ᐅ Single-family house design with approximately 168 m² – feedback requested
Created on: 22 Aug 2020 20:40
H
HappyEnd
Hello everyone,
For several months now, we have proudly owned a plot with an existing building and plan to start construction next year.
After several rounds with architects and general contractors (GCs), two are still in the running, and we want to decide by next month at the latest who we will build with.
The design mostly incorporates my sketches, and the more serious it gets, the more uncertain I feel about how coherent the planning is.
I have been following the forum for some time and look forward to your honest feedback, hoping not to be torn apart too harshly in the "lion’s den."
P.S. The site plan is not 100% accurate since we slightly enlarged the ground floor in the last round.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 777m² (8,361 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.8
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Building setback lines / building line and boundary: 3m (10 ft) towards (play) street, BayBO
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: garden faces southwest
Maximum heights / limits
Additional requirements: play street
Client requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: modern, urban villa
Basement, number of floors: yes
Number of residents, age: 4, 37+36+1+expecting
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen island + open
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double masonry garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions
House design
Origin of the design:
- Draftsperson from a general contractor, based on do-it-yourself plans
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why?
I see potential for improvement in the upper floor bathroom and the northeast house facade.
Estimated price according to architect/planner: €550,000 (without additional construction costs and furnishings)
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump + photovoltaic system
If you have to give up certain details or extensions
- Can give up: direct access from garage to house, seating window behind dining table
- Cannot give up:
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example,
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
KfW55 standard, open kitchen/living area with glass front facing the garden, office on the ground floor, walk-in closet in master bedroom, approximately two equally sized children’s rooms facing the garden, possible guest space (later possibly children’s rooms) planned in the basement
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
See above.
For several months now, we have proudly owned a plot with an existing building and plan to start construction next year.
After several rounds with architects and general contractors (GCs), two are still in the running, and we want to decide by next month at the latest who we will build with.
The design mostly incorporates my sketches, and the more serious it gets, the more uncertain I feel about how coherent the planning is.
I have been following the forum for some time and look forward to your honest feedback, hoping not to be torn apart too harshly in the "lion’s den."
P.S. The site plan is not 100% accurate since we slightly enlarged the ground floor in the last round.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 777m² (8,361 sq ft)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.8
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Building setback lines / building line and boundary: 3m (10 ft) towards (play) street, BayBO
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: modern
Orientation: garden faces southwest
Maximum heights / limits
Additional requirements: play street
Client requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: modern, urban villa
Basement, number of floors: yes
Number of residents, age: 4, 37+36+1+expecting
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed layout: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen island + open
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double masonry garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions
House design
Origin of the design:
- Draftsperson from a general contractor, based on do-it-yourself plans
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why?
I see potential for improvement in the upper floor bathroom and the northeast house facade.
Estimated price according to architect/planner: €550,000 (without additional construction costs and furnishings)
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump + photovoltaic system
If you have to give up certain details or extensions
- Can give up: direct access from garage to house, seating window behind dining table
- Cannot give up:
Why did the design turn out the way it is? For example,
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
KfW55 standard, open kitchen/living area with glass front facing the garden, office on the ground floor, walk-in closet in master bedroom, approximately two equally sized children’s rooms facing the garden, possible guest space (later possibly children’s rooms) planned in the basement
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
See above.
I see the living room corner as the main area of concern for you. Perhaps you could consider shifting the wall between the living room and the office by the width of the closet, so the living room gains more space. You could then place the sofa on the other side of the wall and position the TV next to the large window wall in the corner. This way, the short side of the sofa would face the TV, but still provide seating for 2-3 people.
A covered terrace is planned and budgeted for to counteract the greenhouse effect.
I will try to sketch it out this evening.
I also really like the floor plan from ivenho, although it is fundamentally different with a straight staircase. I wasn’t able to come up with a good floor plan that includes a straight staircase with access to the basement.
A covered terrace is planned and budgeted for to counteract the greenhouse effect.
I will try to sketch it out this evening.
I also really like the floor plan from ivenho, although it is fundamentally different with a straight staircase. I wasn’t able to come up with a good floor plan that includes a straight staircase with access to the basement.
HappyEnd schrieb:
I also really like the floor plan by ivenh0, but fundamentally different with a straight staircase. I couldn't come up with a good floor plan for a straight staircase with access to the basement. That’s not correct, we have the same staircase design. I can share a link shortly. You will immediately notice the similarity to your floor plan, but hopefully also the key differences.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/werkplanung-efh-180qm-flachdach-mit-keller-doppelgarage.26277/post-276459
Thank you for sharing the link. The similarity is noticeable, and we are slowly getting closer! :-)
We are gradually becoming more comfortable with swapping the living room and kitchen. The glass sliding door would move along with the kitchen. Possibly, a sliding door combined with a fixed glazed panel would also look good.
The kitchen island would need to be reduced by about 20cm (8 inches). In this proposal, the kitchen island would be parallel to the dining table. I personally would have preferred a right angle between the island and the dining table. The kitchen would no longer have direct access to the terrace. We could live with that drawback. The living room would definitely become cozier.
I would like to move the wall between the kitchen and the office. A depth of 40cm (16 inches) should be sufficient for a filing cabinet.
Do you see any further potential for optimization on the ground floor?
We are gradually becoming more comfortable with swapping the living room and kitchen. The glass sliding door would move along with the kitchen. Possibly, a sliding door combined with a fixed glazed panel would also look good.
The kitchen island would need to be reduced by about 20cm (8 inches). In this proposal, the kitchen island would be parallel to the dining table. I personally would have preferred a right angle between the island and the dining table. The kitchen would no longer have direct access to the terrace. We could live with that drawback. The living room would definitely become cozier.
I would like to move the wall between the kitchen and the office. A depth of 40cm (16 inches) should be sufficient for a filing cabinet.
Do you see any further potential for optimization on the ground floor?
And I’m not a fan of always placing furniture in front of floor-to-ceiling windows or sliding doors. In that case, I might as well skip it altogether....
Swapping the kitchen and living room definitely makes sense. I wouldn’t want to miss having the kitchen next to the terrace anymore.
Why not simply keep the couch as in V1 and reconsider the sliding door? Nobody really goes through there anyway... 😉
Swapping the kitchen and living room definitely makes sense. I wouldn’t want to miss having the kitchen next to the terrace anymore.
Why not simply keep the couch as in V1 and reconsider the sliding door? Nobody really goes through there anyway... 😉
Our situation is special in that we will have a relatively large plot of land for at least the next 10 years. The plan is to sell part of it after 10 to 15 years. Therefore, it is important for us to have access to both sides of the garden. The terrace is planned to be built facing southwest / at the bottom of the plan. Attached is the site plan again...
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