ᐅ Floor plan for a 160 m² bungalow

What happened to your house? You’re still active here, but the planning hasn’t continued, and you haven’t shown the final result. Please share it here 🙂

I’m happy to fulfill your request. First, a few introductory words.

-The house construction itself was quite challenging. Our construction company filed for insolvency during the shell stage (exterior walls completed, roof on, interior walls about 50% done). We couldn’t find a company willing to finish the house on short notice (within 12 months). So, we had no choice but to subcontract all trades individually. The effort involved in defining the scope of work, obtaining quotes (three quotes per trade), the unexpected self-performed work, and so on was enormous. Even though we almost gave up at times, the house is now standing and we enjoy living here.

-The floor plan has hardly changed compared to THIS. The biggest change was the installation of large windows facing the terrace in the living room.

-I still consider the concept of a separate "children’s wing", away from the parents’ bedroom, to be a great idea. Our toddlers have not moved there yet, but the phase when children need to be close to their parents is relatively short. Interestingly, this also created the possibility to prepare a separate living unit in this part of the house. There is plumbing for a kitchen in the study room and a washing machine connection in the children’s bathroom. If necessary, a door could be installed in the hallway to create two separate living units. This will probably never happen, but at least the option exists.

-The dark children’s hallway was equipped with a daylight spot, making it pleasantly bright even on cloudy days. Otherwise, there is hardly any usable space here – only the niche behind the door leading to the main hallway can be used for a coat rack or cupboard. Since the two children’s rooms have hardly been used so far, the presence of the stroller in the hallway isn’t an issue.

-Your many comments regarding sufficient hallway space were taken into account. Currently, the hallway is not yet furnished with wardrobe cabinets. Temporarily, a few spots have been created for shoes and jackets. In general, there is enough space for additional wardrobe units alongside the stroller/bike trailer and a children’s bench.

-We are very satisfied with the bedroom/dressing area. We don’t miss having a direct access to the bathroom. The dressing room is (as you noted) fairly spacious and currently also serves as the changing area. Somehow, we managed to fit two baby/child beds next to the 2m-wide (6.5 feet) parents’ bed (of course, there is no space for bedside tables and the passage to the dressing room is somewhat restricted). When the children eventually move to their wing, the bedroom will be wonderfully spacious again, including space for bedside tables (despite the 2m bed). @ypg Indeed, it is a dream to be woken by the morning sun while still in bed. It’s even nicer than I imagined.

-The space in the utility room was sufficient to accommodate the mechanical ventilation system, heating, washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, water softener, and miscellaneous items. What we didn’t expect was how much space would be lost due to the unfortunate arrangement of the ventilation system with ducts, heating system, heating circuit distributor, and electrical panel. Unfortunately, we had limited influence over this, so now we have to make do with the remaining niches. I would argue that having a larger utility room might have resulted in the installers using space even less efficiently.

-The two children’s bedrooms are ultimately the only rooms with narrow 75cm (30 inches) doors, and naturally, the door handles bump against the wall protectors. Not a major issue, but making the house 20cm (8 inches) wider there wouldn’t have been ruinous. An additional window in each children’s bedroom (to the garden facing southeast for sunrise and to the street facing northwest for sunset) probably wouldn’t have hurt either. This would have made the rooms somewhat brighter and more attractive as living spaces from an adult perspective. The children probably won’t care at all. We left out the extra windows mainly to have better furniture layout options in the rooms.

-The living room, including the kitchen, is our main gathering place. The rustic oak parquet flooring and the large windows make the space extremely cozy. Because of the children, we spend most of our time on the floor and, during the appropriate season, with the fireplace burning. Most of the time, the living room is a large play area, which will change as the children grow up. We also like the open kitchen. The originally planned island was pushed against the wall, becoming a peninsula. Most of the time, it’s just a place where miscellaneous items are left, so you have to tidy up before cooking. By shifting the island, the free space became significantly larger, giving us more freedom in positioning and orienting the dining table. Our large table for family celebrations is also possible here. Still, I admit the room would have benefited from being a bit bigger, especially in width, as you suggested. It would have allowed even more furnishing options.

-The see-through fireplace into the hallway was completely abandoned. Instead, we went with a freestanding round fireplace, which ultimately couldn’t be positioned exactly as we had envisioned. The now insolvent construction company forgot the chimney in their planning, so the roof structure at the planned location did not allow a chimney (it would have passed directly through a roof valley). Therefore, the chimney had to be moved, and with it the fireplace. We tried to make the best of it by using the leftover dead space for two wood storage shelves.

-The brick-clad garage cost a small fortune (after all, it’s practically a house without interior finishing), but I’m glad we built it that way from the start. It fits two cars, a motorcycle, and a small workshop. For everything else, we will probably still have to build one or two sheds. Many of you criticized the eaves side facing the garage door at the time. Maybe it would look better if the roof were rotated 90°, but I think it looks reasonable as it is. The garage roof fits well with the overall design. Aside from that, the use of the garage roof (south-facing) for photovoltaics (battery storage, electric car, ground source heat pump, etc.) is getting closer, so eventually, the intended purpose will be fulfilled.

Many thanks again for your comments; they definitely helped us. From conversations with friends about their building projects, I have noticed that they are often unwilling to seriously consider good advice regarding the floor plan. Every homeowner-to-be seems to be so in love with their project that they become resistant to consultation beyond a certain point. Much more, they tend to mainly seek confirmation of their own ideas. I suppose I was the same, looking back at the first pages of this thread. I wouldn’t be surprised if you encounter this kind of behavior often.

Images Part 1

Images Part 2

At the main entrance, it was suggested several times to move the utility room wall outward to create a continuous line instead of what some call “wasted space.” Honestly, I really like the small recess. The front door is very well protected from the wind due to the strong offset. The wood stack is usually not placed there; instead, there’s a cozy bench where we occasionally enjoy watching the sunset. I think it’s great as it is. Another nice feature is the possibility to walk along the long side of the house under the roof overhang without getting wet. In the end, though, you still have to go out into the rain to reach the garage. That hasn’t bothered me at all so far.

We have now been living in the house for about 3 years and are very satisfied.