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

ypg18 Oct 2025 18:34

#37

The visualization can be a bit misleading, can't it?
The neighboring buildings are missing 😉

Exterior view of a modern brick house with garage and driveway

It actually looks more like this, right?

Exterior view of a red brick house with driveway, garage, and metal fence

Steiger schrieb:

Personal budget limit (house + fixtures): about 500,000 € (approximately 500,000 USD), entirely as self-build,

What exactly does that mean? Do you plan to do the masonry, brick facing, screeding, and heating installation yourselves?

ypg19 Oct 2025 22:34

#38

ypg schrieb:

What do you mean by that? Do you plan to do the bricklaying, install the brick cladding, pour the screed, and connect the heating yourselves?

Will there be an answer here @Steiger?
It will also be interesting to know whether the conservatory is planned as a cold or heated conservatory.

Steiger23 Oct 2025 13:04

#39

ypg schrieb:

Is there going to be a response here, @Steiger?
It will also be interesting to know whether the conservatory will be a cold or warm one.

Sorry for the late reply. I felt I needed some time to process the topic since, as a layperson, it’s hard to know where to start with so many impressions and answers. On top of that, I had a lot of personal matters to handle.
We are planning to build in 2027, so we are not under any time pressure yet.

Now to your question: We won’t be doing the masonry, screed, etc. ourselves, but we have friends and family for nearly every trade who are skilled enough to handle the construction work. We will be present as helpers. So, we will be able to complete the build almost entirely without a professional company.

Regarding the visualizations, it is indeed correct that the neighboring houses are not yet shown. You are right about that. However, it should be considered that there is currently no house on the site. They will only be built within the next 1-3 years. That is likely why the architect created the visualization showing the area empty. But of course, that won’t be the case in the future.

ypg schrieb:

It will also be interesting to know whether the conservatory will be a cold or warm one.

It will be a warm conservatory.

Steiger23 Oct 2025 13:26

#40

hanghaus2023 schrieb:

The boundary construction is not the issue. The problem is that you don't want to comply with the 9 m (30 feet) regulation.

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

Building over 9 m (30 feet) should still be possible with the neighbor’s signature and possibly maintaining a 3 m (10 feet) distance, right? That should be doable – where do you see problems?
We have also spent a long time thinking about the garage and went around in circles before consulting the architect. He worked with both options and ultimately presented the design we have now. He also considered the option of placing the garage in the north, but found the current plan more suitable and practical.

hanghaus202323 Oct 2025 13:30

#41

Steiger schrieb:

He also considered the option of placing the garage on the north side, but he found the current design to be more suitable and practical.

Were there any arguments for this that I might have missed so far?

Steiger23 Oct 2025 15:46

#42

hanghaus2023 schrieb:

Were there any arguments that I may have missed so far?

Well, he had already experimented with the option and room layout and simply found the current arrangement to be more logical and suitable overall. If the garage were on the north side, it would visually overpower the house or appear too dominant. However, I find it hard to imagine and would have liked to see a design. Especially since you would then have to reroute the entire driveway around the house if you wanted to exit the yard. You can drive straight in easily, but when backing out, you have to reverse quite a bit and then maneuver around the house.

I believe Plot 2 had the same issue. They initially designed their plan so you could drive straight into the garage. But then they scrapped that design and aligned the garage and house on the same line, just like we have now.

As a layperson, I didn’t question the architect much at first because I felt the floor plan and his ideas were quite good. But after a second and third look, you do start to question some things…

ᐅ Initial Floor Plan Draft – Backyard Development – 1.5 Stories

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