ᐅ Floor Plan and House Positioning for a Bungalow with 120 sqm on a Corner Plot
Created on: 27 Nov 2025 08:58
L
Lurchi2025
Hello dear forum community,
I have been a silent reader for quite some time and would now like to ask for your help. We are currently planning to build our house and received the first draft from the architect of our general contractor (GC) yesterday, which I would like to share here for discussion.
In addition, I am hoping to get some input on the positioning of the house on the plot. So far, I was sure that we would position the house along the northern side street, with the driveway at the new eastern boundary. However, the homeowner prefers to place the house along the western main road because this would provide a larger garden, allow use of the “dead corner” in the northwest, and also offer visual and noise protection from the main road to the west. I am concerned, though, that the house might become too dark.
The site plan is oriented to the north, as is the aerial photo.
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 600 sqm (6460 sq ft)
Slope: no slope
Floor space index: §34 applies, but the floor space index should not exceed 0.4
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Boundary development
Number of parking spaces: 2 required, although we only need 1
Number of storeys
Roof type
Architectural style
Orientation
Maximum height / limits
Additional requirements
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: bungalow approximately 120 sqm (1300 sq ft)
Basement, storeys: only ground floor
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults (40/43), 1 child (almost 4)
Room requirements on ground floor: living/dining/cooking, bedroom, children’s room, guest room, bathroom, guest toilet
Office: family use or home office? Home office up to 2 days a week, the office should be integrated into the guest room
Guests per year: several
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern style: modern
Open kitchen with island: open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 6, expandable to up to 10
Fireplace: yes, preferred
Music/surround sound wall: no, but 5.1 system at the TV
Balcony, roof terrace
Garage, carport: long term a carport
Vegetable garden, greenhouse
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why or why not: Cooking together is very important to us, so we would like a sufficiently large kitchen, preferably with an island. The husband grills all year round, so the terrace and the entire outdoor area are very important to him.
House Design
Who created the design:
-Planner from a construction company The design comes from the architect of our GC but is unfortunately based on a rough sketch from us (we had no alternative with our GC)
-Architect
-Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? It is already based on our rough plan; I like the cloakroom space at the entrance (though it could probably be a bit smaller) and the size of the children’s room, although 1-2 sqm (10-20 sq ft) less would also be fine.
What do you dislike? Why? The bedroom feels a bit cramped (Is there enough space at the foot end of the bed? The bed is only 2x1.80 m (6 ft 7 in x 5 ft 11 in), but the headboard also adds bulk), the hallway is rather narrow at 1.20 m (4 ft), the terrace is too long and narrow, there is quite a bit of unused open space at the entrance to the open-plan area, and I would like some storage space behind the door in the guest room.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal budget limit for the house, including fixtures and fittings: €430,000
Preferred heating system: heat pump with controlled mechanical ventilation
If you had to give up on something, which details/features
-could you do without: the cloakroom could be 1.5-2 m (5-6.5 ft) wide, the children’s room could be around 13-14 sqm (140-150 sq ft) if that means we could save a few square meters elsewhere
-could you not do without: a good-sized kitchen directly adjacent to the terrace
Why has the design ended up like this? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? First draft based on a rough sketch from us. This was based on floor plans from friends and acquaintances and standard designs found online.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
I have been a silent reader for quite some time and would now like to ask for your help. We are currently planning to build our house and received the first draft from the architect of our general contractor (GC) yesterday, which I would like to share here for discussion.
In addition, I am hoping to get some input on the positioning of the house on the plot. So far, I was sure that we would position the house along the northern side street, with the driveway at the new eastern boundary. However, the homeowner prefers to place the house along the western main road because this would provide a larger garden, allow use of the “dead corner” in the northwest, and also offer visual and noise protection from the main road to the west. I am concerned, though, that the house might become too dark.
The site plan is oriented to the north, as is the aerial photo.
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 600 sqm (6460 sq ft)
Slope: no slope
Floor space index: §34 applies, but the floor space index should not exceed 0.4
Floor area ratio
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Boundary development
Number of parking spaces: 2 required, although we only need 1
Number of storeys
Roof type
Architectural style
Orientation
Maximum height / limits
Additional requirements
Homeowners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: bungalow approximately 120 sqm (1300 sq ft)
Basement, storeys: only ground floor
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults (40/43), 1 child (almost 4)
Room requirements on ground floor: living/dining/cooking, bedroom, children’s room, guest room, bathroom, guest toilet
Office: family use or home office? Home office up to 2 days a week, the office should be integrated into the guest room
Guests per year: several
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern style: modern
Open kitchen with island: open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 6, expandable to up to 10
Fireplace: yes, preferred
Music/surround sound wall: no, but 5.1 system at the TV
Balcony, roof terrace
Garage, carport: long term a carport
Vegetable garden, greenhouse
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why or why not: Cooking together is very important to us, so we would like a sufficiently large kitchen, preferably with an island. The husband grills all year round, so the terrace and the entire outdoor area are very important to him.
House Design
Who created the design:
-Planner from a construction company The design comes from the architect of our GC but is unfortunately based on a rough sketch from us (we had no alternative with our GC)
-Architect
-Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? It is already based on our rough plan; I like the cloakroom space at the entrance (though it could probably be a bit smaller) and the size of the children’s room, although 1-2 sqm (10-20 sq ft) less would also be fine.
What do you dislike? Why? The bedroom feels a bit cramped (Is there enough space at the foot end of the bed? The bed is only 2x1.80 m (6 ft 7 in x 5 ft 11 in), but the headboard also adds bulk), the hallway is rather narrow at 1.20 m (4 ft), the terrace is too long and narrow, there is quite a bit of unused open space at the entrance to the open-plan area, and I would like some storage space behind the door in the guest room.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal budget limit for the house, including fixtures and fittings: €430,000
Preferred heating system: heat pump with controlled mechanical ventilation
If you had to give up on something, which details/features
-could you do without: the cloakroom could be 1.5-2 m (5-6.5 ft) wide, the children’s room could be around 13-14 sqm (140-150 sq ft) if that means we could save a few square meters elsewhere
-could you not do without: a good-sized kitchen directly adjacent to the terrace
Why has the design ended up like this? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? First draft based on a rough sketch from us. This was based on floor plans from friends and acquaintances and standard designs found online.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
@Lurchi2025 Your revised floor plan seems to have been deleted here, but you can still see it at @hanghaus2023. The overall layout, including the furniture arrangement, looks better there, but in my opinion, the fireplace remains a big question mark due to its position and overall impact.
I’m wondering, and would need to see a drawing first, whether a simple, right-angled gable roof house with access to an open or closed upper floor for an office, like @Nida35a’s design, might be a more suitable approach here. This way, you would also have a nicely designable workspace upstairs, which I consider important, and it would relieve pressure on the ground floor layout. A suitable staircase could probably be found for this as well.
As much as I would like to live all on one level, bungalows come with their downsides, such as the dark hallway here, the roof shape (which is often less convenient for solar panels), and the terrace. Especially the terrace should be given special consideration due to your important focus on grilling.
Perhaps you could run through this idea in parallel, or maybe the general contractor already has a more or less appropriate draft for this.
I’m wondering, and would need to see a drawing first, whether a simple, right-angled gable roof house with access to an open or closed upper floor for an office, like @Nida35a’s design, might be a more suitable approach here. This way, you would also have a nicely designable workspace upstairs, which I consider important, and it would relieve pressure on the ground floor layout. A suitable staircase could probably be found for this as well.
As much as I would like to live all on one level, bungalows come with their downsides, such as the dark hallway here, the roof shape (which is often less convenient for solar panels), and the terrace. Especially the terrace should be given special consideration due to your important focus on grilling.
Perhaps you could run through this idea in parallel, or maybe the general contractor already has a more or less appropriate draft for this.
L
Lurchi202528 Nov 2025 11:20hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Maybe the utility room (HTR) could be designed for better usability. I had already considered rotating the guest bathroom; I was bothered by the long duct at the entrance of the utility room. As an alternative, I also thought about swapping the guest bathroom and the wardrobe. The wardrobe would then be about 1.60m (5 feet) wide, fitting into a niche like the current guest bathroom. This could possibly allow for a slight reduction in the width of the utility room and guest bedroom, which might also make it possible to arrange the living room differently and, as a result, add more depth to the terrace. Overall, it would make the house more square-shaped.
Arauki11 schrieb:
@Lurchi2025 Your modified floor plan appears to have been deleted, but you can still see it with @hanghaus2023. The overall layout and furnishing look better there, but in my opinion the fireplace remains a big question mark due to its position and general impact.
I am wondering, and would need to see a drawing first, whether a simple, rectangular gable-roof house with access to an open or closed upper floor for a home office, like @Nida35a, might be a more suitable approach. Then you would have a nicely designed workspace upstairs, which I also consider important, and the ground floor layout would be less complicated. An appropriate staircase could probably be found.
As much as I would like to live all on one level, bungalows inevitably have disadvantages such as a dark corridor, roof shape (which is often challenging for photovoltaic systems), and the terrace area. The terrace should be especially important given your interest in grilling.
Perhaps you could explore this idea in parallel, or maybe your general contractor has a fitting template for it. I do not want a staircase, as I already have significant knee problems. It would not be helpful if I had to use the stairs several times a day to get to the bathroom, kitchen, etc., while working from home. For this exact reason, we switched early on from a two-story design to a bungalow.
We will probably have to reconsider the fireplace if it has such a strong impact on the floor plan.
Lurchi2025 schrieb:
I don’t want a staircase because I already have significant knee problems. It wouldn’t be helpful if I had to use the stairs several times a day while working from home to get to the bathroom, kitchen, etc. This is exactly why we switched from the originally planned two-story house to a bungalow. Okay, I wasn’t aware of that or must have overlooked this important detail, so that makes sense.
Lurchi2025 schrieb:
We would probably have to reconsider the fireplace if it affects the floor plan so much. A fireplace has various effects. On the one hand, you need certain minimum clearances and usually want a good view of it, which I see as a challenge here.
Besides its impact on the floor plan, for me the main issue is how it influences heating, especially in smaller rooms — specifically the interaction between a slow-responding underfloor heating system and the inevitably generated heat from the fireplace. You should understand these factors well and decide what suits you best, since all of this is expensive and a major design factor. For example, we really wanted a fireplace and therefore opted out of underfloor heating. I would recommend looking into this more closely.
Would another roof shape be possible to at least resolve this significant terrace issue here?
H
hanghaus202328 Nov 2025 12:53Where should the terrace be located?
L
Lurchi202528 Nov 2025 13:05I think the terrace would be ideally located in the southwest. I will also contact the building authority again to find out to what extent we need to align with the setback line of the neighboring buildings. The issue of tandem parking spaces is also important in my opinion; if they could be arranged one behind the other, we wouldn’t waste so much garden space.
H
hanghaus202328 Nov 2025 14:15Lurchi2025 schrieb:
The issue of tandem parking spaces is also important in my opinion. If the spaces were arranged one behind the other, we wouldn't waste so much garden area.As I have described it, the layout is quite good. You also need space for guests and later for the child.Similar topics