Hello everyone,
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 635 sqm (6,839 sq ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.3
Number of parking spaces: 2
Roof style: 35° to 45° pitch, hipped roof or gable roof
Distance to front property boundary (street side): max. 3 m (house must remain in current position)
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Bungalow, hipped roof, 35° pitch
Basement, floors: no basement, 1 story, possible attic conversion later
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons (40 years old), probably no children, room can be separated if needed
Space requirements: We need one bedroom, bathroom, utility room, living area including kitchen, and a hobby room (gaming and crafting room). Walk-in closet and guest toilet were removed, even though they would be nice, other features took higher priority.
Overnight guests per year: infrequent, can be accommodated as is
Construction style: open and modern, including open kitchen
Fireplace: no
House Design
Designer:
- Designer from a construction company implemented our drawings
What do you like most? Why?
- Large living area, spacious bedroom
What do you dislike? Why?
- Honestly, we like everything
Personal budget for house including fittings: 260,000
Preferred heating system: air heat pump
Why is the design as it is now?
We initially sketched our design on paper, which the designer then realized. Further considerations and discussions with the designer shaped the final result.
Our main goal was a large living space with an open kitchen and a reading nook. Currently (in our present apartment) we have another room with my books (around 1,000) and desk, but I rarely spend time there, as I do everything in the living room. For this reason, we first reduced the number of rooms to enlarge the living area and bedroom (we omitted the walk-in closet to create even more space). The reading nook (located on the west side of the living area) is arranged so it can be separated as a room from the rest of the living room if needed.
We made sure the bedroom faces east to get morning light. We opted out of a guest toilet and instead planned a small storage room for odds and ends (dog supplies like food, leashes, vacuum cleaner, etc.) and made the utility room somewhat larger than the usual 8 sqm (86 sq ft).
Currently, we are still unsure about the following:
- Bathroom layout: I’d like to set back the shower slightly (see current floor plan) to make the bathroom feel more open/bigger. Somehow it still doesn’t feel quite ideal.
- Window arrangement: Does this make sense to you? Will we get enough light in the living area? The floor-to-ceiling windows to the terrace are on the east side, so only the morning sun comes in there. Are the south-facing windows sufficient?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is there anything we have overlooked or forgotten? From your perspective, is anything highly unfavorable? Any improvements for the windows? How can the bathroom layout be optimized?
By the way, some time ago I created a thread about a 1.5-storey floor plan on the same plot. At that time, we ultimately decided to build a bungalow – which we are now doing. Hence, this new thread…
Best regards and thanks in advance.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 635 sqm (6,839 sq ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.3
Number of parking spaces: 2
Roof style: 35° to 45° pitch, hipped roof or gable roof
Distance to front property boundary (street side): max. 3 m (house must remain in current position)
Homeowner Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Bungalow, hipped roof, 35° pitch
Basement, floors: no basement, 1 story, possible attic conversion later
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons (40 years old), probably no children, room can be separated if needed
Space requirements: We need one bedroom, bathroom, utility room, living area including kitchen, and a hobby room (gaming and crafting room). Walk-in closet and guest toilet were removed, even though they would be nice, other features took higher priority.
Overnight guests per year: infrequent, can be accommodated as is
Construction style: open and modern, including open kitchen
Fireplace: no
House Design
Designer:
- Designer from a construction company implemented our drawings
What do you like most? Why?
- Large living area, spacious bedroom
What do you dislike? Why?
- Honestly, we like everything
Personal budget for house including fittings: 260,000
Preferred heating system: air heat pump
Why is the design as it is now?
We initially sketched our design on paper, which the designer then realized. Further considerations and discussions with the designer shaped the final result.
Our main goal was a large living space with an open kitchen and a reading nook. Currently (in our present apartment) we have another room with my books (around 1,000) and desk, but I rarely spend time there, as I do everything in the living room. For this reason, we first reduced the number of rooms to enlarge the living area and bedroom (we omitted the walk-in closet to create even more space). The reading nook (located on the west side of the living area) is arranged so it can be separated as a room from the rest of the living room if needed.
We made sure the bedroom faces east to get morning light. We opted out of a guest toilet and instead planned a small storage room for odds and ends (dog supplies like food, leashes, vacuum cleaner, etc.) and made the utility room somewhat larger than the usual 8 sqm (86 sq ft).
Currently, we are still unsure about the following:
- Bathroom layout: I’d like to set back the shower slightly (see current floor plan) to make the bathroom feel more open/bigger. Somehow it still doesn’t feel quite ideal.
- Window arrangement: Does this make sense to you? Will we get enough light in the living area? The floor-to-ceiling windows to the terrace are on the east side, so only the morning sun comes in there. Are the south-facing windows sufficient?
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Is there anything we have overlooked or forgotten? From your perspective, is anything highly unfavorable? Any improvements for the windows? How can the bathroom layout be optimized?
By the way, some time ago I created a thread about a 1.5-storey floor plan on the same plot. At that time, we ultimately decided to build a bungalow – which we are now doing. Hence, this new thread…
Best regards and thanks in advance.
R
Reluctance30 Jun 2019 12:40Nordlys schrieb:
Don’t you have an architect or general contractor to help you with this? Surely not the forum for such final decisions! Well, we have a planner (from the general contractor) – but for example, after my last request for recommendations, they installed 1m (3.3 ft) windows everywhere to comply with the “vertical format” required by the regulations. So that doesn’t really help me. I will send them our proposals again tonight and ask for recommendations once more – maybe something will come of it.
Reluctance schrieb:
I would also like to set the lintel a bit lower and thus make the windows higher.What do you mean by that?
The lintel is above the windows... do you mean the window sill?
I think the regulation can also be complicated: yes, there is a slight mismatch, but the important thing here is that the windows are not wider than they are tall.
The lintel is at about 220 cm (87 inches). You still have the freedom to install floor-to-ceiling windows that are, for example, 1 meter (39 inches) or 2 meters (79 inches) wide; with a height of 220 cm (87 inches), they remain vertical and just need to be structured in the middle and at the top.
The columns facing the street must be at least 0.24 m (9.5 inches) wide if the windows are arranged in a row.
I’m not an architect—professionals should know this—but I think you might be overcomplicating things a bit.
Reluctance schrieb:
Now I’m a bit worried that 0.76 meters (2.5 feet) might be too narrow.... and then with the cassette system, not much light will come through. By the way, the lintel depends on the room height and is somewhat variable. So, the window just needs to be narrower than it is tall.
I can't quite follow the idea regarding the lintel. A local architect will most likely be best able to interpret what the confusing regulations might mean.
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R
Reluctance30 Jun 2019 14:28A brief note on the topic of "lintels": my question is not related to building regulations. It concerns the fact that our floor-to-ceiling windows are currently planned by the general contractor with a height of 2.13m (7 feet). With a room height of 2.56m (8 feet 5 inches), this results in a lintel height of 43cm (17 inches). This seems quite large to me, and I’m wondering if I should ask the designer to increase the window height to, for example, 2.20m (7 feet 3 inches).
Reluctance schrieb:
that our floor-to-ceiling windows are currently planned by the general contractor with a height of 2.13 meters (7 feet).For whatever reason: tripping edge at the bottom and top.
Honestly, I can’t imagine that he would install different lintel heights. It complicates the construction, and such special features are only planned if requested.
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