ᐅ 100m² House Floor Plan – Too Small?

Regarding standard options versus customizations at Danwood: most changes are reasonably priced at Danwood, as long as no major structural alterations to the house are necessary. One consideration might be to raise your knee wall to 150 cm (5 feet), which would cost roughly €5,000 (about $5,400), depending on the roof pitch, to better utilize the gained space in the bathroom (especially to reduce the large boxed-in area).

Otherwise, with Danwood, you can build with up to 2.67 m (8 feet 9 inches) ceiling height on the ground floor instead of 2.52 m (8 feet 3 inches) (additional cost about €5,000, including window adjustments), but I doubt it's worth doing just to cover an extra stair step.

As a somewhat experienced Danwood homeowner, I can tell you that your budget for building with Danwood is realistic, but you won’t have much room for flexibility.

Your sales representative can give you precise information, but if you want a rough idea (since we are building a similar Danwood house), you should expect the following additional costs:

- Roof insulation package for KfW40 standard (about €3,000)
- Underfloor heating (about €5,000)
- Roller shutters / blinds (about €7,000)
- Air-to-water heat pump and centralized ventilation system (about €8,000)
- Small extras (photovoltaic conduit about €370, water connection €580, etc. – approx. €1,000)
- Transportation costs depending on your postal code (starting around €1,000) and possible further adjustments for snow load and wind zone
- Architect fees (between €3,000 and €10,000, depending on Danwood representative)
- Additional electrical work (about €3,000 to €5,000)
- Foundation slab including perimeter insulation (around €15,000 to €20,000)
- Earthworks (starting at around €10,000)
- Construction site setup (toilet, temporary power, container rental, road closures – around €1,000 to €3,000)

If you don’t count them under incidental construction costs, building permits / planning permission, land surveying, and utility connection fees will naturally add to the expenses. Earthworks costs can quickly rise if you require special foundations or soil replacement.

Also, plan firmly for price increases during the construction period – the only relevant price guarantee at Danwood currently lasts 9 months, and you need to complete everything (from architectural planning through to finalized factory planning, selections, and signed financing confirmation) very quickly to meet this deadline. Usually, delays are not on your side, but caused by overwhelmed parties like the architect or Danwood technical planners. Since lead times of about 18 to 24 months are typical for building your house, you can expect at least a 5% price increase.

This means you should rather budget around €225,000 to €240,000 for the house costs, instead of the €157,000 base price – and this doesn’t include allowances for selections for electrical installations, plumbing, and (especially important with Danwood) flooring (for example, if you don’t want the standard carpet upstairs). It should still be manageable, but extravagant requests probably won’t fit the budget.

The house can "last" until Mrs. Right is found, or until she becomes a mother, or even until the child starts school—or longer. However, as I mentioned, it’s wise to assume that Mrs. Right— even if she’s not taking over from a previous female housemate as a couple—won’t want to keep the former bachelor pad exactly as it is, even if it still seems spacious enough with a second child. Therefore, I tend to agree with the basic idea of minimizing customization beyond the original model, especially considering a potential resale in the near future.

Ken can also occasionally drive Barbie’s car to the bakery, or vice versa. With a small license plate mix-up, swapping the cars isn’t obvious even in the company parking lot. But: you quickly end up leaving both pairs of the duplicate sunglasses in the other car and have none with you. Then the trapped parking spot “gets you,” and you get used to constantly moving the cars around. This might not matter as much with electric vehicles, but combustion engine cars actually consume more fuel on these short trips than can be regained even with the most efficient energy-saving measures and strictly plant-based fuel to avoid environmental impact.

And what I would absolutely never do—because then the tail really wags the dog and the main thing ceases to be the main thing—is to reduce the size of my house by even one square meter in order to meet a parking space threshold. Even if I could do with a whole dozen fewer square meters.

Let’s set aside the singer’s politeness about how I know that even larger people find a 90cm (35 inches) shower comfortable enough. @kbt09 illustrated this problem with a drawing: such “living spaces without extra fat” house models have stair landings and similar areas that generally don’t offer unused potential, so fulfilling this special request can also be a technical problem. An even more valid argument against such structural customization, which particularly applies to these house models, is that they can seriously damage the attractive catalog price. In that case, it’s better to go for a custom plan—even though for a client without specific preferences, that is a task for someone who has “killed their father and mother,” so to speak.

By the way, what do you do professionally, especially what exactly is supposed to be “stored” here (and is it going to be moved somewhere else if a child arrives)?

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Nice-Nofret schrieb:

The original floor plan is definitely more practical on the ground floor. You could consider a sliding door into the kitchen (built into the wall), and the same for the utility room.

You might be right. In my plan, the cloakroom got lost as well. If the door from the utility room to the kitchen stays, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a regular door or a sliding door. The hole in the wall remains in the same spot. My thought was simply that I might prefer more countertop space in the kitchen instead.
The original floor plan is quite good, which is why I chose it. The only thing that really has to change is the doors to the kitchen and living room. Changing the utility room door is not a must, just an idea to make both the utility room and the kitchen work area a bit larger. The utility room will be quite tight as it is.

11ant schrieb:

The house can "last" until Mrs. Right is found, or until she becomes a mother, or even until the child starts school — or longer. But as I mentioned before, it’s safer to assume that Mrs. Right — even if she’s not replacing a previous female housemate — as a couple probably won’t want to have the former bachelor pad, even if it still seems big enough for a second child. For that reason, I tend to agree with the idea to keep the house as close to the standard model as possible to make a quick resale easier.

Ken can drive Barbie’s car to the bakery or vice versa. With a slight mix-up in the license plate, no one notices the car swap even in the company car park. But: you quickly end up with both pairs of the double sunglasses in the wrong car and none when you need them, then the tight parking spot becomes a hassle and you get used to constantly moving cars around. With e-bikes that might not matter so much, but gas-powered vehicles really consume more on these short trips than you can compensate with any energy-efficient turbo or lifetime vegetarian feed to reduce emissions.

And one thing I would definitely never do — because then the tail is really wagging the dog and the main issue ceases to be the main issue — is reduce my house’s size by even one square meter just to meet a parking space threshold. Even if a whole dozen fewer square meters would be acceptable to me.

Let’s put aside the singer’s courtesy about how I know even larger people find a 90cm (35 inch) shower comfortable enough. @kbt09 illustrated the problem graphically: such “living space without any extra room” house models tend to have stair landings and similar places with no unused potential, so a special request here would be a technical challenge. An even stronger argument against these construction-altering special requests is that for such house models it will especially hurt the friendly catalog price. Better to opt for a custom design — even though for a client without special requests that’s a job for someone who has killed their mother and father.

By the way, what do you do for a living, and especially what do you want to "store" here (and relocate elsewhere if a child arrives)?

Basically, I want to find a floor plan that fits me. If that’s possible with a standard design, even better.
Especially with small houses, I see good chances of resale in the long term. Single-person households are increasing, and many older people look for smaller apartments.
Still, I’m not building my house with the intention of selling it soon but to live in it as long as possible. If a woman does join me down the line, some rearranging will likely happen — that’s no problem. And believe me, I don’t have a cliché messy bachelor pad.

I quite like this floor plan, as well as the Raumwunder 100 from Town & Country. The only real changes I need are the two doors on the ground floor and a slightly larger shower.
I have my first consultation next week, so I’ll see what comes out of that and what’s possible. Maybe the advisor will have some ideas too.

Since I’m building and financing the house on my own, I have to stick pretty close to the standard and only choose or change things that are important to me. I’m realistic about that. I can’t look in the VW Polo class expecting to end up with a Phaeton.

I believe the floor plan and design I have in mind already reflect quite well how people who know me would describe me. Some might say the floor plan and design are a bit too classic and old-fashioned.
There are many houses in new developments I don’t like either. (I have friends who built modern, new homes that look really stylish, but I want to leave after 10 minutes because I feel uncomfortable in the “60 sqm (650 sq ft) open living, dining, and kitchen hall.”)

Oh yes, I’m a mechanical engineer. For the office, I basically only need a computer and some personal folders. Maybe a few documents for working from home. There’s nothing special to store. Just the little things you accumulate at home.

Even if it looks like I don’t really know what I want, I can usually say right away what I like or dislike about almost any floor plan or house, and what would need to be changed for me to like it. I find it difficult to describe that on a blank page. Like most people, I struggle to express space requirements (the kitchen must be 12 sqm (130 sq ft), the bathroom at least 17 sqm (183 sq ft), etc.). So I look at what the professionals have designed and see if I like it or if it fits me. Sure, a house is a more emotional matter than new pants or a cabinet, but for almost everything else in daily life, we do it the same way. No one designs their car at home; they look at pictures and reviews and then decide what to buy, possibly with minor changes (options).

Wandervogel85 schrieb:

Especially for small houses, I see good long-term potential for resale. Single-person households are increasing, and many older people are looking for smaller apartments.

I believe, and this matches my own experience, that there are so many different lifestyles and living arrangements nowadays, and therefore equally diverse potential buyers. I would place more value on having a house built with attention to detail and good quality—such a property will always sell, even if to a different clientele.
If you really understand yourself well and know your needs, then I would simply make sure that the house fits you perfectly and that you can truly enjoy it yourself.

Wandervogel85 schrieb:

It looks really stylish, but I always want to leave after 10 minutes because I feel uncomfortable in the "60 sqm (650 sq ft) open plan living-dining-kitchen space."

I can relate to that very well – I often feel the same when I see bare rooms with nothing cozy in them.

Wandervogel85 schrieb:

Like probably almost everyone else, I find it hard to define space requirements (kitchen must be 12 sqm (130 sq ft), bathroom at least 17 sqm (180 sq ft), etc.).

That is also not recommended, because 1m x 12m (3 ft x 39 ft) is the same as 2m x 6m (6 ft x 20 ft) and 3m x 4m (10 ft x 13 ft) 🙂

Wandervogel85 schrieb:

Especially with small houses, I definitely see good long-term potential for resale. Single-person households are increasing, and many older people are looking for smaller apartments.
Still, I’m not building my house with the intention of selling it quickly, but to live in it for as long as possible.

The more your ideal future buyer is an older person or someone who remains childfree, the more a bungalow is not just an equal alternative to a one-and-a-half-story house, but the preferred choice.

Wandervogel85 schrieb:

If a woman does end up joining me at some point, I’m sure some changes will be made. That’s not a problem. And believe me, I don’t have some stereotypical messy bachelor pad.

I’m not thinking of a nerd’s den full of chip bags, a gaming cockpit, and pin-up posters. Rather, I mean potential partners who don’t like moving into a space that was already completely established without them. Then they only feel like guests there—or at least end up redecorating the place so much it becomes unrecognizable :-)

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