Hi, we are building a house with a very well-known prefab house company, and this is the preliminary floor plan.
Site Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 1100 sqm (11,840 sq ft)
No site development plan/land use restrictions
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type – urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors – no basement, 2 full stories
Number of people, ages – mom, dad, 2 boys, and grandparents
Office: will be used as a naturopathic practice
Guest sleepers per year: many!
Open or closed architecture: open
Open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6
Garage, carport: possibly carport
Wishes/Particulars/Daily routine: shared use of the practice by the client and grandma, who lives in the extension. Possibly a third child (hence a room on the ground floor with a shower).
House Design
Who designed it:
- Modified standard plan from a large prefab house company
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Gallery + open ground floor, large floor-to-ceiling double windows
What do you dislike? Why?
- Possibly the living room is too small
Estimated price according to architect/designer:
- approx. 475,000 € (only the house, without land)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: 500,000 €
Preferred heating system: gas boiler and underfloor heating
If you had to give up anything, which details/extensions
- Could give up: possibly different window arrangement, possibly 2 bathrooms upstairs
- Cannot give up: 3rd children’s room and the practice
Why is the design like it is now? e.g.
See above: practice, possibly 3 children, multigenerational house
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We searched a long time for the ideal house for us and my parents and finally found it. Before signing next week and starting construction, we want a last check. Any improvement suggestions? Maybe how to enlarge the living room? Thanks in advance. PS: we want to remove the windows marked in yellow. All windows in the house are floor-to-ceiling.
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Site Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 1100 sqm (11,840 sq ft)
No site development plan/land use restrictions
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type – urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors – no basement, 2 full stories
Number of people, ages – mom, dad, 2 boys, and grandparents
Office: will be used as a naturopathic practice
Guest sleepers per year: many!
Open or closed architecture: open
Open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6
Garage, carport: possibly carport
Wishes/Particulars/Daily routine: shared use of the practice by the client and grandma, who lives in the extension. Possibly a third child (hence a room on the ground floor with a shower).
House Design
Who designed it:
- Modified standard plan from a large prefab house company
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Gallery + open ground floor, large floor-to-ceiling double windows
What do you dislike? Why?
- Possibly the living room is too small
Estimated price according to architect/designer:
- approx. 475,000 € (only the house, without land)
Personal price limit for house including fittings: 500,000 €
Preferred heating system: gas boiler and underfloor heating
If you had to give up anything, which details/extensions
- Could give up: possibly different window arrangement, possibly 2 bathrooms upstairs
- Cannot give up: 3rd children’s room and the practice
Why is the design like it is now? e.g.
See above: practice, possibly 3 children, multigenerational house
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We searched a long time for the ideal house for us and my parents and finally found it. Before signing next week and starting construction, we want a last check. Any improvement suggestions? Maybe how to enlarge the living room? Thanks in advance. PS: we want to remove the windows marked in yellow. All windows in the house are floor-to-ceiling.
The layout on the plot is only clear to those who understand the symbols in the drawing – which I, at least, do not. What are your expectations regarding the indentations / anti-bay windows?
Without an explanation, the drawings reveal little and raise questions. For example, I see two different wall constructions: the main house appears to have external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS), which is rather unusual for prefabricated houses; and the grandparents’ extension seems to have solid walls?
Why isn’t the connecting bridge designed as a shared entrance? By the way, I also find it unusually narrow. In old age, it might be desirable to be able to move between the living areas of different generations without getting wet. I do not see a driveway, garage, or basement replacement room.
Floor-to-ceiling windows throughout suggest to me a “function follows form” approach, as does the overall symmetry and geometry. Visitors to the practice would have a full view into the living area, and similarly, their acoustic presence would affect family life because of the open space.
Why use a modified standard plan at all? You are not a standard family. In this price range, I wouldn’t choose a catalog base plan, as it doesn’t save money. My recommended reading includes the threads by @Grantlhaua https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Haus-Garage-auf-dem-Grundstück-platzieren.28491/ with practical dimensions for the bridge construction, and @Arifas https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-hanghaus-mit-5-Kinderzimmer.24670/ featuring a practice in the house (mentally replace children there with grandparents here to see the similarity more clearly). I see your thread is just beginning, so you are by no means close to the final administrative approval stage.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Without an explanation, the drawings reveal little and raise questions. For example, I see two different wall constructions: the main house appears to have external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS), which is rather unusual for prefabricated houses; and the grandparents’ extension seems to have solid walls?
Why isn’t the connecting bridge designed as a shared entrance? By the way, I also find it unusually narrow. In old age, it might be desirable to be able to move between the living areas of different generations without getting wet. I do not see a driveway, garage, or basement replacement room.
Floor-to-ceiling windows throughout suggest to me a “function follows form” approach, as does the overall symmetry and geometry. Visitors to the practice would have a full view into the living area, and similarly, their acoustic presence would affect family life because of the open space.
Why use a modified standard plan at all? You are not a standard family. In this price range, I wouldn’t choose a catalog base plan, as it doesn’t save money. My recommended reading includes the threads by @Grantlhaua https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Haus-Garage-auf-dem-Grundstück-platzieren.28491/ with practical dimensions for the bridge construction, and @Arifas https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundrissplanung-hanghaus-mit-5-Kinderzimmer.24670/ featuring a practice in the house (mentally replace children there with grandparents here to see the similarity more clearly). I see your thread is just beginning, so you are by no means close to the final administrative approval stage.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
In addition to 11ant’s comments
As you have mirrored the plans, they do not match the site plan.
Are the floor plans oriented to north?
The budget is unrealistic.
Costs such as incidental construction expenses, garage, carport, and landscaping are missing.
The entire floor plan is dominated by a corridor.
Be sure to draw in properly scaled furniture.
You enter the house and hang up your coat. Uh, where?
A cloakroom is missing. Five hooks on a wall are not enough.
Ground floor bathroom: very small shower; a 77cm (30 inch) door hasn’t been used without good reason for 40 years. There wouldn’t be space issues if the layout was more functional.
The utility room is very small. Maybe everything fits in, but there’s no room for a water tank or storage.
Please furnish the study room.
Where is the visitors’ entrance?
Visitors’ toilet?
The kitchen, dining, and living rooms are nicely grouped around the corridor's sightline.
Grandparents cannot come for a meal if a third child arrives. There is no room at the dining table.
Children’s toys are nicely placed in the stylish entrance to garden sightline. From the kitchen, there is no view of the kids.
The living room can only fit small two-seat sofas, one of which blocks the window.
Where will the terrace be located?
Upper floor
Now cardinal directions would be helpful.
I assume the master bedroom will be on the south side and one child’s room on the north.
Again here:
Large gallery with what use?
Large master bedroom with an extremely dark walk-in closet.
Be sure to reinstall the removed windows. There are other formats besides floor-to-ceiling.
In both levels, the dominant corridor/gallery should be removed. Replace floor-to-ceiling windows with standard height windows.
More function, less form.
The children have relatively small rooms for sleeping, homework, playing, and friends.
Parents’ area
Design utility room so that future rental is possible.
There is no barrier-free access.
The same wet room layout as in your part.
No cloakroom.
No storage.
As you have mirrored the plans, they do not match the site plan.
Are the floor plans oriented to north?
The budget is unrealistic.
Costs such as incidental construction expenses, garage, carport, and landscaping are missing.
The entire floor plan is dominated by a corridor.
Be sure to draw in properly scaled furniture.
You enter the house and hang up your coat. Uh, where?
A cloakroom is missing. Five hooks on a wall are not enough.
Ground floor bathroom: very small shower; a 77cm (30 inch) door hasn’t been used without good reason for 40 years. There wouldn’t be space issues if the layout was more functional.
The utility room is very small. Maybe everything fits in, but there’s no room for a water tank or storage.
Please furnish the study room.
Where is the visitors’ entrance?
Visitors’ toilet?
The kitchen, dining, and living rooms are nicely grouped around the corridor's sightline.
Grandparents cannot come for a meal if a third child arrives. There is no room at the dining table.
Children’s toys are nicely placed in the stylish entrance to garden sightline. From the kitchen, there is no view of the kids.
The living room can only fit small two-seat sofas, one of which blocks the window.
Where will the terrace be located?
Upper floor
Now cardinal directions would be helpful.
I assume the master bedroom will be on the south side and one child’s room on the north.
Again here:
Large gallery with what use?
Large master bedroom with an extremely dark walk-in closet.
Be sure to reinstall the removed windows. There are other formats besides floor-to-ceiling.
In both levels, the dominant corridor/gallery should be removed. Replace floor-to-ceiling windows with standard height windows.
More function, less form.
The children have relatively small rooms for sleeping, homework, playing, and friends.
Parents’ area
Design utility room so that future rental is possible.
There is no barrier-free access.
The same wet room layout as in your part.
No cloakroom.
No storage.
That’s what I call confusing.
Am I correct in assuming that the whole plan will be mirrored? Also, is the labeled HAR the guest room or the third child's room?
A bold choice with the recesses. I admit, I like the charm too. It looks really cool from the outside. Inside, you usually have to make significant compromises for that. In the end, you have to weigh whether it’s still worth it. I think it’s still manageable here. The biggest downside for me is the relatively small living room – but at 3.70 m (12 ft) it’s just about acceptable.
What, in my opinion, significantly diminishes the appeal here is the kitchen wall. It causes double and triple problems: it divides the space in a way that leaves no longer enough room for the dining table anywhere. On top of that, this area now feels really ugly and uncomfortable. The entire living area feels fragmented and the dream of spacious openness is lost.
I would therefore consider adding a wall in front of the staircase to create a nice large open kitchen with an island. (I hope the staircase is not exactly one of those designer glass folded structures that might be the client’s childhood dream.)
The wardrobe has already been mentioned. I would also double-check the space available for the bed. It might be better to leave out the wardrobes behind the door here. The bathroom layout is still a bit unclear with the dimensions – but all solvable.
I would not remove any windows anywhere.
Other than that, I think it’s quite good. I’d love to see it when it’s ready.
Am I correct in assuming that the whole plan will be mirrored? Also, is the labeled HAR the guest room or the third child's room?
A bold choice with the recesses. I admit, I like the charm too. It looks really cool from the outside. Inside, you usually have to make significant compromises for that. In the end, you have to weigh whether it’s still worth it. I think it’s still manageable here. The biggest downside for me is the relatively small living room – but at 3.70 m (12 ft) it’s just about acceptable.
What, in my opinion, significantly diminishes the appeal here is the kitchen wall. It causes double and triple problems: it divides the space in a way that leaves no longer enough room for the dining table anywhere. On top of that, this area now feels really ugly and uncomfortable. The entire living area feels fragmented and the dream of spacious openness is lost.
I would therefore consider adding a wall in front of the staircase to create a nice large open kitchen with an island. (I hope the staircase is not exactly one of those designer glass folded structures that might be the client’s childhood dream.)
The wardrobe has already been mentioned. I would also double-check the space available for the bed. It might be better to leave out the wardrobes behind the door here. The bathroom layout is still a bit unclear with the dimensions – but all solvable.
I would not remove any windows anywhere.
Other than that, I think it’s quite good. I’d love to see it when it’s ready.
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