ᐅ City villa with straight staircase, open modern design, 1,500 sq ft (140 m²)

Hello everyone,

We recently got lucky and found a suitable plot of land where we can realize our dream of building our own home. For this, we made the compromise to move a bit further out of the city in order to build a detached single-family house on a cul-de-sac in a new development area.

We signed the purchase contract for the land last week. The financing is also settled. We have already chosen a prefab house supplier (Luxhaus) and have discussed the initial plans with them. The next step was to work with our architect to find the right floor plan and then to submit the building permit / planning permission application. Our architect has implemented our ideas very well, and we are really happy with the floor plan. Still, the opinions of other homeowners are very important to us.

We would therefore like to hear your thoughts

Here are the key details:

The plot is 416m² (4,476 sq ft) in size. We want to build a house without a basement in the city villa style. The ground floor is about 71m² (764 sq ft), the upper floor about 66m² (710 sq ft). The house will stand at the end of a cul-de-sac with an open southwest-facing view over fields. The main entrance is on the side.

Very important to us are a straight staircase, a gallery on the upper floor, and a large dining and living area with a kitchen island. Since we enjoy cooking a lot, the kitchen should become the heart of the home. At the moment, there are just two of us, but we plan to grow in the next 1–2 years (our wish is for two healthy children).

We are already close to our budget limit with the current plan, so no major (expensive) changes are possible. The current floor plan basically meets our wishes, but with such a big project, it’s normal to have some uncertainty about whether everything has been considered.

What is causing us some concern:

• Too little storage space? We want to use the space under the stairs for pantry storage as well as some kitchen appliances (blender, ice cream maker, etc.). Beverage crates and household equipment (vacuum cleaner, cleaning supplies) would also go into the pantry and utility room. Items only used occasionally (Christmas decorations, carnival costumes, suitcases, etc.) would be stored in the small attic. Are we being too optimistic with this?
• Is the hallway width on the ground floor sufficient? According to the plan, it will be about 90–100cm (35–39 inches) wide. Since we prefer an open concept and the kitchen already begins halfway into the hallway, this should be fine?
• We would like a somewhat larger cloakroom. Currently, the small one would suffice, but with children or many guests, it might get tight. However, we plan to possibly add a small cabinet in the office room that could be used for storage. For everyday use, should the planned cloakroom be enough?
• On the upper floor, we will probably remove the door between the dressing room and bathroom. This would allow us to place a 3-meter (10-foot) wardrobe along the longer side of the dressing room. On the other side, we want to put a small chest of drawers so it doesn’t feel too cramped.
• The bathroom on the upper floor is relatively small, basically the minimum size. We are not really the spa type. In our current rental, we have only used the bathtub twice in six years. We could do without a bathtub, but considering our hope to have children in the future, we will certainly need to include one in the planning.

Otherwise, we are very satisfied overall. We know that by having a straight staircase and a gallery upstairs, we lose some possible options, but this is very important to us, and we definitely want to keep it. Our budget is fully allocated with the current planning, and we do not want to go over it.

But maybe some of you have useful ideas, suggestions, or constructive criticism. We are very open and look forward to your help

Thanks so much in advance!

Here is the questionnaire:

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 416m² (almost square)
Slope: no, flat plot
Plot ratio: -
Floor space index: -
Building window, building line and boundary
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2-story
Roof type: freely selectable
Architectural style: freely selectable
Orientation: freely selectable
Maximum heights / limits: max. 8 meters (26 feet) height
Other requirements

Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: city villa, hip roof or gable roof
Basement, floors: 2-story without basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults (31, 29) and hopefully 2 children soon
Space requirements ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF): 4 bedrooms + 1 study, 2 bathrooms (both showers), large living/dining area with open kitchen
Office: family use or home office? Both; office should also serve as guest room
Number of overnight guests per year: 4-5
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes, open-plan kitchen with (half) island
Number of dining seats: 4-6
Fireplace: unfortunately no (budget)
Music/sound system wall: no, will be handled via Sonos
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: preferably a garage, but probably a carport for budget reasons. However, only 1-2 years after moving in
Utility garden, greenhouse: possibly a small herb garden near the kitchen
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things are included or excluded:
Walk-in closet for the bedroom
Shower in the guest bathroom
Pantry would be great but currently not possible due to space constraints

House Design
Who designed the plan:
- Planner from a construction company
- Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Open living-dining area with many windows
Kitchen should be the focal point because we cook a lot and often with friends (later also with our kids)
Straight staircase is a must for us and we really like it
Gallery on the upper floor with views towards the field
Window arrangement throughout the house is very harmonious

What do you not like? Why?
Hallway, because we are unsure if it might be too narrow/small
Bathroom size. We are not people who spend a long time in the bathroom, so a large bathroom isn’t necessary, but unsure if 8m² (86 sq ft) is too small
Too little storage space?

Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 320,000€ (approx. 320,000€), some additional costs already included (external blinds on ground floor, side panel at entrance door, extra sockets, rain shower etc.)
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 320,000€ (approx. 320,000€), so fits quite well
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump

If you have to give up something, which details/expansions
- can you do without:
Door from walk-in closet to bathroom
Hip roof not mandatory, can also be gable roof. Budget plays a bigger role here
- cannot do without:
Straight staircase
Upper floor gallery
Large, open living room with cooking island
Guest room/office
Walk-in closet
Shower in guest WC

Why is the design as it is now?
Design from architect according to our wishes:
Basically, all our wishes have been met.
What do you think is particularly good or bad about it?
We really like how open it is.
Window arrangement is very harmonious and visually appealing.
The straight staircase and gallery take up some living space.

What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

The house basically meets our wishes. Are the room sizes realistic? Is an open kitchen and staircase advisable due to cooking smells and noise? Have we planned too naively (space relations)?

Hello!
At first glance, the house looks very nice! But at second and third look, I’m wondering if some of the dimensions might be too tight:

Between the wardrobes in the walk-in closet, there is only about one meter (3 feet 3 inches) of space. Many people find that too narrow.
In the upstairs bathroom, the toilet feels very cramped between the shower wall and the bathtub. Is that shower wall going to be a solid partition? With a shower width of only one meter (3 feet 3 inches) inside, there isn’t much space left for the bathtub and toilet. :-(
By the way, water will likely splash out of the shower at the front unless there is a door installed.
Honestly, I think having two doors in the bathroom is problematic, and for a house of this size, I would skip the walk-in closet and instead combine that space with the bedroom and bathroom.

The guest toilet is also quite tight. With the layout shown, a shower door that opens outward probably won’t open fully or will hit the washbasin.

Why is there a workstation on the gallery and an office downstairs? The downstairs office might be too small for guests (try drawing in your furniture to scale).
Some people consider a child’s bedroom door located immediately next to the stairs to be dangerous. Personally, although I’ve sleepwalked, I never fell down the stairs, but the close proximity still doesn’t seem ideal. If the upstairs workstation could be removed, the door could potentially be moved a bit further away.

The many floor-to-ceiling windows will cost you some wall space for furniture — unless you don’t mind placing furniture in front of them...
Unfortunately, I didn’t see a north arrow, so Room 1 might end up a bit dark.

I find it interesting that in the visualization, the garden table is placed directly on the lawn. The proximity to the kitchen is great, but I guess the table will probably end up on the paved terrace instead.

The front door area will probably become very tight with the stair railing if you want to pass directly through to the kitchen rather than going upstairs or into the wardrobe.

You should also measure the kitchen and dining area with a tape measure to see how much space will actually be left. The island looks quite narrow, for example, but I suspect you imagined a nice, deep work surface there?

Hmm, that turned into quite a long text from me. Although I find some things a bit tight, I do like the floor plan overall.

Edit: My tip, if you’re concerned about space, is to measure everything carefully with a tape measure. How wide is a table, how much space do you need with chairs around it, etc. Also, consider visiting show homes and measuring rooms with similar dimensions. Being in the actual space often helps you visualize better.

First of all, I want to say that I actually find the floor plan quite well designed. You have already identified the critical issues yourself. It works for two people, but it gets cramped with three. And with a ride-on toy and a stroller, I see serious problems.

The utility room is already full. The wardrobe and entrance hall are far too small. This will mean constant squeezing in the hallway—where will you put all the things like shoes, bags, keys, gloves, hats, and all the people crowding there?

In the end, everything will end up in the small office—I would bet my house on it.

If it were mine, there would be no guest room, but instead a spacious entrance area with a wardrobe and a simple half-bathroom—appropriate for the size of the house. There is still a workspace upstairs anyway.

Upper floor walk-in closet:
Paint 2 doors leading to the bedroom and bathroom, instead of just 1 door to the hallway.
This creates space in the (narrow) walk-in closet for 2 wall closets of 1m (3 ft 3 in) each, which can also be used to store cleaning buckets and similar items. In the bathroom, this also allows space behind the door for a towel radiator.

Where will laundry be washed and (how) dried?

The floor plan looks good. You’ve already received several comments on where it’s problematic.

Please mark in all your actual furniture or the furniture you would like to have.

I find the cloakroom/entrance too small or not well designed. You enter through the door and are almost standing on the stairs. Imagine coming in with a basket full of groceries or a crate of drinks, needing to use your foot or elbow to close the door in order to move on. It’s doable, but in your own home, you’d probably prefer it to be more comfortable. Also, you always walk through the dirt zone – which inevitably becomes messier with children. On top of that, there are more shoes, a stroller, car seat, diaper bag, etc.

The utility/technical room will be very tight, especially since you also want to use part of it as a storage room. Our air-to-water heat pump takes up almost 2 square meters (22 square feet), the electrical panel measures 1.4 m by 1.2 m (4.6 ft by 3.9 ft) and, as far as I know, requires a clearance of 1.4 m (4.6 ft) in front of it. So, no shelving can be placed on that wall. The dryer, washing machine, and laundry piles also need space. And with children, the laundry increases—significantly.

The bathroom also lacks space for a cabinet. For two people, you will eventually need twice the space. If you’re planning to have children: there is no room for a baby bathtub or changing table, except possibly over the bathtub. This is just a note, as everyone tends to bathe and change their babies differently.