Hello dear building community!
We are currently in the planning phase of our single-family home and would like to present our floor plan for your critical feedback. Thank you in advance for your time!
Everything that is not yet filled in is not final. Here is the information about the plot and the plan:
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size approx. 730 m² (7,857 sq ft)
Slope: No
Floor area ratio: 0.49
Edge development: No
Number of parking spaces: 4
Roof type: Gable roof
Terrace orientation: South
Homeowners’ requirements - <Description (priority)>
Garage:
Laundry room:
Kitchen, living, dining:
Ground floor entrance area:
Master bathroom:
Bedroom:
Children’s rooms:
General:
House design
The planning was done by a planner from a construction company.
What we especially like is the layout on the upper floor. All bedrooms have a wide view over the meadow.
On the plan, the 3-story neighboring house to the east is shown in gray. The terrace is intended to provide privacy, which is achievable with the 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) deep balcony. However, we are unsure whether the kitchen and living room will be too dark because not much sunlight will reach these rooms. Possibly, the issue with privacy/wind protection/light could also be addressed with an L-shape (see pencil sketch as an example).
Could give up the relatively large master bedroom; also, the children’s bathroom is somewhat large.
Could not give up a privacy- and wind-protected terrace, office (home office), passage from garage, laundry on ground floor, equally sized children’s rooms, two bathrooms, large dining/living area.
Why is the design as it is now?
Because of our own wishes, input from the planner, and examples from magazines.
What do you think is particularly good or bad about it?
The rooms are located on the floors and oriented in the directions we wanted. On the west side of the kitchen, there is a row of cupboards, but we’re unsure how best to use this corner (any tips are welcome). It is probably a bit too far from the kitchen to place the oven or similar there.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We would appreciate feedback on the entire floor plan. We are especially interested in:
We are currently in the planning phase of our single-family home and would like to present our floor plan for your critical feedback. Thank you in advance for your time!
Everything that is not yet filled in is not final. Here is the information about the plot and the plan:
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size approx. 730 m² (7,857 sq ft)
Slope: No
Floor area ratio: 0.49
Edge development: No
Number of parking spaces: 4
Roof type: Gable roof
Terrace orientation: South
Homeowners’ requirements - <Description (priority)>
Garage:
- Garage with space for bikes, lawnmower, etc. (1)
- Access to the house, possibly with a small cloakroom. (1)
- Additionally, a small separate workshop. (2)
- Workshop access to the outside. (3)
Laundry room:
- Should be near the kitchen -> ground floor (2)
Kitchen, living, dining:
- Semi-open plan (possibly with visual separation) (2)
- Kitchen island (1)
- Kitchen near the terrace (1)
- Kitchen on the west side, ideally with morning sun. (1)
- Glass frontage facing southwest, privacy towards east or L-shape layout. (1)
- Window seat in front of a large window near dining table/kitchen (1)
- Covered terrace (1)
Ground floor entrance area:
- Staircase in the entrance area (1)
- Entrance area may be open to kitchen or living room (2)
Master bathroom:
- Toilet separated within the bathroom (3)
- Not too large (3)
- Direct access (through dressing room) from bedroom (1)
Bedroom:
- Space/distance between master bedroom and children’s rooms (3)
- Dressing room connected to the bathroom (1)
Children’s rooms:
- As large as possible and as similar as possible (1)
- Children’s rooms next to each other (2)
General:
- Higher ceiling height (at least 260 cm (8 ft 6 in)) on ground floor (2)
- Small light well on ground floor (3)
- Gable roof,
- Single-family home Basement Yes
- Number of floors 2 Number of occupants 2 adults, 2 children (from 1 year)
- Space requirements on ground floor office (home office), laundry room, living and dining, WC, double garage. No guest bedrooms as guests will use sofa in office. Semi-open architecture (e.g., living room separable with sliding door). Modern construction. Open kitchen with island. Number of dining seats 8
- Other: To the east is a 3-story apartment building overlooking the plot
- (Only) the garage is allowed to be built closer to the property boundary
Fireplace Yes
Balcony Yes
House design
The planning was done by a planner from a construction company.
What we especially like is the layout on the upper floor. All bedrooms have a wide view over the meadow.
On the plan, the 3-story neighboring house to the east is shown in gray. The terrace is intended to provide privacy, which is achievable with the 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) deep balcony. However, we are unsure whether the kitchen and living room will be too dark because not much sunlight will reach these rooms. Possibly, the issue with privacy/wind protection/light could also be addressed with an L-shape (see pencil sketch as an example).
Could give up the relatively large master bedroom; also, the children’s bathroom is somewhat large.
Could not give up a privacy- and wind-protected terrace, office (home office), passage from garage, laundry on ground floor, equally sized children’s rooms, two bathrooms, large dining/living area.
Why is the design as it is now?
Because of our own wishes, input from the planner, and examples from magazines.
What do you think is particularly good or bad about it?
The rooms are located on the floors and oriented in the directions we wanted. On the west side of the kitchen, there is a row of cupboards, but we’re unsure how best to use this corner (any tips are welcome). It is probably a bit too far from the kitchen to place the oven or similar there.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We would appreciate feedback on the entire floor plan. We are especially interested in:
- Option 1 or Option 2 (pencil sketch)
B
Billyfred8 Dec 2021 10:07Hobbyplaner schrieb:
The problem is that there is a three-story apartment building in the east (see plan, gray marking). With the extension to the north, the house also shifts slightly towards the sun in the south.
We would like to have an office and laundry room on the ground floor, which explains the imbalance between the upper and ground floors. So far, the extension hasn’t been very well received – but what alternatives would you suggest? Privacy screens can also be created through landscaping. Alternatively, you could avoid shading the entire terrace by only covering part of it or placing a privacy screen on the east side.
Overall, the extension just seems impractical. Improvement: make the building mass much more compact; it doesn’t have to be a cube, but at least reduce the outer envelope clearly. This saves space on the plot (more greenery), is more energy-efficient, and lowers construction costs. The balcony might look nice, but experience shows it’s rarely used (maybe when the kids are older for secret smoking ;-) ).
If your strong wish is to have the laundry on the ground floor, that can’t be helped, but I also find it unnecessary when planning a basement: besides space, I’m thinking about noise. To make it convenient, you could instead consider a laundry chute to get dirty laundry down to disposal more easily. I feel similarly about the pantry (“Speis”): it is mainly a storage room that you don’t need to access every five minutes. So I would either simply enlarge the kitchen by including the pantry or, as others have suggested, move it to the basement.
If the basement has to be omitted for cost reasons, of course that’s not possible, but personally, I would then miss some storage space.
Hobbyplaner schrieb:
The issue is a three-story apartment building to the east (see plan, grey marking).I understand that and have repeated it. The question I have is whether you are assigning too much importance to the neighborhood, causing you to consistently design your house like a terraced house. I don’t know you personally and can’t judge whether you tend to overreact to situations more than necessary. Hobbyplaner schrieb:
but what alternatives would you suggest?Given the failed aesthetics and the overly ambitious use of living space including a basement, which doesn’t fit the budget at all (your flat roof structure alone already costs about half a million), I recommend consulting an architect. With your budget, you should build a straightforward, compact house without a basement but with an attic.
hampshire schrieb:
Estimate >750,000€ Including exterior landscaping, I would agree with that. Depending on the level of finishes, the total cost can easily approach one million.
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