ᐅ Floor Plan Fails Discussion Thread – Floor Plans Nobody Wanted
Created on: 12 Feb 2019 15:53
1
11ant
Recently, during a discussion here, the idea came up to specifically collect house designs—mostly floor plans—that turned out to be dead ends.
Therefore, I would like to invite you to share those floor plans (or even façade views) where you yourself realized that they are best left in the trash bin.
In my opinion, such examples are most valuable when you not only share the drawing but also explain the reasons for discarding it. Feel free to add an "after" picture showing the improved successor (or final) design that resulted from these insights.
In memory of Hans Rosenthal’s "that was great!" jump of joy, the heading "that was rubbish!" came to mind for this.
I have two requests: First, please do not upload all 1 to 257 failed drafts preceding the final design, but only the one where "a light bulb moment" occurred; and second, please only share designs that you subsequently changed (not just mirrored or rotated).
Therefore, I would like to invite you to share those floor plans (or even façade views) where you yourself realized that they are best left in the trash bin.
In my opinion, such examples are most valuable when you not only share the drawing but also explain the reasons for discarding it. Feel free to add an "after" picture showing the improved successor (or final) design that resulted from these insights.
In memory of Hans Rosenthal’s "that was great!" jump of joy, the heading "that was rubbish!" came to mind for this.
I have two requests: First, please do not upload all 1 to 257 failed drafts preceding the final design, but only the one where "a light bulb moment" occurred; and second, please only share designs that you subsequently changed (not just mirrored or rotated).
Thanks to @11ant for starting the thread. I will try to summarize.
After the municipality allocated our preferred plot of land, we started brainstorming online and visiting model home parks. At the same time, we worked on our own floor plan on paper and on the computer.
Plot
approximately 23x14m (75x46 feet), townhouse (a dark wall on the south side, and on the north side we connect to the neighboring house with a carport), building height 7.5-8.5m (25-28 feet), pitched roof with 30-35° angle.
Wishes/Requirements
Basement, shower on the ground floor, a straight staircase is ideal, a fireplace as a room divider as well, three children’s rooms (no restrictions on number of floors), a standard bedroom, a large walk-in closet (3-4m) (10-13 feet) which doesn’t necessarily have to be a separate room. One essential wish was: Since we currently live in a maisonette apartment where all rooms are accessed through the open-plan living/dining/kitchen area, it was clear that 1. a quiet zone is needed and 2. the kitchen should be as separated as possible.
The result was the only “successful” yet still individual floor plan. A kitchen-living area that brings the family together, with a quiet corner including a guest area in the living/dining space. I had this idea stuck in my head for a long time, as all other floor plans followed the “standard” L-shaped layout which didn’t really appeal to us.
At the time, I had already registered on the forum but didn’t want to dive into the floor plan discussion. In retrospect, I see some mistakes in it.
After about 9 months, we tried to find a general contractor (GC) who would translate our idea into a floor plan including basement and upper floor, and with good chemistry. Some talks went well, others we immediately dismissed. However, none really liked our idea, only offering variations of standard house types.
So we went to the local architect. I followed the forum advice to leave all drawings at home during the first meeting. And what can I say? The first draft still needed revisions because we had deliberately set the budget a bit low.
The final floor plan isn’t for everyone and is naturally a compromise between our wishes and the plot constraints in some areas.
What changed or was discarded during the roughly 15-month process?
- The long open-plan space for cooking/dining allows us to accommodate many guests but also keeps the living area quieter.
- We can’t imagine having a dining table far away from the kitchen.
- Now we would be annoyed to have a kitchen separated only by a sliding door.
- A bedroom or child’s room in the basement is a poor compromise.
- A well-designed room in the attic also costs quite a bit.
- By accident, we almost ended up with a villa-type design, and are now glad it stayed “almost.”
- The straight staircase was accidentally added by the architect, and we are very happy with it.
- The partial basement not only saves excavation but also avoided construction conflicts with the neighbor’s garage in our case.
Overall, these are all points I wouldn’t want to address only with a second build.
After the municipality allocated our preferred plot of land, we started brainstorming online and visiting model home parks. At the same time, we worked on our own floor plan on paper and on the computer.
Plot
approximately 23x14m (75x46 feet), townhouse (a dark wall on the south side, and on the north side we connect to the neighboring house with a carport), building height 7.5-8.5m (25-28 feet), pitched roof with 30-35° angle.
Wishes/Requirements
Basement, shower on the ground floor, a straight staircase is ideal, a fireplace as a room divider as well, three children’s rooms (no restrictions on number of floors), a standard bedroom, a large walk-in closet (3-4m) (10-13 feet) which doesn’t necessarily have to be a separate room. One essential wish was: Since we currently live in a maisonette apartment where all rooms are accessed through the open-plan living/dining/kitchen area, it was clear that 1. a quiet zone is needed and 2. the kitchen should be as separated as possible.
The result was the only “successful” yet still individual floor plan. A kitchen-living area that brings the family together, with a quiet corner including a guest area in the living/dining space. I had this idea stuck in my head for a long time, as all other floor plans followed the “standard” L-shaped layout which didn’t really appeal to us.
At the time, I had already registered on the forum but didn’t want to dive into the floor plan discussion. In retrospect, I see some mistakes in it.
After about 9 months, we tried to find a general contractor (GC) who would translate our idea into a floor plan including basement and upper floor, and with good chemistry. Some talks went well, others we immediately dismissed. However, none really liked our idea, only offering variations of standard house types.
So we went to the local architect. I followed the forum advice to leave all drawings at home during the first meeting. And what can I say? The first draft still needed revisions because we had deliberately set the budget a bit low.
The final floor plan isn’t for everyone and is naturally a compromise between our wishes and the plot constraints in some areas.
What changed or was discarded during the roughly 15-month process?
- The long open-plan space for cooking/dining allows us to accommodate many guests but also keeps the living area quieter.
- We can’t imagine having a dining table far away from the kitchen.
- Now we would be annoyed to have a kitchen separated only by a sliding door.
- A bedroom or child’s room in the basement is a poor compromise.
- A well-designed room in the attic also costs quite a bit.
- By accident, we almost ended up with a villa-type design, and are now glad it stayed “almost.”
- The straight staircase was accidentally added by the architect, and we are very happy with it.
- The partial basement not only saves excavation but also avoided construction conflicts with the neighbor’s garage in our case.
Overall, these are all points I wouldn’t want to address only with a second build.
matte1987 schrieb:
Then I’ll start... and it gives me great pleasure matte1987 schrieb:
We would have had a driveway about 25m (82 feet) long with a 10-15% incline, just so we could get out of the car right by the kitchen.That's exactly what I’m trying to make clear: you can significantly better develop your property’s potential if you don’t give the prized spot to the tin family member. You ended up with a nice custom house and put the average design to rest. Even just the TV mounting spot still seems crazier to me than whole houses elsewhere—and I don’t even watch TV at all, mind you. Slava_S schrieb:
a fireplace used as a room divider as well,... which would have only added to the obstacle course the floor plan would become. Thanks to you, too, for helping kick off this thread. The entryway now reminds me of the one at @MadameP.tumaa schrieb:
But I would try to put myself in someone else’s shoes and think, how would one feel after a failed design?No one’s supposed to mock others or admit to themselves, “what an idiot with two left hands I am.” Rather, the feeling should be: “now I caught the mistake in time and can help others learn from it by sharing what I realized.”Those who miss the moment of insight and actually build their “mess” are welcome to remain philosophers and keep quiet.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Then I’ll join in here as well.
After we reserved a plot of land in November 2016 (at that time, I wasn’t fully aware of the 3m (10 feet) slope situation ), I started looking for a general contractor. Two weeks later, a sales representative visited the site. He listened to everything and took our ideas with him. Two weeks after that, we received a floor plan. As construction novices, we were naturally excited. But after a second and third look, doubts arose.
- No consideration of the terrain. Earthworks/landscaping were then estimated at only €5,000–7,000 (about $5,500–7,800) upon request. We know how that turned out.
- Kitchen window under the carport facing the garage.
- Living room too small
- Few windows
- The price without a basement was also poor
- At that time, we also had no understanding of facades and materials. It would have been an external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS).
General Contractor:
After that, we thought we’d try working with an architect. Our landlord then recommended a friend.
This was the first draft:
How it continued is well known.
In the end, the study from the first draft was removed and replaced by a small cloakroom. As a result, the living room is now 55m² (592 square feet). Upstairs, there is no angled entrance to the children's rooms, and the staircase was shifted slightly towards the right side of the plan.
Now it looks like this from the outside:
After we reserved a plot of land in November 2016 (at that time, I wasn’t fully aware of the 3m (10 feet) slope situation ), I started looking for a general contractor. Two weeks later, a sales representative visited the site. He listened to everything and took our ideas with him. Two weeks after that, we received a floor plan. As construction novices, we were naturally excited. But after a second and third look, doubts arose.
- No consideration of the terrain. Earthworks/landscaping were then estimated at only €5,000–7,000 (about $5,500–7,800) upon request. We know how that turned out.
- Kitchen window under the carport facing the garage.
- Living room too small
- Few windows
- The price without a basement was also poor
- At that time, we also had no understanding of facades and materials. It would have been an external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS).
General Contractor:
After that, we thought we’d try working with an architect. Our landlord then recommended a friend.
This was the first draft:
How it continued is well known.
In the end, the study from the first draft was removed and replaced by a small cloakroom. As a result, the living room is now 55m² (592 square feet). Upstairs, there is no angled entrance to the children's rooms, and the staircase was shifted slightly towards the right side of the plan.
Now it looks like this from the outside:
R
Reluctance22 Feb 2019 23:03Zaba12 schrieb:
What happened next is well known.
In the end, the home office from the original design was removed and is now a small cloakroom. As a result, the living room is now 55m² (590 sq ft). Upstairs, there is no angled wall at the children's room entrance, and the staircase was shifted slightly to the right according to the plan. I find the floor plan extremely (really really) good – exactly what I’m looking for. Above all, the large living area with the integrated staircase is very well designed – making the most of the space on the ground floor.
Reluctance schrieb:
exactly what I am looking for You might just be lucky due to your knee wall height and roof pitch – otherwise, the floor plan would have been unsuitable for a one-and-a-half-story house because of the staircase location.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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