Hello,
we have been living in our own single-family house for a long time and now want to build a new one. I did not expect it to be so difficult to design a suitable floor plan. Every change affects another requirement. We are now at an impasse and can’t think of any further improvements. I hope your fresh perspectives and honest feedback will help us here.
Thank you in advance for all comments.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size 1,220 sqm (13,130 sq ft)
Slope no
Floor area ratio (FAR) – not specified
Building coverage ratio – not specified
Building envelope, building line and boundary – none
Edge development – detached double garage 7 m (23 ft) (optional triple garage)
Number of parking spaces – 3
Number of storeys – 2
Roof type – hipped roof 25°, 80 cm (31.5 inches) overhang
Architectural style – classic
Orientation – entrance = northeast
Maximum heights/limits – none
Additional requirements – none
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: city villa, subtly modern, low hipped roof, KfW55 standard
Basement, number of storeys – 2 storeys, no basement
Number of occupants, ages: 4 persons – 2x 40 years, 1x 11 years, 1x 7 years
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF) – see design
Office: family use or home office? – yes, 2 days per week
Guest sleepers per year – 5–6 times per year
Open or closed architecture – GF open, UF closed
Traditional or modern construction – somewhere in between
Open kitchen, kitchen island – yes/yes
Number of dining seats – 6–8
Fireplace – no
Music/speaker wall – no
Balcony, roof terrace – no, but covered terrace on ground floor
Garage, carport – detached garage
Utility garden, greenhouse – no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for specific choices
Open living-dining area, lots of light, no narrow spaces, harmonious proportions and symmetry, cozy
Smooth roof tiles
House design
- Do-it-yourself planning
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Upper floor layout, stairwell
What do you not like? Why?
- Children’s rooms vary in size
- Office could be larger
- Orientation not quite optimal
- Ground floor lacks a bit of flair
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €480,000 without garage
Personal budget for house including fixtures: €500,000
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump
If you had to do without anything, which details or expansions?
- Could do without: basically nothing, most things are already optimized (open space, fireplace, and other extras)
- Cannot do without:
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor be better designed, and are there any major design errors?
In the aerial photo, it is the lower house on the right.
The shaded area roughly represents the paved surface.
Driveway passes two L-shaped bungalows in grey.
we have been living in our own single-family house for a long time and now want to build a new one. I did not expect it to be so difficult to design a suitable floor plan. Every change affects another requirement. We are now at an impasse and can’t think of any further improvements. I hope your fresh perspectives and honest feedback will help us here.
Thank you in advance for all comments.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size 1,220 sqm (13,130 sq ft)
Slope no
Floor area ratio (FAR) – not specified
Building coverage ratio – not specified
Building envelope, building line and boundary – none
Edge development – detached double garage 7 m (23 ft) (optional triple garage)
Number of parking spaces – 3
Number of storeys – 2
Roof type – hipped roof 25°, 80 cm (31.5 inches) overhang
Architectural style – classic
Orientation – entrance = northeast
Maximum heights/limits – none
Additional requirements – none
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: city villa, subtly modern, low hipped roof, KfW55 standard
Basement, number of storeys – 2 storeys, no basement
Number of occupants, ages: 4 persons – 2x 40 years, 1x 11 years, 1x 7 years
Space requirements on ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF) – see design
Office: family use or home office? – yes, 2 days per week
Guest sleepers per year – 5–6 times per year
Open or closed architecture – GF open, UF closed
Traditional or modern construction – somewhere in between
Open kitchen, kitchen island – yes/yes
Number of dining seats – 6–8
Fireplace – no
Music/speaker wall – no
Balcony, roof terrace – no, but covered terrace on ground floor
Garage, carport – detached garage
Utility garden, greenhouse – no
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for specific choices
Open living-dining area, lots of light, no narrow spaces, harmonious proportions and symmetry, cozy
Smooth roof tiles
House design
- Do-it-yourself planning
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Upper floor layout, stairwell
What do you not like? Why?
- Children’s rooms vary in size
- Office could be larger
- Orientation not quite optimal
- Ground floor lacks a bit of flair
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: €480,000 without garage
Personal budget for house including fixtures: €500,000
Preferred heating system: ground-source heat pump
If you had to do without anything, which details or expansions?
- Could do without: basically nothing, most things are already optimized (open space, fireplace, and other extras)
- Cannot do without:
Why is the design as it is now? e.g.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor be better designed, and are there any major design errors?
In the aerial photo, it is the lower house on the right.
The shaded area roughly represents the paved surface.
Driveway passes two L-shaped bungalows in grey.
A
Alessandro11 Sep 2020 14:58I’m referring to the shower on the ground floor. You can only enter it diagonally.
Marco180 schrieb:
Today we are back with our preferred construction company.
Looking forward to seeing if we can finalize everything. Did everything work out? We are really curious...
Hello, the past three months have been a struggle over the land, which finally belongs to us now. 🙂 Almost 1,600 square meters (17,220 square feet) in a single-family residential area in the city center, 300 meters (980 feet) from the bathing lake. We had the plot cleared. Three outbuildings, partly basemented, were demolished => 22 containers of mixed debris + 5 containers of green waste. The surveyor has already been on site and created the site plan. At the same time, we signed the construction contract and are in the middle of finalizing the planning. Not much has changed. If we don’t have any significant change requests by next week, the building permit / planning permission application will be submitted at the beginning of the year.
A
Alessandro16 Dec 2020 08:35The bathroom has far too little storage space for four people. Where are toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and so on supposed to be stored?
There is no space for towel holders on either side of the washbasin.
There is no space for towel holders on either side of the washbasin.