ᐅ Final floor plan design – everything finalized except the windows

Hello everyone,

I would like to share our nearly finished design here.
Feel free to share any thoughts, what you like or don’t like.

Primarily, I want to discuss the window arrangement on the ground floor. I have slightly adjusted the drawing and added our current furniture. Specifically, the position of the rear east-facing window and the dining table placement bother me. I would especially appreciate feedback on these points.

A few notes:
North is always at the top (so some drawings appear upside down).

1_Location:
- Neighbor to the west is far from the boundary (8m (26 feet))
- Small forest area to the east
- Railway track directly behind our property to the south (6 regional trains per hour)
- Gardens of houses on a northern street to the north
- The street is a dead end and ends just behind our plot (red marking)
- Driveway (3x6m (10x20 feet)), house access (1x5m (3x16 feet)), terrace (4x5m (13x16 feet)) not shown

2_Basement: no changes planned
K1 = Party/hobby/fitness room
K2 = Storage
K3 = Guest room (sloped ceiling/daylight window)
HA = House utilities, gas heating unit, controlled ventilation with heat recovery, washer & dryer

3_Ground floor: potential changes in green
- Front door recessed by 50cm (20 inches)
- Cloakroom and storage shifted from side by side to front to back (not precisely drawn)
- Chimney projection extended slightly so the refrigerator doesn’t stick out
- Window by the sofa will be a fixed, 2.00m (6 feet 7 inches) wide element
- Next to it a lift-and-slide door / PSKT, 2.00m (6 feet 7 inches) wide
- East side at the dining table we want a 1.50m (5 feet) fixed window element; we’re unsure where to place it best, maybe more to the north?
- Dining table shown as 1.00x1.70m (3x5 feet 7 inches) - uncertain about the optimal position

4_Upper floor: no changes planned
- Special feature: separate kids’ bathroom
- We know the wardrobes in the children’s rooms are incorrectly shown

5_Section: no comments

6_Front to rear (vo_hi): windows revised
Front view: window heights in the office and guest WC aligned
Rear view: enlarged window surfaces on ground floor

7_Side to side (re_li): windows revised
Left: floor-to-ceiling element, which is still a concern; kitchen window height adjusted
Right: no comments

That’s the main things on our mind.
Lastly, here is the info list:

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 372 sqm (4,000 sq ft)
Slope: plot slopes down 50cm (20 inches) to the south overall
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.5
Building envelope: mandatory 5m (16 feet) setback from the street at the front, then 15m (49 feet) depth of building possible; plus usual 3m (10 feet) to neighboring plots
Edge building: no
Number of parking spaces: 1 in front of garage
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable/half-hipped roof, 43 - 47 degrees, flat roof
Architectural style: ?
Orientation: ?
Maximum height/limits: none
Other requirements: no shiny roofing material allowed

Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: classic, gable roof, detached single-family house
Basement, floors: yes, ground floor, converted attic (not full floor)
Number of residents, age: 2 adults (33 and 30 years old), 2 children planned
Space needs on ground and upper floor: as per drawings
Office: family use or home office? Home office
Annual guest stays: 10
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern design: light plaster facade, dark roofing, windows, doors, gates
Open kitchen with island: open kitchen without island
Number of dining seats: 4
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall combined with TV
Balcony, roof terrace: none, none
Garage, carport: garage, no carport (carport possibly later on east side)
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: possibly small vegetable garden, no greenhouse
Other wishes/special features/daily routine: none

House design
Who designed it: relatives with relevant professional background
What do you especially like? open ground floor; minimal hallway space in attic
What don’t you like? can’t think of anything
Price estimate by architect/planner: €300,000 (without landscaping, painting, flooring, tiling)
Personal price limit including fittings: not fixed
Preferred heating system: gas without solar (15% below old energy savings requirements; application submitted 2015)

If you had to give up something, which details/features
-can you do without: nothing
-can’t do without: everything

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I took the liberty to straighten the uploaded images 😉

Regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte

Hmm ... the kitchen... how are you planning to furnish it? There isn’t much countertop space left.

The passage to the only terrace exit could become tight, and overall the furnishing actually reminds me of small cabins in a larger room. I find sofas used as room dividers in a space only about 6.5 m (21 feet) wide rather restrictive.

Storage room... if you arrange it like that, you might as well skip having a storage room. Generally, it might be better to design it as an open corner with floor-to-ceiling cabinets.

That’s it for now.

An L-shaped kitchen measuring 3 x 3 meters (10 x 10 feet) plus a separate refrigerator should be more than enough for us and also provide sufficient workspace. Perhaps the kitchen door should be hinged on the other side so that it opens against the refrigerator instead of blocking the kitchen, which would be more practical.

The sofa was not originally intended as a room divider—I also see the issue with the tight space. It might fit better as an L-shape along the west and south walls, but then we would need to figure out where to place the TV.

The storage room should have an interior width of 90 cm (35 inches); as mentioned, the drawing is not 100% accurate and is shown a bit too narrow.

Does anyone have any ideas regarding the dining table and the window element in the southeast?

I took the liberty of straightening the posted images just now 😉

Best regards, Bauexperte
Bauexperte

Hello Bauexperte,
I had rotated them so that north is always at the top. You just have to keep that in mind when looking at the site plan and then the floor plans.
Best regards

Are you sure the staircase works? At about 1.50 meters (5 feet) deep, it seems very short to me.

Well, how should I put it, since this is already presented as the final version.
I feel like you’re trying to fit too many things into those few square meters.
Roughly estimated, the area is between 120 and 125 square meters (1,292 and 1,345 square feet), similar to our place.
Within that space, you’re trying to include a home office, a fireplace, a children’s bathroom, and an additional storage room.
In my opinion, this compromises furnishing options, leading to cramped conditions and a complex layout like on the upper floor. The planned open living-dining area ends up being the “cabins” that ktb09 mentioned. The children’s bathroom, with an estimated depth of only 1.3 meters (4 feet 3 inches), mostly consists of a sloped ceiling. One can only hope the children don’t outgrow it too quickly.

You have the bathroom drain located above the kitchen...
I don’t think that’s a good idea.
Generally, I would suggest... ahem... placing the children’s rooms on the south side and the bedrooms and bathrooms on the north side.
I would probably also position the office on the north side, at least instinctively, and set the garage as far back as possible. Also, I would move the house further back so that the kitchen faces southeast. The garden would then be on the south side, which makes sense since it’s a dead-end street and likely quieter than the north-facing garden. Oh, and of course, the entrance would then be from the side 🙂
But then it becomes a completely different house... That’s how I would approach it.

You’ve probably had your reasons for not taking advantage of the peaceful south-facing garden and the view of the forest from the living area on the west side at all.
I’m curious—would you be willing to share your reasons with us?

@Musketier
The staircase is 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) deep and it works – it’s exactly the same design as in my parents’ house.
By the way, the living area is 128 sqm (1,378 sq ft).

The kids’ bathroom has a depth of 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) excluding the shower niche, and 50 cm (20 in) from the wall, the ceiling height is already 2 meters (6 ft 7 in). I’m just over 1.80 m (6 ft) tall and could lean my shoulder against the wall without hitting my head.
Why do you see it as complicated? The shower in the kids’ bathroom and the wardrobe in the master bedroom are both positioned in niches, which we personally like a lot. Apart from that, I don’t see any awkward layouts or anything similar.

@ypg
I think the problem is that Bauexperte rotated my pictures, so my note in the description that north is always at the top no longer applies.
The children’s rooms are on the south side, and the bedroom and bathroom are on the north side.
The office is also on the north side, and the garage is attached on the west side next to the neighbors’ garages (see image 1 showing the location). The garden is on the south side, with a view of the forest (this is where I’m hoping for advice on positioning the 150 cm (59 in) window element).
So, apart from the toilet drain direction, the orientation matches your suggestions, and to avoid confusion I originally uploaded the floor plans upside down. 🙂