ᐅ Staircase in the hallway, the floor plan is basically already set :o(
Created on: 26 Jan 2015 11:45
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sunshine1977
We are building a prefabricated house. The floor plan is basically finalized and everything has been submitted; the building permit/planning permission application has been filed.
Like many today, we planned a quarter-turn staircase that starts right next to the front door and then leads upstairs (unfortunately, we did not have a very helpful architect).
Only now have we realized that every time you change floors, you have to go through the usually rather dirty entrance area. This is especially inconvenient with kids who constantly walk around in socks, particularly in winter.
Since we can’t make major changes to the floor plan anymore (also a cost issue), we are now considering simply reversing the staircase, meaning changing the direction it runs. We have only a ground floor and an upper floor, two full stories.
If we change the direction, that would mean:
Maybe someone has advice that could help us.
Thanks in advance and have a great week.
Best regards,
Steffi
Like many today, we planned a quarter-turn staircase that starts right next to the front door and then leads upstairs (unfortunately, we did not have a very helpful architect).
Only now have we realized that every time you change floors, you have to go through the usually rather dirty entrance area. This is especially inconvenient with kids who constantly walk around in socks, particularly in winter.
Since we can’t make major changes to the floor plan anymore (also a cost issue), we are now considering simply reversing the staircase, meaning changing the direction it runs. We have only a ground floor and an upper floor, two full stories.
If we change the direction, that would mean:
- You would come from the living room and have the staircase immediately to the left, which would make the area in front of the living room feel a bit tighter, but you would go upstairs directly.
- We would have some space directly behind the front door under the stairs for coats and shoes and wouldn't have to walk all the way to the front of the living room for that (where the high side of the staircase is now), and we wouldn’t always have to pass by the front door when going upstairs to the bathroom or similar.
- We would lose the gallery upstairs since it would become a passageway, but it's already quite narrow there anyway (we had planned to put a cabinet in the niche).
- It would be quite tight upstairs after the stairs. According to the floor plan (there would be an extra step), the landing would only be 1.40 m (4.6 feet) long, then immediately meets a wall, and you would have to turn right.
- Would you change the staircase direction or leave it as it is?
- Is 1.40 m (4.6 feet) sufficient (we can’t change this anymore; otherwise, the bedroom space would be too tight)?
- Or is the dirt in front of the stairs really not that bad… (we have planned a carport in front of the house so that the entrance area is well covered, but that doesn’t really help much with dirty kids’ shoes and having to take off shoes by the front door — if they are only normally dirty, that’s not a big deal).
Maybe someone has advice that could help us.
Thanks in advance and have a great week.
Best regards,
Steffi
I definitely wouldn’t change it. In my opinion, the whole “dirt zone” idea is greatly exaggerated. Even small children can be taught how and where to clean their shoes without bringing excessive dirt into the house.
What would bother me more with the swapped layout is the noise level. Having stairs leading up or down in the living room always creates noise in the living area, especially with children. That would disturb me far more in the living room than in a hallway.
The dealbreaker for me, however, is the lack of privacy with a staircase in the living area. Just imagine sitting on the sofa in the evening and having to say hello and goodbye to your child’s friend. Your kids will enjoy that just as much as you will ;->.
What would bother me more with the swapped layout is the noise level. Having stairs leading up or down in the living room always creates noise in the living area, especially with children. That would disturb me far more in the living room than in a hallway.
The dealbreaker for me, however, is the lack of privacy with a staircase in the living area. Just imagine sitting on the sofa in the evening and having to say hello and goodbye to your child’s friend. Your kids will enjoy that just as much as you will ;->.
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sunshine197729 Jan 2015 13:01Hello,
thank you very much for your answers. 50% is enough for us to feel reassured – the staircase has been rotated 🙂
When you come in from outside in winter, your shoes are simply wet, no matter how much you wipe them outside. And with four people (even more with visitors), they would spread out across the hallway – the cloakroom area would be further inside with the old layout. The doormat wouldn’t dry after just 3 minutes either. And the kids would be running around in socks... no thanks. And you can’t avoid the doormat either if the staircase starts right next to the door (someone suggested this here as a tip)...
So what do we learn from this? Not everything has to be practical and good just because "many have it that way."
And one more thing? If you don’t have a helpful architect, think for yourself and ask in the housebuilding forum ;o)
Best regards
sunshine
thank you very much for your answers. 50% is enough for us to feel reassured – the staircase has been rotated 🙂
When you come in from outside in winter, your shoes are simply wet, no matter how much you wipe them outside. And with four people (even more with visitors), they would spread out across the hallway – the cloakroom area would be further inside with the old layout. The doormat wouldn’t dry after just 3 minutes either. And the kids would be running around in socks... no thanks. And you can’t avoid the doormat either if the staircase starts right next to the door (someone suggested this here as a tip)...
So what do we learn from this? Not everything has to be practical and good just because "many have it that way."
And one more thing? If you don’t have a helpful architect, think for yourself and ask in the housebuilding forum ;o)
Best regards
sunshine
sunshine1977 schrieb:
When you come inside during winter, the shoes will inevitably be wet, no matter how much you try to brush them off outside. And with four of us (even more with guests), it would spread across the hallway – the coat area would be further back in the old layout. I’m afraid that won’t change.
However, for upstairs and the kids’ socks, it will probably be an improvement in terms of cleanliness.
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sunshine197729 Jan 2015 13:41kaho674 schrieb:
I’m afraid that won’t change.
But for upstairs and the children’s socks, it’s probably an improvement in terms of cleanliness.Of course it will change; you can take off your shoes right at the entrance because there is space for shoes and coats next to the front door under the stairs. In the previous layout, this area would have been farther inside.
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Bauherren201429 Jan 2015 14:05sunshine1977 schrieb:
The wardrobe area would be further back in the old versionI thought the 80cm (31.5 inches) niche next to the entrance was the wardrobe.
sunshine1977 schrieb:
And you can’t avoid the doormat either if the staircase starts right next to the door (someone suggested this here as a tip)...I’m not the one who gave that tip, but we also bypass our doormat even though the staircase starts right next to the door. Not intentionally, but when you go down the stairs, you automatically turn the corner from the last step instead of going straight ahead and then making a 90° turn.
sunshine1977 schrieb:
Thanks a lot for your replies. 50% is enough to feel confirmed – the staircase is rotated :eek Then everything is great. You have to feel comfortable, and if you do, it’s the right decision.
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