Hello dear forum community,
after quietly reading along for a long time, we have now registered here and want to share our house plans with you.
First of all, we would like to say a big THANK YOU – the information you get here is truly invaluable.
Now a bit about us: we are both around 50, and our two grown children have moved out. Currently, we live in my parents’ house, but we want to realize our own dream of building a house. We are very fortunate to be able to afford the construction without any problems. The building plot belongs to us, and the local building authority has given us a verbal go-ahead so far (there is no zoning plan as it is currently farmland). We only have to contribute proportionally to the development costs, which is fine for us.
Our children and guests enjoy visiting, so we want to set up a guest apartment in the basement. For old age, our design allows us to convert the ground floor barrier-free at any time with minor modifications, including an elevator if needed. In case of emergency, the guest apartment could also be used for a carer, although hopefully this will never be necessary.
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 2,100m² (0.52 acres)
Slope: Yes, see elevations
Floor area ratio: no zoning plan
Floor space index: no zoning plan
Building envelope, building line and boundary: no zoning plan, we keep at least 6.0m (20 feet) clearance all around
Edge development: No
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1 story, basement
Roof style: hinted “shed roof”
Architectural style: ???
Orientation: North/South
Maximum height / limitations: No specifications
Further requirements: No valid zoning plan, planning permission granted for usual residential construction
Owner’s Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: one-story bungalow with basement (prepared for barrier-free access)
Basement, floors: basement yes, single-story with open roof structure
Number of people, age: 2, me 50, her 48, 1 dog
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: see floor plan
Office: family use or home office? Occasional home office for me
Overnight guests per year: many
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: special
Open kitchen, kitchen island: definitely yes
Number of dining seats: minimum 8
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: integrated in the house
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why something should or should not be included
House Design
Who created the design?
- Planner from a construction company
- Architect
- Do-it-Yourself (DIY)
The planning was done by us ourselves.
What do you particularly like? Why?
Optimized for our personal wishes— we have incorporated all our requirements.
What do you dislike? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for house including fittings: We estimate construction costs around €700,000–800,000 (about $750,000–860,000), but financing is secured and this is not the main focus here.
Preferred heating technology: not finalized yet, definitely photovoltaic and solar panels on the roof, air-to-water heat pump or geothermal energy.
If you had to give up something, on which details / additional features could you do without?
Good question, probably the pool if it meant we could get a hot tub instead...
What can you absolutely not do without?
The large open space and the guest apartment.
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example:
Standard planter’s template? No, we simply planned according to our preferences, open roof structure, large open space because we like to entertain guests, wellness area is a must.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
What is the most important fundamental question regarding the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
after quietly reading along for a long time, we have now registered here and want to share our house plans with you.
First of all, we would like to say a big THANK YOU – the information you get here is truly invaluable.
Now a bit about us: we are both around 50, and our two grown children have moved out. Currently, we live in my parents’ house, but we want to realize our own dream of building a house. We are very fortunate to be able to afford the construction without any problems. The building plot belongs to us, and the local building authority has given us a verbal go-ahead so far (there is no zoning plan as it is currently farmland). We only have to contribute proportionally to the development costs, which is fine for us.
Our children and guests enjoy visiting, so we want to set up a guest apartment in the basement. For old age, our design allows us to convert the ground floor barrier-free at any time with minor modifications, including an elevator if needed. In case of emergency, the guest apartment could also be used for a carer, although hopefully this will never be necessary.
Zoning Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 2,100m² (0.52 acres)
Slope: Yes, see elevations
Floor area ratio: no zoning plan
Floor space index: no zoning plan
Building envelope, building line and boundary: no zoning plan, we keep at least 6.0m (20 feet) clearance all around
Edge development: No
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1 story, basement
Roof style: hinted “shed roof”
Architectural style: ???
Orientation: North/South
Maximum height / limitations: No specifications
Further requirements: No valid zoning plan, planning permission granted for usual residential construction
Owner’s Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: one-story bungalow with basement (prepared for barrier-free access)
Basement, floors: basement yes, single-story with open roof structure
Number of people, age: 2, me 50, her 48, 1 dog
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: see floor plan
Office: family use or home office? Occasional home office for me
Overnight guests per year: many
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: special
Open kitchen, kitchen island: definitely yes
Number of dining seats: minimum 8
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: integrated in the house
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why something should or should not be included
House Design
Who created the design?
- Planner from a construction company
- Architect
- Do-it-Yourself (DIY)
The planning was done by us ourselves.
What do you particularly like? Why?
Optimized for our personal wishes— we have incorporated all our requirements.
What do you dislike? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Personal price limit for house including fittings: We estimate construction costs around €700,000–800,000 (about $750,000–860,000), but financing is secured and this is not the main focus here.
Preferred heating technology: not finalized yet, definitely photovoltaic and solar panels on the roof, air-to-water heat pump or geothermal energy.
If you had to give up something, on which details / additional features could you do without?
Good question, probably the pool if it meant we could get a hot tub instead...
What can you absolutely not do without?
The large open space and the guest apartment.
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example:
Standard planter’s template? No, we simply planned according to our preferences, open roof structure, large open space because we like to entertain guests, wellness area is a must.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?
What is the most important fundamental question regarding the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
H
hanghaus202328 Nov 2022 11:43@Nida35a I completely agree with you. But the original poster really insists on having the granny flat and pursuing their hobby. The basement is also a good option since there is a slight slope.
Why not show the original poster your floor plan?
Why not show the original poster your floor plan?
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Show the original poster your floor plan.The entrance hall and guest toilet have glass doors.K
k-man202128 Nov 2022 19:17Nida35a schrieb:
Before building the house in that form or that size, think carefully.
You will become a slave to a huge property—cleaning, tidying, maintenance, garden care.
We were faced with the same decision, That’s one way to look at it... but it’s not the only way. We’re currently happy that we can plan something larger with plenty of space—which we don’t want to clutter (we just don’t have the “gold dust” for that anyway :cool 🙂 Also, there’s room for our children when they come to visit with grandchildren.
Aside from the financial aspect, there are pros and cons to building either large or small, and that is a personal choice. I can understand anyone who prefers more cleaning in exchange for having more space.
Thanks again for the great feedback. We have now realized that our plans are significantly too large. We will take a closer look at what we actually need. What we have already learned is that the idea of having the garage inside the house is definitely outdated and will be removed.
@Nida35a
Your house looks really inviting, you did a great job. You don’t have a slope or a separate apartment, so we still need to figure out how to include those. Unfortunately, not all the dimensions are readable, but roughly we estimate around 130m² (1400 sq ft) of floor area?
@Nida35a
Your house looks really inviting, you did a great job. You don’t have a slope or a separate apartment, so we still need to figure out how to include those. Unfortunately, not all the dimensions are readable, but roughly we estimate around 130m² (1400 sq ft) of floor area?
@ypg
Don’t get me wrong, but we do have certain wishes/requirements for the house that we are not willing to negotiate.
This includes the granny flat, the wellness area, and the workshop space.
We are open to how it will all look in the end, how large it will be, and how it will be integrated into the house, but these elements must be part of the planning.
Don’t get me wrong, but we do have certain wishes/requirements for the house that we are not willing to negotiate.
This includes the granny flat, the wellness area, and the workshop space.
We are open to how it will all look in the end, how large it will be, and how it will be integrated into the house, but these elements must be part of the planning.
wolko22 schrieb:
Your house looks really inviting; you did a great job.
You don’t have a slope or a separate apartment, so we still need to incorporate those. Unfortunately, not all the house dimensions are readable. Roughly, are you around 130m² (1,400 sq ft) of floor area? Yes, 125m² (1,345 sq ft) of floor area, which is comfortable for the two of us to manage.
We wanted to create a feeling similar to a vacation home, open and full of light.
We could have gone bigger, much bigger even—that’s what we had before.
Just take the opportunity to build a house that suits you.
We often like tiny houses and camper vans too, so for us, small can be nice.
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