Hello,
we are a family of four (ages: 36, 32, 10, 6) planning a single-family house with approximately 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) of living space and would appreciate your opinions and help regarding our floor plan. The house will measure 9 m x 11.5 m (30 ft x 38 ft), and the plot is only 17.5 m (57 ft) wide, which is why the house is only 9 m (30 ft) wide but 28 m (92 ft) long.
Currently, we live in a rented townhouse with an open floor plan (kitchen, dining, and living areas all in one large room) and the stairs lead off from the living room. This is frustrating! You think twice before running the dishwasher in the evening after dinner, and the open staircase is a problem—the children can’t sleep when there are guests, and so on. We would like to have all these areas separated.
Our planned layout now features a kitchen with a dining table, and the living room is a separate room. We have deliberately chosen two entrances to the living room, also to allow for easy division in the middle if needed later. We do not require a guest or storage room.
The terrace will be directly in front of the living room (southwest), although it is not shown on the plan. The stairs will be made of concrete (we currently have wooden stairs—the creaking and squeaking are unbearable), with a small pantry underneath.
Upper floor: The knee wall (also called the dwarf wall) is raised to 2 m (6.6 ft), and the roof is a pitched roof. There is a small utility room for the washing machine and dryer, plus another small utility room acting as a basement replacement, as we don’t believe everything will fit in the main utility room. The shower might be moved slightly upward to straighten the hallway. The windows on the upper floor are not yet finalized; we are still working on ideas for them.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and opinions—feel free to share them.
we are a family of four (ages: 36, 32, 10, 6) planning a single-family house with approximately 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) of living space and would appreciate your opinions and help regarding our floor plan. The house will measure 9 m x 11.5 m (30 ft x 38 ft), and the plot is only 17.5 m (57 ft) wide, which is why the house is only 9 m (30 ft) wide but 28 m (92 ft) long.
Currently, we live in a rented townhouse with an open floor plan (kitchen, dining, and living areas all in one large room) and the stairs lead off from the living room. This is frustrating! You think twice before running the dishwasher in the evening after dinner, and the open staircase is a problem—the children can’t sleep when there are guests, and so on. We would like to have all these areas separated.
Our planned layout now features a kitchen with a dining table, and the living room is a separate room. We have deliberately chosen two entrances to the living room, also to allow for easy division in the middle if needed later. We do not require a guest or storage room.
The terrace will be directly in front of the living room (southwest), although it is not shown on the plan. The stairs will be made of concrete (we currently have wooden stairs—the creaking and squeaking are unbearable), with a small pantry underneath.
Upper floor: The knee wall (also called the dwarf wall) is raised to 2 m (6.6 ft), and the roof is a pitched roof. There is a small utility room for the washing machine and dryer, plus another small utility room acting as a basement replacement, as we don’t believe everything will fit in the main utility room. The shower might be moved slightly upward to straighten the hallway. The windows on the upper floor are not yet finalized; we are still working on ideas for them.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and opinions—feel free to share them.
I think the following areas unnecessarily waste space:
- Transition between kitchen and hallway (I would move the entrance closer to the kitchen)
- Transition between kitchen and living room (There are many windows and the staircase, but not much else, hardly any space for furniture)
It feels like there are many corners built in that don’t really serve any purpose.
- Transition between kitchen and hallway (I would move the entrance closer to the kitchen)
- Transition between kitchen and living room (There are many windows and the staircase, but not much else, hardly any space for furniture)
It feels like there are many corners built in that don’t really serve any purpose.
It all feels a bit too "boxy" to me.
• The living room personally seems too large to feel cozy.
• I don’t like the shower area protruding into the hallway, and it’s not really necessary anyway.
• The utility room on the upper floor is practical but too small to comfortably collect and sort laundry for four people.
• The door to the bedroom on the right should slide towards the room; I don’t like the narrow corridor next to the stairs.
Take a look at the Schöner Wohnen house. The floor plan is similar but much simpler. Maybe you’ll find some ideas there.
milkie 🙂
• The living room personally seems too large to feel cozy.
• I don’t like the shower area protruding into the hallway, and it’s not really necessary anyway.
• The utility room on the upper floor is practical but too small to comfortably collect and sort laundry for four people.
• The door to the bedroom on the right should slide towards the room; I don’t like the narrow corridor next to the stairs.
Take a look at the Schöner Wohnen house. The floor plan is similar but much simpler. Maybe you’ll find some ideas there.
milkie 🙂
Thank you for the feedback,
I wasn’t familiar with the Schöner Wohnen house before – there are some interesting ideas, but overall it feels a bit too “open” for me. I would like to be able to close the door in the living room sometimes...
"- Kitchen to hallway transition (I would move the entrance closer to the kitchen)"
I’ll think about that – but having more space in the kitchen seems better than having more space in the hallway, right?
"- Kitchen to living room transition (There are many windows and the staircase, but not much else; hardly any space for furniture)"
I agree, but we don’t really know what can be done about that...?
Maybe the utility room upstairs should be enlarged a bit, hmm, but how? – On the other hand: currently we have a utility room with 1.48 m² (16 sq ft), seriously, with the washer and dryer stacked and laundry next to it. When washing, we just open the door briefly and sort the laundry like that...
"The door to the right child’s room should be slid toward the room; I don’t like the narrow access next to the stairs."
I’ll give that some thought...
I wasn’t familiar with the Schöner Wohnen house before – there are some interesting ideas, but overall it feels a bit too “open” for me. I would like to be able to close the door in the living room sometimes...
"- Kitchen to hallway transition (I would move the entrance closer to the kitchen)"
I’ll think about that – but having more space in the kitchen seems better than having more space in the hallway, right?
"- Kitchen to living room transition (There are many windows and the staircase, but not much else; hardly any space for furniture)"
I agree, but we don’t really know what can be done about that...?
Maybe the utility room upstairs should be enlarged a bit, hmm, but how? – On the other hand: currently we have a utility room with 1.48 m² (16 sq ft), seriously, with the washer and dryer stacked and laundry next to it. When washing, we just open the door briefly and sort the laundry like that...
"The door to the right child’s room should be slid toward the room; I don’t like the narrow access next to the stairs."
I’ll give that some thought...
I would remove the two corners in the facade, as I find them impractical and only a cost factor.
Please carefully consider whether you want the washing machine and dryer located on the wall adjacent to the bedroom. You can hear a washing machine or dryer throughout much of the house anyway, but having them right next to the bedroom would be too disturbing for me.
I think a second shower is missing. We only have one in our house as well, and I’m already concerned about when the kids get older. Maybe at least plan for a second one in theory. But please, no guest shower-toilet combination.
Give the hallway more space, as it is a main traffic area in your home. Overall, you allocate too much space to the rooms and, in my opinion, skimp on storage, utility room, and technical areas.
Please carefully consider whether you want the washing machine and dryer located on the wall adjacent to the bedroom. You can hear a washing machine or dryer throughout much of the house anyway, but having them right next to the bedroom would be too disturbing for me.
I think a second shower is missing. We only have one in our house as well, and I’m already concerned about when the kids get older. Maybe at least plan for a second one in theory. But please, no guest shower-toilet combination.
Give the hallway more space, as it is a main traffic area in your home. Overall, you allocate too much space to the rooms and, in my opinion, skimp on storage, utility room, and technical areas.
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