ᐅ 180 sqm Urban Villa – Request for Feedback on the Floor Plan

Hello everyone,

After many intensive discussions and planning sessions with modular and solid house manufacturers, we have now decided on a solid construction house. We have already received some possible plans, but none have fully convinced us so far. Every time, there was something off with the rooms, their orientation, or size. So we took some graph paper and replanned based on the existing plans. Over the weekend, I transferred this plan to the computer and uploaded it here.

Thanks to reading a lot on this forum, I was able to eliminate some sources of error on my own. However, there are certainly things I have not considered yet, and I am hoping for further constructive criticism and improvement suggestions from you.

It is known that the house offers only limited storage space through the utility room. Therefore, a 6 x 8m (20 x 26 ft) garage is planned, as well as a roof pitch of 25 degrees to use the attic space, and an enclosed storage area under the staircase landing.

I have one more question regarding the garage roof. Would you make it accessible and equip it with a railing for an additional cost of €10,000 (about $11,000)? With the 23.5m (77 ft) lot width, maintaining a 3m (10 ft) setback from the neighboring property on both sides would still be possible.

Here are some details:

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 680 sqm (7319 sq ft) – 23.5m x 29m (77 ft x 95 ft)
Terrain: Level
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Number of storeys: 2 full floors
Roof type: Hip roof / pyramid roof
Maximum heights/limits: Ridge height 10m (33 ft), eaves height 6m (20 ft)

Owners’ Requirements
Building type: City villa
Basement: No basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults, 30 years old; 2 children planned later
Office: Family use and possibly home office
Overnight guests per year
Open kitchen, kitchen island: desired
Number of dining seats: 6 – 10 possible
Fireplace: nice to have
Balcony: accessible from both children’s bedrooms
Garage: Double garage

House Design
Planner: myself
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: €250,000 – €280,000 (about $275,000 – $310,000)
Preferred heating system: Ground source heat pump with borehole

Thanks very much for your feedback

Best regards
Invi85

I was just shocked because the ground floor looked like it was copied straight from our plans.
Only the guest and office rooms are the kitchen in our case, so we don’t have the recess for the dining area.

Regarding storage:
We also have a large garage and use the attic as storage space. However, neither area is suitable for items that cannot tolerate heat, cold, or moisture (paint, beverages, some tools). For this reason, we created additional storage options inside the house. On the upper floor, we have a utility and storage room for the washing machine, dryer, vacuum cleaner, and floor-to-ceiling shelves for Christmas decorations, paint, etc. This frees up more space in the basement utility room for drinks and tools. I also sectioned off a small corner from the basement utility room and built a floor-to-ceiling built-in cupboard in the hallway. Despite having 50m² (540 sq ft) less living space, we actually have more storage space than you.
Looking at your huge bathroom, there would definitely be enough space.

If you’re interested, I can send over our floor plan.

Do you have to maintain a certain distance between the street and the garage according to the building regulations / planning permission? (For us, it’s 5m (16 feet).) Also, your garage is marked as 7 x 8 m (23 x 26 feet).

I don’t like it – the kitchen is located in the farthest corner and feels quite cramped within the space.
There is a large bathroom on the upper floor but it feels sparsely equipped.

The rooms on the upper floor are much too large. With good planning, a utility room could be well integrated.

The kitchen is too narrow – between the island and the kitchen units, there seems to be only 70 cm (28 inches) of space on the main side. Additionally, this L-shaped layout does not fit the house.

The seating area flows into the dining area, but you end up sitting with your back to the room entrance – I doubt that this would be a comfortable and pleasant place to sit.

I assume the window muntins are not intentional, but rather a result of the design software?

Why do you want the garage roof to be accessible? You have over 600 m² (6,460 sq ft) of land that you could use.

The exterior views seem too bulky to me. Perhaps this is also due to the design being shown without a roof…

You are planning to build the bay window below with 10cm (4 inches) walls and then a balcony above it – I don’t think that will work. If the bay window itself is only one meter (3 feet) deep, make sure that this refers to interior dimensions and not exterior, otherwise it’s not going to be feasible.

Quick question: What exactly is included in the 250,000–280,000 EUR (approximately 270,000–300,000 USD) budget, and how much have you allocated additionally for incidental construction costs?

In Germany, you generally won’t get your construction plans done for that amount, regardless of the location.