Hello dear forum,
we are planning to start building our house in 2018 and already have a first draft of our floor plan.
We want a single-story house of about 160 square meters (approximately 1,722 square feet) with a pitched roof and a glazed gable front in the living area. The plot is 2000 square meters (approximately 21,528 square feet).
There will be 4 people living in the house, with both parents working full time. The house is surrounded by fields on the north and west sides. To the south, there is a street with fields beyond it, and only to the east does the plot border a neighboring property. For this reason, the living room gable faces northwest.
I look forward to constructive criticism and hope for possible suggestions for improvement, as we have had little experience so far.
Best regards
we are planning to start building our house in 2018 and already have a first draft of our floor plan.
We want a single-story house of about 160 square meters (approximately 1,722 square feet) with a pitched roof and a glazed gable front in the living area. The plot is 2000 square meters (approximately 21,528 square feet).
There will be 4 people living in the house, with both parents working full time. The house is surrounded by fields on the north and west sides. To the south, there is a street with fields beyond it, and only to the east does the plot border a neighboring property. For this reason, the living room gable faces northwest.
I look forward to constructive criticism and hope for possible suggestions for improvement, as we have had little experience so far.
Best regards
I assume there won’t be a basement underneath? Then you will be missing a storage room. We’re already tight with an 8 sqm (86 sq ft) technical room and a 5 sqm (54 sq ft) storage closet in our bungalow.
In that case, I would say one shower is enough. We managed just fine with that in the past.
A window in the walk-in closet is rather counterproductive if you want to fill the space with wardrobes. Personally, I would have placed the walk-in closet in the back corner so it’s not immediately visible when you enter.
Living area: Keep in mind that a fireplace (stove) can get quite warm when it’s going full blast. The person sitting closest to it in the seating area might start sweating a bit ;-) Maybe the fireplace would be better positioned against a dividing wall rather than in the middle of the room. But that’s also a design choice.
When watching TV, the large glazed windows might annoy you due to reflections. I would plan the dining area there instead and place the sofa on the right side.
Kitchen: Consider a window with a lower sash. That way, you can put things in front of it or place the sink there while still being able to open the window.
In that case, I would say one shower is enough. We managed just fine with that in the past.
A window in the walk-in closet is rather counterproductive if you want to fill the space with wardrobes. Personally, I would have placed the walk-in closet in the back corner so it’s not immediately visible when you enter.
Living area: Keep in mind that a fireplace (stove) can get quite warm when it’s going full blast. The person sitting closest to it in the seating area might start sweating a bit ;-) Maybe the fireplace would be better positioned against a dividing wall rather than in the middle of the room. But that’s also a design choice.
When watching TV, the large glazed windows might annoy you due to reflections. I would plan the dining area there instead and place the sofa on the right side.
Kitchen: Consider a window with a lower sash. That way, you can put things in front of it or place the sink there while still being able to open the window.
Hello,
@ypg:
I didn’t want to make the post unnecessarily long, so I only included the most important information in my first message.
In the drawings, north is at the top. I don’t have a site plan at the moment, but the 45° gable faces the field. I’ve listed all other conditions above.
The bathroom could probably be a bit smaller, but I don’t consider 17 sqm (183 sq ft) to be oversized.
Why is the bedroom a walk-through room? Is that because of the walk-in closet?
I find zoning a bit tricky with a bungalow; unfortunately, I don’t really know where else to place the kids.
The sofa is too large; there is 3 m (10 ft) of space for a sofa, and you can find the dimensions in my first post with the floor plan. The second post was more to illustrate a possible layout.
The fireplace is intended to be a built-in stove, and the technical equipment will go into the utility room.
What I forgot to mention is that the living/dining/kitchen area has an open ceiling.
@Evolith
Thank you for your suggestions.
We also considered additional storage, but we decided that the attic and an outbuilding should be sufficient.
The dressing room would certainly look better reversed visually, but right now you can look out the bedroom window on the north side onto the field, and if switched, it would look onto the street.
I’ll try to create a site plan.
I’ve also thought about mirroring the layout... 😕 maybe swapping isn’t such a bad idea after all.
@ypg:
I didn’t want to make the post unnecessarily long, so I only included the most important information in my first message.
In the drawings, north is at the top. I don’t have a site plan at the moment, but the 45° gable faces the field. I’ve listed all other conditions above.
The bathroom could probably be a bit smaller, but I don’t consider 17 sqm (183 sq ft) to be oversized.
Why is the bedroom a walk-through room? Is that because of the walk-in closet?
I find zoning a bit tricky with a bungalow; unfortunately, I don’t really know where else to place the kids.
The sofa is too large; there is 3 m (10 ft) of space for a sofa, and you can find the dimensions in my first post with the floor plan. The second post was more to illustrate a possible layout.
The fireplace is intended to be a built-in stove, and the technical equipment will go into the utility room.
What I forgot to mention is that the living/dining/kitchen area has an open ceiling.
@Evolith
Thank you for your suggestions.
We also considered additional storage, but we decided that the attic and an outbuilding should be sufficient.
The dressing room would certainly look better reversed visually, but right now you can look out the bedroom window on the north side onto the field, and if switched, it would look onto the street.
I’ll try to create a site plan.
I’ve also thought about mirroring the layout... 😕 maybe swapping isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Oops, now I see the measurements. Sorry!
This is due to the inconvenient PDF, which many people in the forum find difficult to use.
However, my criticisms remain, along with the missing site plan and the missing data.
I would say: if a technical room or utility room or enough storage space is created, then the mistakes don’t have to be repeated.
Otherwise, I recommend taking a look at other floor plan discussions to get a better sense of things or to consider topics like having a second shower or a walk-in closet, along with the relevant reasoning.
Of course, much of this is difficult for a layperson, but very easy for someone with experience or the appropriate education.
Best regards
This is due to the inconvenient PDF, which many people in the forum find difficult to use.
However, my criticisms remain, along with the missing site plan and the missing data.
I would say: if a technical room or utility room or enough storage space is created, then the mistakes don’t have to be repeated.
Otherwise, I recommend taking a look at other floor plan discussions to get a better sense of things or to consider topics like having a second shower or a walk-in closet, along with the relevant reasoning.
Of course, much of this is difficult for a layperson, but very easy for someone with experience or the appropriate education.
Best regards
And here are the details:
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 2000 sqm (approximately 0.5 acres)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Site coverage ratio (SCR): 0.3
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: everything marked in red
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: bungalow
Orientation: north
Maximum heights/limits: 8 m (26 ft)
Additional requirements
Homeowner Requirements
Number of occupants: 4 (including two toddlers)
Space needed on ground floor: approx. 160 sqm (approximately 1,720 sq ft)
Office: family use
Open or closed floor plan: open
Traditional or modern construction style
Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace
Garage, carport: carport for two cars
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Design by: do-it-yourself
What is especially liked? Why?: large and open living/dining area
Personal budget for house, including fittings: 500,000
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler
Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 2000 sqm (approximately 0.5 acres)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.3
Site coverage ratio (SCR): 0.3
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: everything marked in red
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: gable roof
Style: bungalow
Orientation: north
Maximum heights/limits: 8 m (26 ft)
Additional requirements
Homeowner Requirements
Number of occupants: 4 (including two toddlers)
Space needed on ground floor: approx. 160 sqm (approximately 1,720 sq ft)
Office: family use
Open or closed floor plan: open
Traditional or modern construction style
Open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall
Balcony, roof terrace: terrace
Garage, carport: carport for two cars
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Design by: do-it-yourself
What is especially liked? Why?: large and open living/dining area
Personal budget for house, including fittings: 500,000
Preferred heating system: gas condensing boiler
@ypg:
Sorry, I thought .pdf was quite common and the best format for something like this.
Could you maybe explain again about the utility room/storage area and the issues?
The second shower is off the table because our experience is simply different, but fortunately everyone can decide that for themselves.
A walk-in closet with a window is definitely something to consider.
Sorry, I thought .pdf was quite common and the best format for something like this.
Could you maybe explain again about the utility room/storage area and the issues?
The second shower is off the table because our experience is simply different, but fortunately everyone can decide that for themselves.
A walk-in closet with a window is definitely something to consider.
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