Hello everyone,
We are in the process of planning a house for our family. We already have two children (5 and 1.5 years old), and our third child is due in November.
We have put a lot of thought into the floor plans and now have a design we are very happy with. However, since you eventually become blind to your own creations and we have no experience in house construction, I’m hoping to get some great suggestions here.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 985 sqm (11,000 sq ft approx.)
Slope: No
Floor Area Ratio (FAR): 0.25
Site coverage / Floor space index: Not specified (2 full stories possible)
Building envelope, building line, and boundary:
Adjacent buildings: Currently all empty
Number of parking spaces: 2 carports
Stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hip roof
Architectural style: Urban villa
Orientation: Garden facing south
Maximum height / restrictions: None
Additional requirements: Carports, auxiliary buildings etc. are only allowed within the building envelope.
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: See above
Basement, stories: No basement, 2 full stories
Number of residents, ages: 5 people (31, 30, 5, 1, 0)
Space requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): See floor plan
Office / family use or home office?: Guest room
Number of guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen with island: Yes
Number of dining seats: 8+
Fireplace: Yes
Music or stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage or carport: 2 carports
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself
What do you like about it? Why?: The open concept, air spaces, large living area
What don’t you like? Why?: Nothing
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 500,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Personal budget limit for the house including fittings: 600,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Preferred heating system: No preference
If you have to give up anything, which details or expansions
-could you give up:
-could you not give up:
At this point, we do not need to give up anything, so this question is not relevant.
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example: Based on our own wishes.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What makes sense?
What doesn’t?
Suggestions for changes?
Tips for landscaping are also welcome.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
We are in the process of planning a house for our family. We already have two children (5 and 1.5 years old), and our third child is due in November.
We have put a lot of thought into the floor plans and now have a design we are very happy with. However, since you eventually become blind to your own creations and we have no experience in house construction, I’m hoping to get some great suggestions here.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 985 sqm (11,000 sq ft approx.)
Slope: No
Floor Area Ratio (FAR): 0.25
Site coverage / Floor space index: Not specified (2 full stories possible)
Building envelope, building line, and boundary:
- Visible in the pictures; the plot is irregularly shaped. I created a simplified rectangular version that complies with the required windows/distances.
- Street width: 17.5 m (57 ft)
- Building envelope start: 5 m (16 ft) from the street, depth 20 m (66 ft), plot width 18 m (59 ft)
- Plot width in the middle of the building envelope: 18.5 m (61 ft)
- Plot width at the back: 21 m (69 ft)
- Plot length: approx. 50 m (164 ft)
Adjacent buildings: Currently all empty
Number of parking spaces: 2 carports
Stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: Hip roof
Architectural style: Urban villa
Orientation: Garden facing south
Maximum height / restrictions: None
Additional requirements: Carports, auxiliary buildings etc. are only allowed within the building envelope.
Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: See above
Basement, stories: No basement, 2 full stories
Number of residents, ages: 5 people (31, 30, 5, 1, 0)
Space requirements on ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): See floor plan
Office / family use or home office?: Guest room
Number of guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern construction: Modern
Open kitchen with island: Yes
Number of dining seats: 8+
Fireplace: Yes
Music or stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage or carport: 2 carports
House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself
What do you like about it? Why?: The open concept, air spaces, large living area
What don’t you like? Why?: Nothing
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 500,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Personal budget limit for the house including fittings: 600,000 € including ancillary building costs, excluding landscaping
Preferred heating system: No preference
If you have to give up anything, which details or expansions
-could you give up:
-could you not give up:
At this point, we do not need to give up anything, so this question is not relevant.
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example: Based on our own wishes.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What makes sense?
What doesn’t?
Suggestions for changes?
Tips for landscaping are also welcome.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
C
ChristianZ628 May 2019 15:34Attached is a slightly revised upper floor plan (Why don’t you like glass blocks?).
Skylights could still be added, for example, on the children's room walls.
An open roof structure would of course be nice... but will I miss the storage space?
Additionally, two variants of the ground floor (kitchen alternatives and utility room/office swapped). Which do you prefer?
And an idea of where a fireplace could be placed. What do you think?
Skylights could still be added, for example, on the children's room walls.
An open roof structure would of course be nice... but will I miss the storage space?
Additionally, two variants of the ground floor (kitchen alternatives and utility room/office swapped). Which do you prefer?
And an idea of where a fireplace could be placed. What do you think?
Three bathrooms are unnecessary; I wouldn’t differentiate by more than two genders when it comes to bathrooms, but separating the toilet might make sense. I distinguish guests in two types: those coming for dinner (they should shower at home beforehand, I only provide a toilet and washbasin) and those staying overnight (they are allowed to use the family bathroom). A third shower, in case the dog loves puddles, I would rather place in the utility room than in the guest toilet. The excuse of a “future senior bathroom” is outdated: unless both builders are already over their mid-forties, building a new home at retirement age will more likely become the rule than the still common idea of limiting oneself to the ground floor later on.
Glass blocks in the “original” 1970s style are obviously no longer used today, but their successors, glass panels, could definitely be imagined in a single-family house. They wouldn’t be my first choice, but they’re not as off-putting as classic glass blocks.
Is the single-flight straight staircase also a recurring theme in the new designs by chance, or is it considered a supposed must-have?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Glass blocks in the “original” 1970s style are obviously no longer used today, but their successors, glass panels, could definitely be imagined in a single-family house. They wouldn’t be my first choice, but they’re not as off-putting as classic glass blocks.
Is the single-flight straight staircase also a recurring theme in the new designs by chance, or is it considered a supposed must-have?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
To be honest, I haven't followed the entire thread in detail, but I don't quite understand the layout of the upstairs hallway. If it's about natural light... why not rotate the utility room by 90 degrees and place it next to the bedroom, extending the hallway all the way to the exterior wall?
Are the three children's rooms at the top of the plan fixed? Doing a bit of floor plan rearranging could probably improve the upper floor.
Are the three children's rooms at the top of the plan fixed? Doing a bit of floor plan rearranging could probably improve the upper floor.
face26 schrieb:
Are the three children's rooms at the top of the plan a fixed requirement? Good question. The children are now five / one and a half / minus half years old, meaning that when the first child turns eighteen, the second will be fourteen and a half, and the third twelve and a half. How was it again regarding their genders: first and second child different, and the third still unknown?
The option to swap the rooms designated as workspace and the first child’s room in a few years could be interesting; young children sometimes like sharing a room.
face26 schrieb:
A little rearranging of the upper floor layout would probably do it good. Everything flows— even the most “optimal” floor plan shouldn’t be required to stay the same forever.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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