ᐅ Questions about Floor Plan Optimization for a Single-Family House 8.5 x 11.5 m and Optimal Land Use

Dear community,
I have been following with interest for a year now – we have been tweaking our floor plan for just as long. On Monday, our building application will be reviewed with the planning office of our general contractor, so if possible, we would really appreciate some critical feedback now!

Location:
It concerns an infill development with heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic (30 km/h (19 mph) zone, school opposite, and a popular recreational area with sought-after parking spaces).
- Approximately 19 m (62 ft) tall building opposite on the west side, so no evening sun for about 4 months (terrace or living room on the west side therefore not an option)
- Building zone starts only 5 m (16 ft) behind the western property line, design regulations forbid floor-to-ceiling windows or light bands in areas visible from the street

Most pressing questions:
- Plot: How can it be used optimally, and where could a second parking space for guests be located without blocking the south side with a large garage or sacrificing light in the kitchen? Our idea is to apply for a second driveway along the north wall, but 3.5 m (11.5 ft) is quite tight for parking and the house entrance. It is also important to keep a shed or storage room of at least 15 m² (161 ft²) near the front for garden tools, car tires, bicycles.
- Ground floor: How can the layout of the office, a generously sized guest shower toilet, and the utility room (HAR) with pantry section be optimized?
We would prefer a connection from the utility room to the hallway rather than the kitchen (to avoid bringing dirt inside), but then the pantry part of the utility room would need to be separated to allow direct access to the kitchen.
- First floor: The idea is to create a laundry balcony above the bay window on the ground floor and possibly add an external staircase later, turning the bathroom and bedroom into a separate small apartment. However, this would require designing some sort of entrance area right away, so the balcony door shouldn’t open directly from the bathroom (which currently is not an issue due to the large tree ensuring privacy).
- Facade: What are your thoughts on the window arrangement on the north side? Are there too many window formats?
- Do you notice anything else?

Thanks!

Development Plan (none available, only preservation statutes)
Plot size: 544 m² (5859 ft²)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: -
Plot ratio: -
Building zone, building line, and boundaries: same as neighboring plots, 5 m (16 ft) behind property boundary, 0.4 H (min. 3 m (10 ft)) clearance area
Edge development: garages and sheds up to 3 m (10 ft) height and max. 9 m (30 ft) length, unheated, no living space
Number of parking spaces: 1-2
Number of floors: 2-3
Roof type: gable roof
Style: neutral, as many older houses surround the site
Orientation: gable end facing the street, entrance possible from both courtyard and street side
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height up to 11 m (36 ft) (ours planned approx. 9.5 m (31 ft))
Other requirements: upright rectangular windows, wider formats must have sash subdivisions, symmetrical distribution, lower windows at least as large as windows above, no street-facing continuous glazing strips or floor-to-ceiling windows

Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: solid gable roof house, 2 full floors + attic with 70 cm (28 inch) knee wall as expansion reserve
No basement, 2.5 floors
Number of occupants: 2 adults, 2 children (3 and 6 years old)
Total space required: 160 m² (1720 ft²) + attic, ground floor 85 m² (915 ft²), upper floor 7 m² (75 ft²)
Home office: 1 office on ground floor, 1 niche in master bedroom on upper floor
Guest stays per year: 8 weekends (1 to 4 people each)
Open or closed architecture: semi-open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: both
Number of dining seats: 6, expandable to 10
Fireplace: no
Music/speaker wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: roof of bay window at living room potentially extendable with railing, laundry balcony on bathroom on upper floor, French door to terrace on ground floor
Garage, carport: one carport space, adjacent shed up to property boundary, plus uncovered “overflow” guest parking preferred
Utility garden, greenhouse: decorative garden only
Other wishes/details/daily routine, including reasons for or against items

House Design
Planner: ourselves

What do you like most? Why?
- Maximum distance from neighbor on south side (more light and privacy)
- Staircase window on north side with unobstructed views of orchard and church
- Bathroom, bedroom, dining and living rooms on east side (busy street on west)
- Carport and shed as noise and privacy barrier to street
- Combination of separate toilet and laundry room on upper floor (backup option for simultaneous use, laundry done where it arises)
- Passage from kitchen to utility room for freezer, pantry cupboard, and multifunctional workspace
- Seating window in living room with garden view
- Living room arranged at an angle, somewhat separated from kitchen/dining area
- Large continuous coat wall in entrance area (for kids, storage)
- View into garden from main entrance door
- Space for wardrobes behind most doors
- Attic expansion reserve for additional storage and hobby/guest room

What don’t you like? Why?
- Ground floor office awkwardly shaped (guest shower toilet on ground floor should also function as the only bathroom in old age and already offers sufficient space, which reduces office size)
- Window symmetry on north side feels too busy
- Main entrance on north side possibly too hidden? (Increased risk of break-in)
- Kitchen may be too dark due to carport on south side and tall building on street side (west)

Estimated price by architect/planner: 500,000 Euro
Personal price limit for house including fixtures: 650,000 Euro
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump, underfloor heating, electricity from photovoltaic system

If you had to give up anything, which features or extensions would it be?
- Could give up: secondary entrance door, storage under stairs

- Cannot give up:
- Sufficient space in utility room for drinking water and buffer tank, ventilation system, battery storage (photovoltaic), connections
- Two children's rooms, each at least 14 m² (150 ft²)
- Half-turned staircase aligned with exterior wall (with continuation into attic during future expansion)

Why is the design as it is now?
One year of consideration and development, with technical input from general contractor

What makes it particularly good or bad in your view?
Suboptimal use of space due to restrictions (window formats, 5 m (16 ft) setback line, built-up west side with heavy foot traffic)
Good: forward-looking design of ground floor as sole living floor later in life (living room can later be separated into sleeping area, comfortable guest shower toilet on ground floor, stairs outside of living area)

Hello!
I think it’s great that you took the time to read up on the forum beforehand. However, looking at your floor plan, I wonder if it might have been heavily “refined” over time. Could this be the final compromise solution? It doesn’t really look appealing to me. For me, the main issue is the room layout.

The biggest drawback seems to be the shower bathroom without a toilet (or am I missing something, edit: blind!!!), which can only be accessed through the bathtub bathroom or the master bedroom. I don’t find that very practical.
The children’s rooms facing this 19m (62 feet) complex won’t have a nice view either.
Having the workspace visible from the bed is something you have to like. It’s probably a secondary workspace for emergencies rather than daily use, but for me, it negatively affects the idea of “sleep, relaxation, intimacy” even in a subtle way. Don’t underestimate how much that can influence well-being.

I find the terrace door in the kitchen unfortunate. Let’s say you have two guests and want to eat outside; either one person goes back and forth 10 times while the others relax being served, or everyone helps out but ends up bumping into each other in the kitchen. If the door is open, part of the kitchen is also only partially usable. I would strongly recommend relocating the door.
The kitchen seems rather small to me, but there are experts here. I’m not a fan of oversized islands compared to storage space. But that might just reflect your cooking style... Noisy appliances and lots of accessories should be stored separately from the dining area anyway, either in the utility room or outside mealtime.
In the living/dining room, I find there is not enough space for a proper sideboard with storage. Where will you put the good china, wine glasses, board games, nice napkins, some table decorations...?

I would initially advise against the plan to separate the master bedroom with the shower bathroom upstairs. Then you would still have two bedrooms upstairs, no barrier-free bathroom, and only the guest bathroom downstairs. The guest bathroom solution might work for two people up to 70, but having the upstairs bathroom right next to the tenant’s bathroom downstairs is a bit odd. Someone might accept that in Munich, probably in Cologne and Hamburg as well. But here in Paderborn and the surrounding area, that’s unlikely (long stairs are generally unattractive).

Overall, I feel the design lacks warmth and coziness. What are the plans for the outdoor areas?

I’ll see if I have more time tomorrow to write something about this (most likely I will).

An initial thought:
I’m not sure if this design will work as well in everyday life for psychological reasons as expected. I see one of two scenarios as likely, which could somewhat undermine the practicality of the layout.

Either you park your car yourself at the carport, and then the utility room door becomes the main entrance. However, this entrance doesn’t offer a particularly nice foyer area (the cloakroom is located elsewhere).

Or you mainly use the main entrance yourself, but sooner or later you’ll probably park the car right there, leaving the carport mainly for guests.

People tend to optimize their paths intensely. Therefore, I would expect that either the carport or the cloakroom/entrance area will be somewhat neglected in daily use, and the other will only work moderately well.

Very unusual floor plan. If the street and high-rise building are on the west side, why is the entrance on the north? When you come back with groceries in the rain, you have to go around the house first. Rotate the house along its longitudinal axis so it is parallel to the street. This will give you more privacy in the garden and a larger garden area. Also, place the children’s rooms facing the garden, on the ground floor, rather than towards the busy street. There are so many things wrong here that it should not be a problem to find a better solution, even after a year of planning. What exactly took so long?

Sorry for the honest words.

Schmirgel schrieb:
I really like that you took the time to read up on the forum beforehand. However, looking at your floor plan, I wonder if it has already been “refined” many times. Could this be the final compromise solution? It doesn't look very appealing to me. I think this is mainly due to the positioning of the rooms.

Yes, as often happens, it is a compromise after countless considerations and incorporating given requirements. It’s quite possible that we lost sight of some obvious solutions along the way, which is why I appreciate your less “overthought” suggestions.

Schmirgel schrieb:
The biggest drawback, in my opinion, is the shower bathroom without a toilet (or am I blonde, edit: blind!!!) which is accessed through the bathroom with the bathtub or the master bedroom. I don’t think that’s good.

No, you’re not blonde 😉 The shower bathroom on the upper floor will have a toilet rough-in in the northeast corner. It’s a project for “when we have money again.” Until then, the toilet in the main bathroom will be used.

Schmirgel schrieb:
The children’s rooms opposite that 19m complex won’t have a nice view either.

The "high-rise" is a four-story school, located diagonally across on the southwest side and not in the direct line of sight from the children’s bedroom windows facing west. In fact, with leafless trees, the kids will be able to see a part of a lake about 250m (820 feet) away through the houses.

Schmirgel schrieb:
The terrace door in the kitchen seems unfortunate to me.

There is a second way from the kitchen to the terrace: through the dining area via the 2.76m (9 feet) wide lift-and-slide door. I agree, it’s a bit of a walk!

Schmirgel schrieb:
The kitchen seems rather small to me, but there are professionals here for that.

In the adjacent utility room, behind the door, there’s still space for a freezer, a pantry cabinet, and a work surface.

Schmirgel schrieb:
The good dishes, the wine glasses, the board games, some nice napkins, some table decorations... Where to put all that?

Built-in furniture is planned around the (seating) east window and also underneath the seating area as a sort of “frame.” Another storage option near the dining area would indeed be practical. For that, we would have to sacrifice the middle fixed glazing, which is supposed to provide daylight for the kitchen and serve as a “sightline” from the front door to the garden.

Schmirgel schrieb:
I would initially discard the plan to separate the sleeping area upstairs with a shower bathroom. There would still be two bedrooms upstairs, no accessible bathroom, and downstairs only a guest bathroom.

The separable area with the current bedroom and shower bathroom is intended as a potential accommodation option for an adult child studying here or a family member needing long-term care. We also want to keep the option open for occasional short-term rentals (popular holiday region right by the lake). That’s also why we’re considering a possible second parking space.

Schmirgel schrieb:
What about the outdoor areas?

Trees are planned to the south for privacy screening, along with perennial beds and a larger wooden play tower for the children.

Papierturm schrieb:
If you park yourself at the carport, then the utility room door effectively becomes the main entrance. However, there isn’t a really nice entrance area there (the cloaks area is elsewhere).

Our car is only used every 7–14 days for big shopping trips or weekend outings, so the utility room entry would be relevant then. We mostly travel by bike and public transport, as the property is quite central in a town of 26,000 inhabitants. A narrow “pedestrian garden gate” is planned in the northwest corner (next to the tree), from which we can walk directly straight to the north entrance. The bike storage in the shed along the southern property line is still a work in progress.

tomtom79 schrieb:
If the street and the tall building are to the west, why is the entrance on the north?

The idea to locate the entrance on the north is an attempt to avoid a long, dark “corridor” on the ground floor with rooms branching off it. Also, we don’t like the idea that passersby could see directly into the house when the front door is open. Where on the west side would you place the main entrance?

tomtom79 schrieb:
Rotate the house’s longitudinal axis parallel to the street.

The preservation statute requires a gable end facing the street, similar to the existing neighboring houses. We also want the long south side for the photovoltaic system, since the west side is shaded in winter. How would you rearrange the room and entrance layout differently, assuming the house orientation is fixed?

tomtom79 schrieb:
Also, children’s rooms should face the garden, i.e., be downstairs and not face a busy street.

The street is not noisy or busy in the usual sense (30 km/h zone), but it is often used for parking. Since our children will mainly be home in the afternoons, the west side is optimal for them, while we prefer open windows during sleep and the east side is most private for our bathroom and bedroom.

tomtom79 schrieb:
Why so long?

The long planning odyssey resulted from our very thorough search for a general contractor. Requests for quotes and initial meetings dragged on for many months.

tomtom79 schrieb:
Sorry for the honest words.

Honest words are welcome.

Do you notice anything you would change about our design in light of the now more precisely defined requirements and circumstances? How do the window sizes look? Do the formats harmonize?

Schmirgel schrieb:
You have to like seeing your work corner from the bed. It’s probably a secondary workspace for emergencies rather than everyday use, but for me it interferes with the idea of "sleep, relaxation, togetherness," even just passively.

I have also given some thought to the effect of having a desk within sight of the bed. Separating the corner into its own room with a door would disrupt the window layout. Additionally, I’m concerned that a 6m² (65 sq ft) room might feel too cramped. Do you have any ideas where the workspace could be located? My husband and I both work from home two days a week, and each needs their own "personal" area to store documents, a sewing machine, a 3D printer, etc., out of the kids’ reach. Looking ahead, the attic with 50m² (540 sq ft) could be available for guest use and as a hobby room; we are preparing for the conversion but, for cost reasons, it will be postponed. Until then, the attic serves as an unheated storage space.