ᐅ Floor Plan Assistance: 216 sqm Single-Family Home with Granny Flat and Double Garage
Created on: 28 Feb 2022 13:59
A
AHLK2022
Hello everyone,
We have found a house near Frankfurt/Main where construction is about to begin. It is from a developer. Currently, there is an old house on the property which is being completely renovated. This will be converted into 3 condominiums. Our house will be a single-family home at the back with about 216 sqm (2,325 sq ft).
Two garages need to be integrated into the house, plus one parking space that we can purchase additionally.
Regarding the floor plan, apart from the external walls (a line with property boundary construction and 3.5 m (11.5 ft) to the neighbor) and the double garage, we have complete freedom. We have already modified the floor plan as we want to prepare the upper floor for potential rental at some point (an external staircase will probably not be approved). Hence the second internal staircase.
Basically, we are wondering how to best use the ground floor. Somehow I find it a bit small for cooking/living/dining. (Although I cannot verify the square meter figures, because based on the external dimensions and some calculations it should be about 49 sqm (527 sq ft) instead of approximately 44 sqm (474 sq ft), but I don’t know if the staircase is excluded).
Where is the best place to put a couch?
We also have questions about possible optimizations or mistakes we might have made. Does this all make sense? The architect implemented all of our requests without questioning whether they are practical or sensible. That makes us uncertain.
No basement, one garage for bicycles, and otherwise one room will be sacrificed.
We would like a kitchen island 🙂
The turnkey price is 769,000.
Thanks for your feedback!
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size 290 sqm (3,122 sq ft)
Slope no
Floor area ratio unknown
Building coverage ratio unknown
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Boundary construction see pictures
Number of parking spaces DG + parking space
Number of storeys 2 full + attic
Requirements from the homeowners
Number of people, age 2 + baby + one more eventually
Office: family use or home office? HO
Guests per year: few
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern style: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island
We have found a house near Frankfurt/Main where construction is about to begin. It is from a developer. Currently, there is an old house on the property which is being completely renovated. This will be converted into 3 condominiums. Our house will be a single-family home at the back with about 216 sqm (2,325 sq ft).
Two garages need to be integrated into the house, plus one parking space that we can purchase additionally.
Regarding the floor plan, apart from the external walls (a line with property boundary construction and 3.5 m (11.5 ft) to the neighbor) and the double garage, we have complete freedom. We have already modified the floor plan as we want to prepare the upper floor for potential rental at some point (an external staircase will probably not be approved). Hence the second internal staircase.
Basically, we are wondering how to best use the ground floor. Somehow I find it a bit small for cooking/living/dining. (Although I cannot verify the square meter figures, because based on the external dimensions and some calculations it should be about 49 sqm (527 sq ft) instead of approximately 44 sqm (474 sq ft), but I don’t know if the staircase is excluded).
Where is the best place to put a couch?
We also have questions about possible optimizations or mistakes we might have made. Does this all make sense? The architect implemented all of our requests without questioning whether they are practical or sensible. That makes us uncertain.
No basement, one garage for bicycles, and otherwise one room will be sacrificed.
We would like a kitchen island 🙂
The turnkey price is 769,000.
Thanks for your feedback!
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size 290 sqm (3,122 sq ft)
Slope no
Floor area ratio unknown
Building coverage ratio unknown
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Boundary construction see pictures
Number of parking spaces DG + parking space
Number of storeys 2 full + attic
Requirements from the homeowners
Number of people, age 2 + baby + one more eventually
Office: family use or home office? HO
Guests per year: few
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern style: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island
Costruttrice schrieb:
I actually don’t mind the separation between the living area and the kitchen/dining space.
When we have guests, everything usually happens around the kitchen island and dining table. Nowadays, people hardly sit on the couch when visiting. I can’t even remember the last time I did, maybe at Christmas at grandma’s in the “formal living room,” but otherwise not.
So, I think having a gallery is a much better solution than trying to squeeze everything together on the ground floor and ending up without enough space. That’s true, although I also recall how we always end up sitting in the kitchen when visiting friends...
Can anyone share experience on whether this setup is suitable for children? If kids are running around downstairs while cooking, does it lead to too much going up and down? Possibly even dangerous because of the gallery railing?
M
Myrna_Loy3 Mar 2022 13:51I find it completely impractical. Our house originally had a floor plan like that, and it was one of the first things we changed. Even though we gave up having a wood-burning stove in the living room. When you first stumble upstairs with an open bottle of red wine or beer, you quickly understand why this layout isn’t common. Carrying firewood and ashes upstairs is also a hassle. And yes, you constantly end up carrying children’s toys back upstairs from the kitchen. For us, the laundry room ended up becoming the living room.
I assume that as long as the children are small, the gallery will mostly be an adult area.
Having a separation is impractical. We had that in our apartment—no gallery, just two rooms. As soon as you leave one area, the children are out of sight.
Children can learn stairs very quickly. The railing can be designed so they cannot climb over it without assistance.
Eating and drinking should be limited to downstairs.
With the given structure and fixed parameters, you have no choice but to move the TV and sofa upstairs.
There is not enough space downstairs for everything, or it would become terribly cramped, considering the size of the house.
Having a separation is impractical. We had that in our apartment—no gallery, just two rooms. As soon as you leave one area, the children are out of sight.
Children can learn stairs very quickly. The railing can be designed so they cannot climb over it without assistance.
Eating and drinking should be limited to downstairs.
With the given structure and fixed parameters, you have no choice but to move the TV and sofa upstairs.
There is not enough space downstairs for everything, or it would become terribly cramped, considering the size of the house.
AHLK2022 schrieb:
That's true, especially when I think about how we always sit in the kitchen at friends' places....
Can anyone share experience on whether this is suitable for children? Like if the kids are running around downstairs while you're cooking, or if it involves too much running up and down. Possibly also dangerous because of the gallery railing? My aunt has it like that. When the children/we were younger, about 80% of the time was spent downstairs in the kitchen/dining area. Homework, board games, guests – everything happened downstairs. Especially in summer with the terrace doors open. The living room was really only used in the evenings for watching TV. You have to like that kind of layout, but it can be nice.
M
Myrna_Loy3 Mar 2022 14:19"Our house has more rooms than we need – so let’s just eliminate half a floor by creating an open void." says no one ever. 😀 A 60 sqm (645 sq ft) kitchen-dining area with a ceiling height of over 4 m (13 ft), a lounge level, and then a bedroom attic with sloping ceilings? That’s really a messed-up layout.
The real question here is whether there are any alternatives for this plot and what those might look like. It’s also important to say that the floor plan is very open. The lounge area is not a private retreat where you can hide away. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the gallery can create a really great living atmosphere. The staircase leading up to it could also be made wider to make it even more inviting. Perhaps you might also consider placing the kitchen along the right-hand wall of the plan.
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