ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a New Single-Family Home with Double Garage (Urban Villa)

Hello everyone,
last week we received the first draft proposal from our architect for the new build of a detached single-family house with a double garage.

Below are the answers to the questionnaire, completed as much as possible.
If I have misunderstood or answered any points incorrectly, please excuse me.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1701 sqm (front approx. 27 m (89 feet))
Slope: slightly rising towards the north, but no impact on floor plan or design
Site coverage ratio: N/A
Floor area ratio: N/A
Building window, building line and boundary:
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces:
Number of storeys:
Roof type: N/A
Architectural style: N/A
Orientation: North
Maximum heights / limits:
Additional requirements: §34

Homeowner Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Urban villa with a hipped roof / garage with hipped roof
Basement, storeys: no basement, 2 full storeys
Number of occupants, age: 2, 28
Room requirements on the ground floor: kitchen, living + dining, office, guest WC, pantry, laundry room
Upper floor: 1 master bedroom + walk-in closet + bathroom, 2 children’s bedrooms + bathroom, storage room
Office: home office
Number of overnight guests yearly: not relevant
Open or closed design: open
Conservative or modern construction style: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse

House Design
Planned by:
- architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The upper floor layout was implemented as discussed;
The architect added an open space in the entrance area, which we find very good.

What do you not like? Why?
Since we did not want a flat roof on the garage, a double garage with a hipped roof was planned, followed by a flat roof extension to provide direct access to the house.
However, the layout of the rooms for laundry + drying, heating + technical equipment, as well as pantry + utility room, feels somewhat awkward.

If possible, we would like to switch the pantry with the laundry room and add a pantry off the kitchen.
This would allow the outbuilding to be slightly smaller and the kitchen window to be enlarged. However, I suspect this will increase the overall footprint.

Cost estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 390,000 EUR (including ventilation system)
Personal budget limit for the house, including equipment: estimate fits budget
Preferred heating system: gas + solar thermal (the draft currently includes an air-source heat pump)

If you had to do without, which details / additions
- could you do without:
- could you not do without:

What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?

Overall, our wishes regarding layout and construction style have been well implemented.
Only the above-mentioned layout of the outbuilding including the pantry seems somewhat awkward.
What do you think of our ideas, and what possibilities for redesign would you suggest?

Thank you in advance for the lively discussion!

Best regards,
maxl229

I would rotate the ground floor by 90 degrees to achieve a west-facing orientation.

Make sure to include the existing or planned furniture layout.

The budget is insufficient without electrical work.

Laundry areas should be as far away and separated by as many doors as possible from the rooms where laundry is generated.

The pantry and laundry are difficult to use effectively due to the many doors.

A wardrobe for 2 people is okay, but too small for 4.

The living and dining areas feel cozy, but there is too much space in between.

I would also rearrange the upper floor.

Remove the open space and move the laundry to the upper floor. Reduce the number of pantry doors and include the technical room there as well. A carport with a storage room instead of a garage could help keep the budget manageable.

Overall, this looks quite decent. Hopefully, the roof trusses are just a placeholder in the drawing, as their braces can certainly be positioned more practically. I am somewhat surprised by the ceiling suspension. I’m not really a fan of controlled ventilation systems, but from what I’ve seen, they are more often installed on the subfloor of the next level rather than being fastened underneath the ceiling (?)

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

I never really understood the purpose of void spaces, but why have one in the entrance area? What is the benefit?

Having the staircase end right at the bedroom door is not ideal—I speak from experience.

I consider your seating area a proper corner; in my opinion, this is not suitable for a house. However, it fits the architectural style with all the corners and doors...

Where would you plan the second shower?

Consider whether it would be possible to combine storage, laundry, and heating into a single room. At the moment, space is being wasted here.

lastdrop schrieb:

I never really saw the point of double-height spaces, but why add one in the entrance area? What’s the benefit?

According to many homebuilders, it turns the staircase into a showcase feature and/or transforms the vestibule into a more open foyer.

By the way, I’m pleasantly surprised. I usually say that the “magic triangle” of a house width under 12 meters (39 feet), a single-run straight staircase, and facade symmetry comes at the cost of awkward spots in the floor plan. Here, I think I’ve found my exception that proves the rule.

Although I am overall “satisfied” with the current plan, I wouldn’t place my house so far back behind the garage with a ridiculously long corridor between the garden gate and the front door. This reminds me of one of my mantras: to really free up the design, it can help to “break up” the connection between the main house and the garage building.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

haydee schrieb:

I would rotate the ground floor by 90 degrees to achieve a west-facing orientation.

Be sure to include the existing or desired furniture layout in the plan.

The budget is insufficient without the HVAC system.

Laundry should be located as far as possible and behind as many doors as possible from the rooms where it is generated.

The pantry and laundry rooms are difficult to use effectively due to the many doors.

A wardrobe for two is fine, but too small for four.

The living and dining areas feel cozy, but there is a lot of space in between.

I would arrange the upper floor differently as well.

Remove the open space and move the laundry to the upper floor.
Reduce the number of doors in the pantry and include the technical room there. A carport with a storage room instead of a garage could make the budget more realistic.

Thank you very much for the feedback!

Rotating the ground floor by 90 degrees is definitely worth considering. I will try to draft it myself to get a better idea.

There seems to have been a misunderstanding about the budget. The architect’s cost estimate is 390,000 EUR (including the ventilation system) without any self-performed work. This budget is available on our side. We are also prepared to handle potential price increases. Therefore, I don’t think we necessarily have to give up the garage or similar features.

I would like to swap the laundry room with the pantry so that the washing machine and dryer can be placed right next to the planned laundry chute. In addition, I would like to integrate a small larder into the kitchen to slightly reduce the size of the ancillary building. Whether this is feasible within the planned house footprint still needs to be clarified.