ᐅ Floor Plan Design for New Single-Family Home, Narrow Plot, Initial Architect Draft
Created on: 10 Nov 2025 22:30
I
Ian_Mer
Hello everyone,
we are currently planning our single-family home. We now have the first draft of our floor plan, but it is not perfect yet. So I thought I’d ask for your advice on what we could still change or improve. Everything is still possible at this stage.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 450 m² (4,844 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Site coverage ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see plan
Edge development: not yet present, as the building area is currently being developed
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of full stories: 2
Roof type: flat roof with mandatory green roofing
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: south
Maximum heights / limits
Other requirements: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) maximum height, Hessian building regulations (Hesse, Germany), new: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) setback from neighboring property.
Client Requirements
Modern house for 2 adults and two children aged 4 and 6, including basement, 2 full floors.
Space requirements on the ground floor: office, kitchen, pantry, dining area, living room, guest bathroom with shower. Upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, master bedroom with walk-in closet, bathroom with bathtub and double sinks. Basement: technical room, utility room, second office, creativity room for crafts, playing, or making music.
Office use: family use or home office? Home office; both parents work three days per week from home.
Number of overnight guests per year: 6, regular overnight visitors.
Open or closed layout:
Conventional or modern construction:
Open kitchen with cooking island: yes
Number of dining places: usually 4, more for guests, birthdays, etc.
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: only TV wall
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: garage plus bike storage
Vegetable garden or greenhouse: yes, vegetable garden
Other wishes / special features / daily routine preferences, including reasons why something should or should not be included: built-in closet in the entrance hall, lots of storage space.
House Design
Planner: (interior) architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Window seat in the kitchen, living room somewhat separated in the bay window, space for an outdoor kitchen on the covered terrace.
What don’t you like? Why?
Location of the shed, we would prefer the staircase as a platform staircase or with straight steps, we wonder if the kitchen is large enough and provides enough storage space. The utility room is too small. Instead of the skylight, we would rather plan a window in the stairwell.
Cost estimate according to the architect/planner: unknown
Personal budget for the house including fittings: 650,000
Preferred heating system: heat pump
Why was the design developed this way? Needs analysis with the architect, after which she created the first draft.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? From the sofa, there should be a view of the garden, lots of storage, master bed 1.60 m x 2 m (5 ft 3 in x 6 ft 7 in) (no need for 2 m x 2 m bed), walk-in closet accessible from the bedroom, covered terrace, covered entrance gate.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? We find the layout basically good but not yet perfect.
[ATTACH type="full" width="500px" alt="2D floor plan of a house with living area, kitchen, dining area, bedroom, and garage">
we are currently planning our single-family home. We now have the first draft of our floor plan, but it is not perfect yet. So I thought I’d ask for your advice on what we could still change or improve. Everything is still possible at this stage.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 450 m² (4,844 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Site coverage ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: see plan
Edge development: not yet present, as the building area is currently being developed
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of full stories: 2
Roof type: flat roof with mandatory green roofing
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: south
Maximum heights / limits
Other requirements: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) maximum height, Hessian building regulations (Hesse, Germany), new: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) setback from neighboring property.
Client Requirements
Modern house for 2 adults and two children aged 4 and 6, including basement, 2 full floors.
Space requirements on the ground floor: office, kitchen, pantry, dining area, living room, guest bathroom with shower. Upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, master bedroom with walk-in closet, bathroom with bathtub and double sinks. Basement: technical room, utility room, second office, creativity room for crafts, playing, or making music.
Office use: family use or home office? Home office; both parents work three days per week from home.
Number of overnight guests per year: 6, regular overnight visitors.
Open or closed layout:
Conventional or modern construction:
Open kitchen with cooking island: yes
Number of dining places: usually 4, more for guests, birthdays, etc.
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: only TV wall
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: garage plus bike storage
Vegetable garden or greenhouse: yes, vegetable garden
Other wishes / special features / daily routine preferences, including reasons why something should or should not be included: built-in closet in the entrance hall, lots of storage space.
House Design
Planner: (interior) architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Window seat in the kitchen, living room somewhat separated in the bay window, space for an outdoor kitchen on the covered terrace.
What don’t you like? Why?
Location of the shed, we would prefer the staircase as a platform staircase or with straight steps, we wonder if the kitchen is large enough and provides enough storage space. The utility room is too small. Instead of the skylight, we would rather plan a window in the stairwell.
Cost estimate according to the architect/planner: unknown
Personal budget for the house including fittings: 650,000
Preferred heating system: heat pump
Why was the design developed this way? Needs analysis with the architect, after which she created the first draft.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? From the sofa, there should be a view of the garden, lots of storage, master bed 1.60 m x 2 m (5 ft 3 in x 6 ft 7 in) (no need for 2 m x 2 m bed), walk-in closet accessible from the bedroom, covered terrace, covered entrance gate.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? We find the layout basically good but not yet perfect.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Here is the upper floor with the landing staircase. Why does the architect design it without it when this is your wish? Because it is too dominant and takes up too much space.
The kitchen is far too small. Where are two electrical appliances supposed to be placed alongside knives, cutting boards, opened bottles, and so on? You don’t want to take 10 steps every time through a door to the pantry just to get everyday items. A pantry does not replace a kitchen when you need to have everything quickly accessible for four people.
The shower toilet, cloakroom, and pantry are all cramped together. This can be arranged more simply and comfortably.
Ian_Mer schrieb:
We need to discuss the note about the light wells and the second emergency exit with the architect again, thanks! Please make sure to consult a qualified architect – interior designers know which materials feel right together and much more. They are also good at coordinating the furnishings.
The second emergency exit is a basic requirement, as well as budgeting and layout – planning should be based on these, not added later or cut out.
The house is already planned to fit tightly on the plot. Proper light wells won’t fit anymore, except perhaps on the south side.
Currently, the house is being planned so that you apparently cannot walk from front to back around the outside. This is not very practical.
The living room extension does not even appear in the upper floor plan. The overall footprint is unclear, but it should roughly meet the 0.3 floor area ratio. Also, the 2.50m (8 feet) terrace is too narrow, so there will be additional elements.
I would remove the garage from the west side and allow more windows on that side. Then place the garage with a shed on the east side, rotated close to the building boundary.
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nordanney11 Nov 2025 11:27Ian_Mer schrieb:
According to the development plan, a flat roof with green roofing is mandatory, so unfortunately we have no other option.Idea: Setback floor. Playroom/hobby room and storage area. Not a full story.H
hanghaus202311 Nov 2025 12:11ypg schrieb:
because it is too dominant and takes up too much space.I don’t find this that bad at all. There is plenty of space now.If the basement is removed, there will even be storage space under the stairs.
Ian_Mer schrieb:
According to the zoning plan, a flat roof with green roofing is required, so unfortunately we have no other choice.I would like to see the original zoning plan document for that.hanghaus2023 schrieb:
I would like to see the original zoning plan for that.As far as I know, posting links is not allowed here, otherwise I could link the documents. I just took a screenshot. We are building in WA7.hanghaus2023 schrieb:
I don’t think this is that bad. There’s enough space now. In general, I believe that half-landing staircases don’t fit well into open living areas of typical size (households with 2-4 people, 40 - 60 sqm (430 - 645 sq ft)). It’s not that they can’t be well designed, but they tend to overwhelm the overall appearance. I often see well-executed stairs, but they are always planned separately in hallways.
Even in your example in #12, I don’t see them fitting well, because I consider hallway space more important than a half-landing. In such a tiny corridor, you practically have to coordinate your movements carefully or you might fall down the stairs. The sense of space just disappears. Other rooms like a bedroom have to give way. I mean, everything feels cramped except for the children’s rooms, where there is finally some relief.
Maybe if you start from scratch and carefully adjust the dimensions, it could work better with the other rooms.
For me, this mainstream half-landing staircase is like a tiny pantry that takes more from the kitchen than it adds — not only totally overrated, but it just steals function and space.
Here, the layout is clever, but no longer functional.
Ian_Mer schrieb:
Since living space is more expensive than the basement and we want to keep as much of our garden as possible, we are leaning strongly towards including a basement. I understand that, but ultimately the basement becomes "too large" and therefore expensive; so I would question this openly without preconceptions.
Ian_Mer schrieb:
A T-shaped bathroom was actually our preference, since we often use the bathroom together. I can’t exactly picture the details of your bathroom routine, and I also don’t see the advantage of a "T" layout unless person A is brushing teeth or bathing while person B is using the toilet at the same time. In general, I keep seeing this "T" shape and usually consider it an unhelpful trend or one with disadvantages. Where is the space for bathrobes, some storage like toilet paper, shelves?
Ian_Mer schrieb:
Where do you see the second terrace roof? In picture 1, I see the label "terrace roof" and on the other side of the house the word "terrace roof" again.
Have I misunderstood something, or does the building plan allow for flat OR pitched roofs?
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