office, two children’s bedrooms, corridor and bathroom

Two 3D renderings of a modern brick house with garage and garden.

Modern brick house 3D render with extension, flat roof and garden area

3D rendering of a modern brick house with garage and flat roof extension

Site plan of a plot with parcels, paths and building areas

Site plan of a building plot with blue floor plan lines and dimension markings

Papierturm17 Oct 2025 16:22

#31

ypg schrieb:

Lack of sleep doesn’t affect your perception: I also don’t like the orientation and daylight in the hallway, open-plan area, and living room.

Thanks. But: I mixed up the positioning of the children’s bathroom and the office/workroom. Well. The basic plan of placing both children’s rooms to the south remains.

wiltshire schrieb:

Of course, I don’t know the original poster’s reasons, but I can say it’s great to be able to step directly outside from the sleeping area and the bathroom.

Even though we planned the bedroom on the upper floor: I definitely enjoyed having the apartment on the ground floor in rental units. Quick access to outside, less heat in summer. No going up and down stairs in the evening.

hanghaus202317 Oct 2025 16:45

#32

Steiger schrieb:

We would get a signature from the neighbor confirming that the boundary building is acceptable.

The boundary building is not the issue. It’s that you don’t want to comply with the 9 m (30 feet) setback.

Steiger schrieb:

We had originally considered that as well. But this way, we would take more space away from the backyard.

In post 1, the driveway is a problem, which I can understand. That’s why the idea was to relocate the garage to the north. This would greatly ease the driveway situation.

haydee17 Oct 2025 17:48

#33

If you have children, you either move the bedroom upstairs or end up walking yourself to exhaustion.

I’m young enough that the stairs are not a problem for me.

haydee17 Oct 2025 17:52

#34

The main goal was to achieve a more balanced distribution of the floor areas. The footprint is smaller, resulting in a more harmonious appearance.

wiltshire18 Oct 2025 07:46

#35

haydee schrieb:

With children, you either move the bedroom upstairs or wear out your shoes running up and down.

Of course, the distances to the children’s rooms are longer then, so that’s something to consider. In our terraced house, our bedroom was one floor above the children’s rooms. My wife thought that was too far, I thought it was fine, and the children didn’t even notice that it could have been different.

11ant18 Oct 2025 15:20

#36

haydee schrieb:

It was more about creating a more balanced distribution of space. Smaller footprint, more harmonious appearance.

Favorable floor area ratios are ground floor : upper floor 1.4 ... 1.6 : 1 or ground floor : upper storey 2 : 1. Here, we are dealing structurally with a one-and-a-half-storey building but with the floor area ratio of a villa with a mezzanine. This could be adjusted by using the lower level only for house entrances and technical rooms, distributing the rest upstairs. Also, having the technical rooms as an "extension" would look more appealing than separating the parents’ wing (and the "living room" called a TV nook) as separate annexes. Otherwise, the new building appears like an updated version of a more than sixty-year-old settlement house.

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ᐅ Initial Floor Plan Draft – Backyard Development – 1.5 Stories

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