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.
Thank you very much.
“Roughly” captures my concerns quite well. I am also missing more clever detailed solutions, especially on the ground floor.
We have a design with the same footprint from two months ago that confirms the price. Background: we are in Brandenburg Havel. Despite being in the Berlin metropolitan area, we still (for now) benefit from lower construction costs. The 500k is my limit just for the house. Exterior landscaping, utilities, etc. are calculated separately. However, we are reserving an additional 50k for bigger issues (but only as a genuine safety margin).
Regarding the basic requirements (which also determine the layout of the hallway area)
Ground floor
- Living area larger than 65 sqm (currently this is the size we have), but still cozy (which I am concerned about here)
- Adaptation to existing furniture
- Kitchen large, open but visually integrated
- Dining area > 15 sqm
- Utility room > 15 sqm (not currently met)
- Spacious entrance area with an open recessed staircase
- Central entrance (not offset), symmetrical windows (hence the less-than-ideal position in the living and dining areas)
- Partly covered terrace facing south
Upper floor
- Large daylight hallway upstairs (we also have this currently)
- Children’s rooms equal in size and > 18 sqm (not met in the design)
- General symmetry of doors and walls
- Walk-in closet accessible from the bedroom
- Both children’s rooms facing the sun
Why build again? It offers the lucrative opportunity to build on a plot located in the city center.
“Roughly” captures my concerns quite well. I am also missing more clever detailed solutions, especially on the ground floor.
We have a design with the same footprint from two months ago that confirms the price. Background: we are in Brandenburg Havel. Despite being in the Berlin metropolitan area, we still (for now) benefit from lower construction costs. The 500k is my limit just for the house. Exterior landscaping, utilities, etc. are calculated separately. However, we are reserving an additional 50k for bigger issues (but only as a genuine safety margin).
Regarding the basic requirements (which also determine the layout of the hallway area)
Ground floor
- Living area larger than 65 sqm (currently this is the size we have), but still cozy (which I am concerned about here)
- Adaptation to existing furniture
- Kitchen large, open but visually integrated
- Dining area > 15 sqm
- Utility room > 15 sqm (not currently met)
- Spacious entrance area with an open recessed staircase
- Central entrance (not offset), symmetrical windows (hence the less-than-ideal position in the living and dining areas)
- Partly covered terrace facing south
Upper floor
- Large daylight hallway upstairs (we also have this currently)
- Children’s rooms equal in size and > 18 sqm (not met in the design)
- General symmetry of doors and walls
- Walk-in closet accessible from the bedroom
- Both children’s rooms facing the sun
Why build again? It offers the lucrative opportunity to build on a plot located in the city center.
P
Pinkiponk26 Aug 2020 09:16I really like the two large corridors on the ground floor and the upper floor. In my opinion, a spacious entrance area gives anyone entering a good sense of space. I would skip the wardrobe in front of the study and try to find space in the utility room for shoes and jackets or place a stylish wardrobe in the hallway without a separate enclosure. Having the wardrobe in the utility room has the advantage that 1) it is really used several times a day, and 2) a nice wardrobe solution enhances the space instead of it being dominated just by the technical equipment.
The staircase in the hallway can then be repositioned and would not be cramped into a corner, if that is desired or if the architect comes up with an appealing solution.
I think having a double door entrance to the living room is very good and I will try to implement that in our house as well. The sightline could be arranged so that, immediately upon entering the hall, something attractive can be seen through the open double living room doors. A large picture, a big plant, or best of all, a view of the garden.
I would place the nook (?) of the dining area in the center to make it symmetrical and to allow for a nicer view from the entrance to the living room. This could also be a large table with beautiful decoration.
To me, the distance between the garage and the house seems too small. Either build the garage directly attached to the house or place it farther away.
Upstairs, you could enlarge the bedroom at the expense of the dressing room, and enlarge the dressing room at the expense of Child 1’s room, so the children’s rooms end up the same size. My view is that the 11-year-old child currently gets the larger room (if desired), and when the 11-year-old starts university in 6 years and is only home on weekends, the 7-year-old can have the larger room (if desired), by that time being 13 years old. Overall, though, I find both rooms adequately sized in the current plan.
Regarding the size, style, and arrangement of the windows and patio doors, they seem too varied and not symmetrical enough for my taste, but I believe that is currently modern and therefore acceptable. The windows also appear too small in the renderings—so much wall and comparatively few or small windows. Personally, I would avoid triple patio doors and instead opt for either double doors (more of them) or four-panel doors. But that is just my personal preference, which I know is not currently the majority taste.
However, I think your house as proposed is fine and you can certainly live in it very well and happily.
The staircase in the hallway can then be repositioned and would not be cramped into a corner, if that is desired or if the architect comes up with an appealing solution.
I think having a double door entrance to the living room is very good and I will try to implement that in our house as well. The sightline could be arranged so that, immediately upon entering the hall, something attractive can be seen through the open double living room doors. A large picture, a big plant, or best of all, a view of the garden.
I would place the nook (?) of the dining area in the center to make it symmetrical and to allow for a nicer view from the entrance to the living room. This could also be a large table with beautiful decoration.
To me, the distance between the garage and the house seems too small. Either build the garage directly attached to the house or place it farther away.
Upstairs, you could enlarge the bedroom at the expense of the dressing room, and enlarge the dressing room at the expense of Child 1’s room, so the children’s rooms end up the same size. My view is that the 11-year-old child currently gets the larger room (if desired), and when the 11-year-old starts university in 6 years and is only home on weekends, the 7-year-old can have the larger room (if desired), by that time being 13 years old. Overall, though, I find both rooms adequately sized in the current plan.
Regarding the size, style, and arrangement of the windows and patio doors, they seem too varied and not symmetrical enough for my taste, but I believe that is currently modern and therefore acceptable. The windows also appear too small in the renderings—so much wall and comparatively few or small windows. Personally, I would avoid triple patio doors and instead opt for either double doors (more of them) or four-panel doors. But that is just my personal preference, which I know is not currently the majority taste.
However, I think your house as proposed is fine and you can certainly live in it very well and happily.
Marco180 schrieb:
Thank you very much.
"Roughly" reflects my concerns well. I’m also still missing more clever detailed solutions, especially on the ground floor.
We have a design on the same footprint from two months ago that confirms the price. Background: we are in Brandenburg Havel. Despite being near the Berlin metropolitan area, we still benefit from lower building costs. The 500,000 € is my limit just for the house. Landscaping, utilities, etc. are calculated separately. For major issues, we are reserving 50,000 € as a true safety buffer.
Regarding the premises (which also determine the hallway area)
Ground Floor
- Living area larger than 65m² (currently we have this size) but still cozy (this concerns me here)
- Adaptation to existing furniture
- Kitchen large, open but visually integrated
- Dining area > 15m² (16 sq ft)
- Utility room > 15m² (16 sq ft) (not met)
- Generous entrance area with open, recessed staircase
- Entrance centrally located (not offset), symmetrical windows (hence the less ideal position in living room + dining area)
- Partially covered terrace facing south
Upper Floor
- Large daylight hallway upstairs (we have this currently as well)
- Children’s rooms equal size and > 18m² (19 sq ft) (not met in the design)
- General symmetry of doors and walls
- Walk-in closet accessible from the bedroom
- Both children’s rooms facing the sun
Why build again? We see the profitable opportunity to get the plot in the city center location. We will soon be building in Fichtenwalde (nearby) Beelitz. Our bungalow of 140m² (1,507 sq ft) will cost around 400,000 € including additional costs. That’s why I’m concerned it might not be enough. I have since spoken with 10 general contractors. Two remain as options. Next week we will confirm one. If you want suggestions, feel free to send me a private message.
Read the fine print of the offer. What is not included will become expensive.
I find the entrance hall too large and lacking a proper coat closet. Nothing destroys the impression of spaciousness faster than a pile of bags and shoes. I would give up some symmetry if it makes living there more comfortable.
If the plan itself feels rough to you, start over. You already have a house; keep what works well and improve what bothers you. Then you can see how much symmetry you can incorporate. Plan from the inside out. Don’t forget the small, cherished details.
I find the entrance hall too large and lacking a proper coat closet. Nothing destroys the impression of spaciousness faster than a pile of bags and shoes. I would give up some symmetry if it makes living there more comfortable.
If the plan itself feels rough to you, start over. You already have a house; keep what works well and improve what bothers you. Then you can see how much symmetry you can incorporate. Plan from the inside out. Don’t forget the small, cherished details.
haydee schrieb:
Plan from the inside out.And from top to bottom, as @11ant would add now
haydee schrieb:
I would give up some symmetry if it makes living there more comfortable.
If the plan itself feels rough to you, just start over. You already have a house, so keep what works well and improve what bothers you. After that, you can see how much symmetry you can incorporate. Plan from the inside out. Don’t forget the small, cherished details. Tolentino schrieb:
And from top to bottom, @11ant would add now. That’s exactly it. That’s why I asked what could be difficult about planning a floor plan when you already have a single-family house. That’s a much easier starting point for an amateur planner than if you have an apartment. And that’s also why I said I would understand it better if the current house wasn’t detached. But otherwise, it’s really simple—almost as good as it gets: take your current house and mark all the “problem spots” (for example, between my kitchen counters I have 1.50 m (5 feet), but 1.20 m (4 feet) or 1.80 m (6 feet) would be more practical, etc.). If you want to rearrange rooms, note the changes in a table—assuming full floors, the total area on both sides should remain the same. Drawing-wise, you always start with the smaller floor. That will—at least if the plot is not “unusable” in a negative sense—automatically lead to a house with an individual character. Regarding symmetry, I take for granted my two well-known principles: 1. the social hierarchy when designing a house should be parents, children, pets, cars, symmetry; 2. symmetry can only complement proportions in aesthetics, but never replace them—in a harsher way: “symmetry (alone) is pseudo-aesthetics for those with a poor sense of proportion.”
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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