Hello everyone,
I have been reading here for a while, and now it’s time for us to start planning the floor plan. We had our first appointment with the architect this week and have already shared our ideas with him as preparation. We received a first draft, which we will discuss during our meeting. Additionally, we created some rough sketches ourselves (without considering structural issues, windows, the staircase is drawn way too small, etc. – really just very basic to clarify our ideas, I’m attaching those as well).
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 635 sqm (6,840 sq ft)
House size: 135 sqm (1,450 sq ft)
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: Gable roof
Maximum heights / limits: Knee wall 1.20 m (4 ft)
(We would have preferred a bungalow or a townhouse, but unfortunately, there are no plots available here. We are happy to have found one at all, even if that means we have to accept 1.5 floors and a knee wall.)
Client requirements
Basement, floors: no basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons, 39 years old (children are 90% unlikely to be planned)
Office: Home office about once a week – although I usually work from the living room with my laptop
Guest stays: maybe 2 to 3 times a year, so far managed without a guest room in the apartment
Architecture: open plan
Construction style: modern
Kitchen: an island kitchen probably won’t fit, but it should be an open kitchen, possibly with a breakfast bar
Dining seats: 4 to 6 – for occasional visitors – but that could also work by putting in a dining table as needed and otherwise using a kitchen breakfast bar daily
Fireplace: rather no, due to cost and space reasons
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace
Garage, carport: carport
Desired ground floor layout:
Includes utility room, guest WC, hallway, living area (consisting of living room, kitchen, dining area/other)
Entrance and ancillary rooms:
- small hallway with space for a coat rack
- utility room about 8 sqm (86 sq ft), space for technical equipment, washing machine, dog food & co.
- guest WC max. 3 sqm (32 sq ft); no guest shower needed
Living area:
- quick access from the entrance to the living area, ideally directly to the kitchen
- living/kitchen/dining area as large as possible (ideally approx. 50 sqm (540 sq ft)), minimizing space wasted by other areas/rooms on the ground floor
- kitchen possibly with island/breakfast bar if space allows
- book corner with window seat if space allows (for info: I have about 1,000 books and a piano – these need to be accommodated somewhere)
- space-saving staircase, preferably open/integrated in the living area to save hallway space
Desired upper floor layout:
Includes bathroom, bedroom, dressing room, hobby room, another room (possibly office, guest room)
Bathroom:
- bathroom with walk-in shower + bathtub (freestanding = nice to have)
- possible wall separation for the toilet (if it fits)
Sleeping area and dressing room:
- bedroom with walk-in closet/dressing room, if feasible given house size
- access from bedroom to dressing room and bathroom
Additional rooms:
- hobby room with space for desk, crafting corner, small seating area
- another room as office/sports/guest room or possibly a child’s room after all – alternatively, a larger hallway/gallery with seating area and light well to the floor below
House design
Designed by: planner/architect from a design-build company
What don’t we like? Why?
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: $240,000 – that is also the financial plan (excluding kitchen or additional furniture, plot and landscaping – total budget is about $400,000)
Preferred heating technology: air-source heat pump
If you had to give up something, which features/finishes could you do without? very reluctantly the dressing/walk-in closet
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
How should we best proceed with the draft? Are there ideas that could help us align better with our wishes for the discussion? Which ideas should we discard?
A few more remarks: Reading other posts here sometimes makes me feel guilty because we are “only” building 135 sqm and everything seems so “small.” Still, I want to get the best possible value for my money. Financially, this size is the most reasonable for now.
(PS: And in case the question arises: Why are children only 90% excluded? There are many reasons – for example, difficulties conceiving, but not completely giving up hope.)
Thank you in advance for your opinions.
I have been reading here for a while, and now it’s time for us to start planning the floor plan. We had our first appointment with the architect this week and have already shared our ideas with him as preparation. We received a first draft, which we will discuss during our meeting. Additionally, we created some rough sketches ourselves (without considering structural issues, windows, the staircase is drawn way too small, etc. – really just very basic to clarify our ideas, I’m attaching those as well).
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 635 sqm (6,840 sq ft)
House size: 135 sqm (1,450 sq ft)
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: Gable roof
Maximum heights / limits: Knee wall 1.20 m (4 ft)
(We would have preferred a bungalow or a townhouse, but unfortunately, there are no plots available here. We are happy to have found one at all, even if that means we have to accept 1.5 floors and a knee wall.)
Client requirements
Basement, floors: no basement
Number of occupants, age: 2 persons, 39 years old (children are 90% unlikely to be planned)
Office: Home office about once a week – although I usually work from the living room with my laptop
Guest stays: maybe 2 to 3 times a year, so far managed without a guest room in the apartment
Architecture: open plan
Construction style: modern
Kitchen: an island kitchen probably won’t fit, but it should be an open kitchen, possibly with a breakfast bar
Dining seats: 4 to 6 – for occasional visitors – but that could also work by putting in a dining table as needed and otherwise using a kitchen breakfast bar daily
Fireplace: rather no, due to cost and space reasons
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace
Garage, carport: carport
Desired ground floor layout:
Includes utility room, guest WC, hallway, living area (consisting of living room, kitchen, dining area/other)
Entrance and ancillary rooms:
- small hallway with space for a coat rack
- utility room about 8 sqm (86 sq ft), space for technical equipment, washing machine, dog food & co.
- guest WC max. 3 sqm (32 sq ft); no guest shower needed
Living area:
- quick access from the entrance to the living area, ideally directly to the kitchen
- living/kitchen/dining area as large as possible (ideally approx. 50 sqm (540 sq ft)), minimizing space wasted by other areas/rooms on the ground floor
- kitchen possibly with island/breakfast bar if space allows
- book corner with window seat if space allows (for info: I have about 1,000 books and a piano – these need to be accommodated somewhere)
- space-saving staircase, preferably open/integrated in the living area to save hallway space
Desired upper floor layout:
Includes bathroom, bedroom, dressing room, hobby room, another room (possibly office, guest room)
Bathroom:
- bathroom with walk-in shower + bathtub (freestanding = nice to have)
- possible wall separation for the toilet (if it fits)
Sleeping area and dressing room:
- bedroom with walk-in closet/dressing room, if feasible given house size
- access from bedroom to dressing room and bathroom
Additional rooms:
- hobby room with space for desk, crafting corner, small seating area
- another room as office/sports/guest room or possibly a child’s room after all – alternatively, a larger hallway/gallery with seating area and light well to the floor below
House design
Designed by: planner/architect from a design-build company
What don’t we like? Why?
- Narrow galley kitchen. I already have this in my apartment and don’t want it anymore. Is it really not possible to do it differently? Structural or other reasons?
- Staircase located in the dirty area. Shoes, dirt, etc. I don’t want to walk through that every time I go upstairs.
- Dressing room under a sloped ceiling. Not much space left for wardrobes...
- Office only 7 sqm (75 sq ft). Does that make sense? If, against expectations, a child arrives, this would be the hobby room, which would then be much too small.
- Bathrooms. Does the layout make sense? I always thought they should be arranged above/below each other.
- Technical equipment. Could it also be located in the attic?
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: $240,000 – that is also the financial plan (excluding kitchen or additional furniture, plot and landscaping – total budget is about $400,000)
Preferred heating technology: air-source heat pump
If you had to give up something, which features/finishes could you do without? very reluctantly the dressing/walk-in closet
What is the most important fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
How should we best proceed with the draft? Are there ideas that could help us align better with our wishes for the discussion? Which ideas should we discard?
A few more remarks: Reading other posts here sometimes makes me feel guilty because we are “only” building 135 sqm and everything seems so “small.” Still, I want to get the best possible value for my money. Financially, this size is the most reasonable for now.
(PS: And in case the question arises: Why are children only 90% excluded? There are many reasons – for example, difficulties conceiving, but not completely giving up hope.)
Thank you in advance for your opinions.
G
Grantlhaua19 Feb 2019 09:18When we were working on our planning, I saw a house that had the heating room located externally behind the carport. Unfortunately, I can't find it right now, but I could definitely see that working well for your project.
O
Obstlerbaum19 Feb 2019 10:24I might run the staircase the other way around so you don’t have to go through the dirty area at the front. Under the stairs, you could have a wardrobe right by the entrance. The upstairs study is more like a storage room. Definitely not usable as a home office; a guest might survive one night there. If you don’t have a basement, there is too little storage space for my taste...
I’m familiar with a building project like that!
We are currently building 130 sqm (1400 sq ft) on a 600 sqm (6500 sq ft) plot with a 1m (3 ft) knee wall. In my opinion, you don’t need to feel guilty about the size. The forum posts made us a bit uncertain too, but we simply don’t need more space and will be glad to have the financing settled early.
In the kitchen, you might consider some kind of “peninsula” to help reduce the narrowness.
Whether a 7 sqm (75 sq ft) home office is sufficient can only be judged by you. I would add a glass element next to the entrance door and make the hallway wider so the staircase is set away from the front door, avoiding dirt in that area.
It’s nice to see a straightforward, practical project again!
We are currently building 130 sqm (1400 sq ft) on a 600 sqm (6500 sq ft) plot with a 1m (3 ft) knee wall. In my opinion, you don’t need to feel guilty about the size. The forum posts made us a bit uncertain too, but we simply don’t need more space and will be glad to have the financing settled early.
In the kitchen, you might consider some kind of “peninsula” to help reduce the narrowness.
Whether a 7 sqm (75 sq ft) home office is sufficient can only be judged by you. I would add a glass element next to the entrance door and make the hallway wider so the staircase is set away from the front door, avoiding dirt in that area.
It’s nice to see a straightforward, practical project again!
Reluctance schrieb:
I haven't had it in my hands myself yet – that's why the builder took care of it. I hope to receive it at the appointment this week.Well, you should be able to sketch the property rectangle on a graph paper with some neighboring buildings and the street, including the building envelope and dimensions, right?
Reluctance schrieb:
We only found out about the 1.20m (4 feet) knee wall setback about a week ago.Don’t you know the property guidelines? But you do know the property, right? Hopefully you have already seen it?
Then you should basically know everything about the property inside out that is relevant. Actually, even before the purchase.
Most zoning plans are now available online, and if not, you should be able to obtain them somewhere.
Wake up! It’s about your property – or is this some clearance table item?
Sorry, I would be happy to help with a small challenge like a 135m² (1,452 sq ft) gable roof project, or at least give it a try, but no hands, no chocolate.
I don’t have a bigger house myself, but a kitchen island fits, there is space for an 8-person dining area, etc., etc.
I don’t understand what the architect provided.
We don’t need to respond to your ideas.
Turning the staircase is not possible.
The ceiling height in the attic is too low.
Have you already scaled the floor plan with actual furniture dimensions? For example, I notice bookshelves are missing in all the floor plans.
I would go for a standard layout on the upper floor with a bedroom and two children’s rooms.
One children’s room would serve as a spacious walk-in closet without a child, and the other as an office.
When there is a child, one wardrobe moves into the bedroom and the office takes the place of the former walk-in closet.
The ceiling height in the attic is too low.
Have you already scaled the floor plan with actual furniture dimensions? For example, I notice bookshelves are missing in all the floor plans.
I would go for a standard layout on the upper floor with a bedroom and two children’s rooms.
One children’s room would serve as a spacious walk-in closet without a child, and the other as an office.
When there is a child, one wardrobe moves into the bedroom and the office takes the place of the former walk-in closet.
For the floor plan on the ground floor, I would suggest larger windows on the west side – the two small windows, each 1m (3 feet) wide, seem a bit small to me. Ideally, there could be two 2m (6.5 feet) wide French doors or even larger sliding doors there... it would make the space feel airier and more open. Otherwise, it looks like a standard floor plan to me; maybe there’s something a bit more clever or creative to consider?
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