ᐅ Planning a Single-Family Home for a Family of Four, West Münsterland Region, Initial Architect’s Draft
Created on: 20 Oct 2025 12:17
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-Malte-
Hello everyone,
after some time spent on the selection of our plot in the new development area, we have now started the planning phase. We have found an architect, and a very first draft (without incorporating our feedback yet) has recently been presented to us. We would like to gather ideas and suggestions here.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 456m² (rectangular, 20.7m wide and 22.0m long)
Slope: no, completely flat
Floor area ratio (FAR) for land use: 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: 14m (46 feet) deep building envelope across the entire plot width
Edge development: ?
Number of parking spaces: space for 2 cars required
Number of storeys: 2 full storeys allowed (with shed or flat roof)
Roof type: with 2 full storeys a shed or flat roof is mandatory, with 1 full storey no restrictions
Architectural style: no restrictions
Orientation: no restrictions
Maximum heights/limits: base height max 0.5m (1.5 feet); eaves height max 6.5m (21 feet); ridge height max 11.0m (36 feet)
Further specifications: no dormers or roof protrusions allowed according to the development plan
Other: detailed information can easily be found online by searching "Bebauungsplan 8-23 Bocholt"
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: desired is a traditional brick-faced gable roof house typical for western Münsterland, with a fairly steep roof pitch. Construction as a solid masonry house.
Basement, storeys: built on a slab foundation without basement; living spaces planned either on ground floor and first floor or ground floor, first floor, and attic
Number of people, ages: 4 persons (38, 35, 5, 3)
Room needs on ground and first floors: living area (kitchen/dining/living), guest WC including small shower, master bedroom without separate dressing room, 2 children’s rooms, 1 office, 1 bathroom, sufficient storage space for everyday family needs
Office (family use or home office): 1 dedicated full-time home office used about 4 days/week
Overnight guests per year: very few, no guest room needed
Open or closed layout: middle ground
Conservative or modern design: middle ground
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen tends to be open, possibly with slight visual separation
Number of dining seats: table for 6 persons
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: TV to be located in the living area
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage desired for numerous bicycles, children’s vehicles, and other outdoor gear
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be included: the wish is for a classic single-family house for a family of four with fixed home office space. Not a "palace," but a house that functions well in everyday family life. The house should be realized as a "climate-friendly new build" (KFW300 without QNG).
About the House Design
Who created the design?
First draft by an independent architect (initial version, no details adjusted or feedback incorporated yet)
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you not like? Why?
Price estimate from the architect/designer: none yet
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 650,000€ (house including ancillary costs, kitchen, garage, driveway/terrace)
Preferred heating technology: heat pump (possibly ground-source heat pump if trench collector is feasible, otherwise air-to-water heat pump)
What can you do without?
- can do without: excessive hallway areas, possibly the small gable projections (dormers)
- cannot do without: our room program including sufficient storage, window areas for plenty of natural light
Why does the design look the way it does now?
The design is based on our wishes/room program and generally meets them. The staircase could be extended up to the attic in the draft, but for this layout, a finished attic would not be needed for space or cost reasons. It would likely remain as an unfinished attic accessed by a folding ladder.
Final comments
After some further consideration, we see two options:
We look forward to your thoughts and input.
Best regards,
Malte
after some time spent on the selection of our plot in the new development area, we have now started the planning phase. We have found an architect, and a very first draft (without incorporating our feedback yet) has recently been presented to us. We would like to gather ideas and suggestions here.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 456m² (rectangular, 20.7m wide and 22.0m long)
Slope: no, completely flat
Floor area ratio (FAR) for land use: 0.4
Floor space index (FSI): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: 14m (46 feet) deep building envelope across the entire plot width
Edge development: ?
Number of parking spaces: space for 2 cars required
Number of storeys: 2 full storeys allowed (with shed or flat roof)
Roof type: with 2 full storeys a shed or flat roof is mandatory, with 1 full storey no restrictions
Architectural style: no restrictions
Orientation: no restrictions
Maximum heights/limits: base height max 0.5m (1.5 feet); eaves height max 6.5m (21 feet); ridge height max 11.0m (36 feet)
Further specifications: no dormers or roof protrusions allowed according to the development plan
Other: detailed information can easily be found online by searching "Bebauungsplan 8-23 Bocholt"
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: desired is a traditional brick-faced gable roof house typical for western Münsterland, with a fairly steep roof pitch. Construction as a solid masonry house.
Basement, storeys: built on a slab foundation without basement; living spaces planned either on ground floor and first floor or ground floor, first floor, and attic
Number of people, ages: 4 persons (38, 35, 5, 3)
Room needs on ground and first floors: living area (kitchen/dining/living), guest WC including small shower, master bedroom without separate dressing room, 2 children’s rooms, 1 office, 1 bathroom, sufficient storage space for everyday family needs
Office (family use or home office): 1 dedicated full-time home office used about 4 days/week
Overnight guests per year: very few, no guest room needed
Open or closed layout: middle ground
Conservative or modern design: middle ground
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen tends to be open, possibly with slight visual separation
Number of dining seats: table for 6 persons
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: TV to be located in the living area
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage desired for numerous bicycles, children’s vehicles, and other outdoor gear
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be included: the wish is for a classic single-family house for a family of four with fixed home office space. Not a "palace," but a house that functions well in everyday family life. The house should be realized as a "climate-friendly new build" (KFW300 without QNG).
About the House Design
Who created the design?
First draft by an independent architect (initial version, no details adjusted or feedback incorporated yet)
What do you particularly like? Why?
- The design fully covers our room program/specifications; all necessary rooms and sufficient storage space are included.
- Preferences such as the arrangement of kitchen/dining/living “around the corner” and similarly sized children’s rooms are included.
- The design as a gable roof house with two small gable projections (dormers/gables) is visually very appealing to us.
What do you not like? Why?
- Overall, the floor plan—especially the upper floor—does not appear efficient to us. The hallway area is clearly too large. The total living area is about 179m² (ground floor 94m² and upper floor 85m²), but it does not feel like that. For cost reasons alone, we aim for around 160m².
- The house is currently designed as 11m by 11m (36 by 36 feet) square, but we feel it should be stretched somewhat (e.g., 12m by 10m or similar) to better separate the kitchen and master bedroom. Probably the square shape was chosen to make the roof easier to develop.
- We suspect the current draft does not reach one full storey height yet (North Rhine-Westphalia: 3/4 rule) — adjustments to knee wall height and roof pitch may be necessary.
- Details need adjustment (e.g., remove pantry in kitchen to enlarge kitchen; doors; possibly add more roof windows; etc.).
Price estimate from the architect/designer: none yet
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 650,000€ (house including ancillary costs, kitchen, garage, driveway/terrace)
Preferred heating technology: heat pump (possibly ground-source heat pump if trench collector is feasible, otherwise air-to-water heat pump)
What can you do without?
- can do without: excessive hallway areas, possibly the small gable projections (dormers)
- cannot do without: our room program including sufficient storage, window areas for plenty of natural light
Why does the design look the way it does now?
The design is based on our wishes/room program and generally meets them. The staircase could be extended up to the attic in the draft, but for this layout, a finished attic would not be needed for space or cost reasons. It would likely remain as an unfinished attic accessed by a folding ladder.
Final comments
After some further consideration, we see two options:
- Make the current design with the small dormers and room program on two floors more efficient and reduce it to about 160m². The attic would not be developed.
- Request an alternative design where the house is overall more compact and the attic is fully integrated (ground floor kitchen/dining/living, guest WC, utility room; first floor 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom, and bathroom; attic office and storage).
We look forward to your thoughts and input.
Best regards,
Malte
Papierturm schrieb:
However, I would like to raise the question: Is the lot large enough for a garage? Yes, why not?
Papierturm schrieb:
Then that’s fine! (I couldn’t tell because the north arrow was missing.) Papierturm schrieb:
But then a children's room would be facing north. No, the children's rooms are currently not oriented north or south, but east and west. That’s simply the design of the single-story house with a pitched roof facing south.
@-Malte- This is how your ideas might look in my version. Maybe there is something here that suits you.
If the garage is moved back (the building envelope allows for this), you can also create a side entrance. This would be my version 2 for you.
However, I want to mention that having a central gable usually imposes some constraints. This often makes the upper floor a bit awkward in a single-story house.
I wouldn’t enclose the kitchen or use false doors/pseudo islands. I would rather do that with the living room. But it’s not necessary! You can zone spaces well with a large rug.
If the garage is moved back (the building envelope allows for this), you can also create a side entrance. This would be my version 2 for you.
However, I want to mention that having a central gable usually imposes some constraints. This often makes the upper floor a bit awkward in a single-story house.
I wouldn’t enclose the kitchen or use false doors/pseudo islands. I would rather do that with the living room. But it’s not necessary! You can zone spaces well with a large rug.
My favorite option for you would be version 2. It’s a well-thought-out design. Whether or not you want to separate the hallway with a door is up to you. I find it ideal as it is. Also, your concern about not having enough storage space in the freezer/laundry room is addressed well. The layout is practical and functional.
Here is a top-down view to illustrate.
If I’m able to later after some mulled wine, I’ll try to come up with something suitable for the upper floor, if you like.
Here is a top-down view to illustrate.
If I’m able to later after some mulled wine, I’ll try to come up with something suitable for the upper floor, if you like.
-Malte- schrieb:
We spent the past two weeks reviewing standard floor plans to develop an idea that we can then discuss with the architect and use as a basis. We would really like to get your feedback beforehand to see if this is generally going in a sensible direction.Putting an architect on the (almost always wrong) track with specific example floor plans is never a sensible approach. In fact, this is often listed as the number one most discouraged idea here. Proven building concepts are only truly beneficial when the person who tested them also executes the build. Conversely, blindly copying them—such as building the Huber house by Meier or vice versa—is consistently a recipe for serious mistakes.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Putting an architect on the (usually wrong) horse with specific example floor plans never leads in a useful direction However, as you can read, the original poster actually got on a donkey. Moving from the slow donkey to a galloping horse may not only be brave but also sensible, although it is not something everyone can handle.
Wow, many thanks @ypg for your work and valuable suggestions! We really like your latest design. In fact, we had sketched a side entrance in almost the same way a few days ago ourselves. Currently, we also have a side entrance and are fans of it.
Our design from a few days ago, before we knew yours:
We had swapped the cloakroom and guest toilet compared to your design (probably not as favorable for natural light in the hallway as yours). Otherwise, living room and kitchen were also switched. Our layout had the advantage that the kitchen is directly next to the pantry, and we planned a light strip or some kind of window integrated into the kitchen unit. The disadvantage of our layout regarding the living area is that the sofa is placed with its back to the rest of the space. We like your layout better in this respect. Did you size the house roughly the same (about 12m (39 feet) * 9m (30 feet))?
Ultimately, we initially dismissed the idea of the side entrance and didn’t include it in the discussion here, because we felt that the long hallway was not as charming as the entrance from the front. In our drawing, the hallway is 6.7m (22 feet) long and we planned it to be 1.6m (5 feet) wide. Don’t you see a risk that it might feel “tunnel-like”?
A significant factor is probably the passage to the open-plan living area, which you designed wide and completely open. That surely works great during the day, but in our current house we miss the option to close off the living area to the stairs in the evening when the kids are sleeping and guests are over. I think it would be important for the spatial feel to design the passage from the hallway to the open area generously. What would be sensible options here? A large sliding door running along the hallway side? A standard door opening towards the sofa combined with a fixed glass panel or similar? Whatever door design is chosen, it would presumably be open most of the time and therefore should not get in the way.
Best regards
Malte
PS: Of course, we would be very happy and grateful if you could also take a look at the upper floor to match the sketched ground floor 😉
Our design from a few days ago, before we knew yours:
We had swapped the cloakroom and guest toilet compared to your design (probably not as favorable for natural light in the hallway as yours). Otherwise, living room and kitchen were also switched. Our layout had the advantage that the kitchen is directly next to the pantry, and we planned a light strip or some kind of window integrated into the kitchen unit. The disadvantage of our layout regarding the living area is that the sofa is placed with its back to the rest of the space. We like your layout better in this respect. Did you size the house roughly the same (about 12m (39 feet) * 9m (30 feet))?
Ultimately, we initially dismissed the idea of the side entrance and didn’t include it in the discussion here, because we felt that the long hallway was not as charming as the entrance from the front. In our drawing, the hallway is 6.7m (22 feet) long and we planned it to be 1.6m (5 feet) wide. Don’t you see a risk that it might feel “tunnel-like”?
A significant factor is probably the passage to the open-plan living area, which you designed wide and completely open. That surely works great during the day, but in our current house we miss the option to close off the living area to the stairs in the evening when the kids are sleeping and guests are over. I think it would be important for the spatial feel to design the passage from the hallway to the open area generously. What would be sensible options here? A large sliding door running along the hallway side? A standard door opening towards the sofa combined with a fixed glass panel or similar? Whatever door design is chosen, it would presumably be open most of the time and therefore should not get in the way.
Best regards
Malte
PS: Of course, we would be very happy and grateful if you could also take a look at the upper floor to match the sketched ground floor 😉
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