Hello community,
I would like to get your feedback on the floor plan draft for our single-family house. We are building in Baden-Württemberg.
Below are the completed questionnaire and the floor plan drafts.
Thank you very much.
We are building a KFW40 timber frame house with a basement (waterproof concrete shell). The basement is insulated and heated.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size – 333m² (3583 ft²) – Parcel 6146
Slope – approx. 0.7mm (0.03 inches) gradient from north to south
Site coverage ratio – 0.4
Floor area ratio – 0.7
Building envelope, building line and boundary – see pictures
Edge development – Garage/carport allowed within marked building envelope
Number of parking spaces – 2 – currently only one shown
Number of floors – 1.5
Roof type – gable roof, 40°
Architectural style – classic gable roof
Orientation – see development plan F
Maximum heights/limits – eaves 4.50m (14 ft 9 in) / ridge 9.20m (30 ft 2 in)
Other requirements – mandatory photovoltaic system, mandatory landscaping
Requirements from the homeowners
Style, roof shape, building type – gable roof
Basement, floors – basement, ground floor and upper floor – ground and upper floor approx. 140m² (1507 ft²)
Number of persons, ages – 39 / 38 / 9 / 7
Room requirements on ground and upper floor – wardrobe, shower toilet, pantry, kitchen, living and dining room, 2 children’s bedrooms, master bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom
Office: family use or home office? – home office in basement / fitness room in basement / workshop in basement
Guests sleeping overnight per year – no
Open or closed architecture – open
Conservative or modern style – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – kitchen island planned between kitchen and dining area, but without cooking surface!
Number of dining seats – round table with 6 seats
Fireplace – no
Music/sound system wall – 5.1 sound system plus 77-inch TV
Balcony, roof terrace – no
Garage, carport – carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse – no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, also explanations why something should or should not be included
House design
1st draft was an architect’s plan; we consulted with this and further refined the floor plan
What we like in particular:
- Straight staircase
- Spaciousness of the living room and connection to terrace and outdoor area
- Covered connection between carport and house
- Hallway and gallery – I am aware that this is very costly space, but it was chosen intentionally!
What we don’t like:
- I am concerned that the hallway downstairs will be too narrow and dark.
- Children’s rooms too narrow and elongated?
- Walk-in closet/bedroom layout doesn’t fit
- Shower/toilet too small
- Technical room too small
- Sound transfer due to open living concept
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 675k including photovoltaic/storage
Personal budget limit for house, including fittings: 850-880k
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump with ventilation system
If you had to give up on something, which details/extensions
- Could you give up: walk-in closet / pantry
- Could you not give up: basement with office and hobby room
Why is the design like this now?
Proposal from a construction company that matches our initial planning quite well.
I would like to get your feedback on the floor plan draft for our single-family house. We are building in Baden-Württemberg.
Below are the completed questionnaire and the floor plan drafts.
Thank you very much.
We are building a KFW40 timber frame house with a basement (waterproof concrete shell). The basement is insulated and heated.
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size – 333m² (3583 ft²) – Parcel 6146
Slope – approx. 0.7mm (0.03 inches) gradient from north to south
Site coverage ratio – 0.4
Floor area ratio – 0.7
Building envelope, building line and boundary – see pictures
Edge development – Garage/carport allowed within marked building envelope
Number of parking spaces – 2 – currently only one shown
Number of floors – 1.5
Roof type – gable roof, 40°
Architectural style – classic gable roof
Orientation – see development plan F
Maximum heights/limits – eaves 4.50m (14 ft 9 in) / ridge 9.20m (30 ft 2 in)
Other requirements – mandatory photovoltaic system, mandatory landscaping
Requirements from the homeowners
Style, roof shape, building type – gable roof
Basement, floors – basement, ground floor and upper floor – ground and upper floor approx. 140m² (1507 ft²)
Number of persons, ages – 39 / 38 / 9 / 7
Room requirements on ground and upper floor – wardrobe, shower toilet, pantry, kitchen, living and dining room, 2 children’s bedrooms, master bedroom, walk-in closet, bathroom
Office: family use or home office? – home office in basement / fitness room in basement / workshop in basement
Guests sleeping overnight per year – no
Open or closed architecture – open
Conservative or modern style – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – kitchen island planned between kitchen and dining area, but without cooking surface!
Number of dining seats – round table with 6 seats
Fireplace – no
Music/sound system wall – 5.1 sound system plus 77-inch TV
Balcony, roof terrace – no
Garage, carport – carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse – no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, also explanations why something should or should not be included
House design
1st draft was an architect’s plan; we consulted with this and further refined the floor plan
What we like in particular:
- Straight staircase
- Spaciousness of the living room and connection to terrace and outdoor area
- Covered connection between carport and house
- Hallway and gallery – I am aware that this is very costly space, but it was chosen intentionally!
What we don’t like:
- I am concerned that the hallway downstairs will be too narrow and dark.
- Children’s rooms too narrow and elongated?
- Walk-in closet/bedroom layout doesn’t fit
- Shower/toilet too small
- Technical room too small
- Sound transfer due to open living concept
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 675k including photovoltaic/storage
Personal budget limit for house, including fittings: 850-880k
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump with ventilation system
If you had to give up on something, which details/extensions
- Could you give up: walk-in closet / pantry
- Could you not give up: basement with office and hobby room
Why is the design like this now?
Proposal from a construction company that matches our initial planning quite well.
Papierturm27 Apr 2026 21:40Flo86!! schrieb:
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 675k including photovoltaic/storage Without additional construction costs, that might barely work. With those extra costs, I’m afraid the total will be significantly higher.
Flo86!! schrieb:
- Straight staircase A house has several fixed points that strongly influence everything else.
One of these is the staircase design and placement. It must fit both the planned floor plan and the house dimensions.
In my opinion, a staircase with a smaller footprint would be more appropriate here. A straight staircase requires the most space to integrate well.
This then causes problems in various other areas.
Flo86!! schrieb:
- Covered connection between carport and house Finally, not a pointless second entrance, but a well-thought-out plan.
Flo86!! schrieb:
- I’m concerned that the hallway downstairs will be too narrow and dark.
- Children’s rooms too narrow and elongated?
- Dressing room/bedroom layout doesn’t work
- Shower/WC too small
- Utility/technical room too small
- Noise transmission due to open living concept Downstairs hallway:
This is where the staircase causes issues. With a half-turn staircase or a landing staircase against the house wall, there could be an additional window providing more natural light.
An open wardrobe here could also bring in more light.
As it stands, it will be dark.
The upstairs hallway will also have several dark corners.
The children’s rooms are narrow and elongated but probably functional. Although I don’t like the door arrangement.
The dressing room is enormous.
The utility/technical room is positioned very strangely. Rooms with water connections are located at the top left, in the center, and top right of the plan, yet the technical room is in the basement bottom right (where there would be the most freedom for placement)?! The size of the technical room itself is sufficient.
The pantry on the ground floor is planned very poorly. It has a regular door opening into the hallway, but a tall cabinet in the kitchen.
I cannot assess noise transmission here.
Flo86!! schrieb:
that the hallway downstairs becomes too narrow and dark. Yes
Flo86!! schrieb:
Children’s room too narrow and corridor-like? Yes
Flo86!! schrieb:
Dressing room / bedroom – layout does not work Yes
Flo86!! schrieb:
Shower/toilet too small Yes. I just read that you told someone it’s okay as it is?
Flo86!! schrieb:
Technical room too small No.
Flo86!! schrieb:
Sound transmission due to open living concept Having an open-plan living concept does not necessarily cause sound issues. However, it will become noticeable if you don’t furnish the space properly.
I’ll start at the driveway:
A second parking space is missing, and it would be impractical to flank the house on both sides with just one parking spot each.
The drawn carport is set very far back, meaning a long paved area. Given the narrowness, this is not ideal for getting in and out of the car. It would be better to move the carport forward, maybe even make it double width and position it towards the southwest.
The windbreak next to the entrance mostly blocks the nice western sun from shining into the house rather than stopping south winds.
The corridor and living room are very long, uncomfortably so. At the same time, the kitchen is very small, almost too small. To avoid regrets later, you could shorten the living room and, for example, extend the shower-toilet (or wardrobe) area towards the southwest. This would also shorten the corridor and allow for a more comfortable kitchen with more than one tall cabinet. A concealed door is usually placed flush with a row of tall cabinets in a continuous wall, not within one tall cabinet next to another. This way, the kitchen can be accessed without a bottleneck. The house has two storage rooms. If the one on the ground floor stays, a direct door would be easier to reach.
The basement stairs and dining/living area conflict if the workshop is downstairs because you would bring dirt into the wrong area. Even after workouts, it would be better to exit towards the bathroom since the shower will eventually be used.
I would therefore rotate the stairs. One space, one set of walls, the golden ratio! The current 4 x 10 meters (13 x 33 feet) could be reduced to 4 x 8 meters (13 x 26 feet). By slightly enlarging the central wall opening (watch structural integrity), this creates a more harmonious room. The 4 meters (13 feet) width is used as the distance for TV and sofa. The long end of the sofa would otherwise stand in front of the expensive lift-slide door, making it unusable. Lift-slide doors are more of a hindrance here; there are better ways to access the terrace. Is this terrace raised on stilts due to the slope?
Upstairs, the long children’s rooms still need roof windows; the ones shown do not cover the room’s full length.
The shower protrudes into the bathroom entrance area, and the bathtub will be smaller than 170cm (67 inches) here because you can’t install a tight fit. The toilet is positioned opposite the door, so the privacy partition loses its purpose since these partitions are meant to shield someone from view.
Flo86!! schrieb:
Proposed solutions Several have already been mentioned.
It makes sense to combine the wardrobe and storage or move the entrance to the side. There are more options if you free yourself from this layout and consider everyday routines as they will happen in the house, not just based on your current apartment.
Flo86!! schrieb:
The architect designed the entrance area, the straight staircase, and the gallery. That’s not much. Would you like to share the original architect’s drawing?
Flo86!! schrieb:
Structural engineering is included in the offer price Yes, so? Is the engineer already involved? I assume not. There are quite a few major issues included.
You’ll be surprised at what he’ll make a big deal out of...
Papierturm schrieb:
The technical equipment is positioned quite oddly. Rooms with water connections are at the top left, center, and top right of the plan, yet the utility room in the basement (where there would be the most flexibility) is located at the bottom right of the plan?! The size of the utility room is definitely sufficient The inspection shaft is in the southwest, which explains the positioning.
Medium schrieb:
I’ll start at the driveway.
The second parking space is missing, and it would be pointless to flank the house on both sides with just one parking spot each.
The drawn carport is positioned very far back, meaning there is a long paved area, and given the narrowness, getting out isn’t convenient. It would be better to move the carport forward, possibly even make it double wide and place it in the southwest According to the development plan / building permit, this is not allowed. The alternative would be to set the carport further back to the north and make the driveway large enough to serve as a second parking space. Although I don’t find that ideal either for parking reasons.
Medium schrieb:
Several points have already been mentioned.
It makes sense to combine the cloakroom and pantry or move the entrance to the side. There are more options if you free yourself from this plan and think through the daily routines in the house, rather than how they work in your current home. Thank you very much for your feedback. We do not want to give up the straight staircase. The pantry makes little sense, so I will eliminate it in favor of a larger shower WC and a bigger kitchen. I am considering the other points or discussing them with our architect. I will provide an update.
Flo86!! schrieb:
A slab foundation was not an option due to the small plot size. That alone is no reason to opt for a full basement.
Flo86!! schrieb:
Local masonry contractors – timber frame contractors I’m not quite following: if the design shown is already the result of input from a participant in the inquiry round, how can it at the same time have served as the basis for that input?
Still, I’m glad to read that both “sides” were involved, so the initial inquiry can be useful for setting the direction. The decision in favor of timber was made because masonry tends to be more expensive for single-family homes with energy standard EH40?
Flo86!! schrieb:
We do not want to give up on a straight staircase. Papierturm schrieb:
A house has several fixed points that strongly influence everything else. One of these is the shape and position of the staircase. It must fit both the planned floor plan and the house dimensions. In my view, a staircase that takes up less space would be more appropriate here. A straight staircase needs the most space to integrate well. This then leads to problems in other areas. A straight, single-flight staircase is a “stick in the spokes” of the floor plan, especially in a one-and-a-half-story house with only a modest knee wall height. It sits like a lead wolf in “its place” (close to the ridge and in the house axis). This dictates a certain rectangular shape of the floor plan and results especially in narrow children’s rooms. Although the staircase itself takes up less footprint, it requires more circulation space around it, therefore generating more traffic area overall. An “L”-shaped staircase with the shorter leg next to the eaves and an exit centrally located near the ridge would be conceptually most advantageous here.
Papierturm schrieb:
Finally, not a senseless second entrance, but a well-thought-out plan. It’s not a side entrance per se that’s bad, but rather in combination with the connection to the parking spaces, it often dominates the floor plan unfavorably.
Medium schrieb:
Lift-and-slide doors are more of a hindrance; there are better options for accessing the terrace. Lift-and-slide doors are mainly “the tomorrow’s outdated” solution and can indeed often be impractical in multiple ways. I am a fan of outward-folding doors—provided there is an adequate roof covering.
Rübe1 schrieb:
There are quite a few heavy elements in there. Enlighten us—where exactly do you see these in the structural analysis!?
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