ᐅ Floor plan design of an urban villa with 140–145 sqm living space on a 1200 sqm plot
Created on: 28 Nov 2025 07:55
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Der-Dachs
Hello dear forum members, after being a silent reader for a long time, I would like to introduce myself and share our floor plan. It is currently in the planning stage and almost finalized. I have completed the questionnaire to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Urban villa, 140-145 sqm (1507-1562 sq ft)
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size – 1200 sqm (12917 sq ft)
Slope – no
Floor area ratio – unknown or according to §34 Building Code
Plot coverage ratio – §34 Building Code
Building line, building boundary – §34 Building Code
Edge development –
Number of parking spaces – 2
Number of floors – 2 full floors
Roof type – hipped roof
Architectural style – modern
Orientation – main entrance south/southeast, terrace north/northwest
Maximum heights/limits –
Other requirements –
Homeowner requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type – urban villa with hipped roof, modern design
Basement, floors – 2 full floors without basement
Number of people, ages – 2 adults (33, 29), 1 child (1), 1 dog (3), one more child planned in the next years
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor – Ground floor: open living-dining area with open kitchen, pantry, utility room, office/guest room, guest toilet with shower
Office: family use or home office? – office for home office and family use
Guests per year – parents-in-law or other family about 3 times per year
Open or closed architecture – rather open
Traditional or modern construction – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – open kitchen yes, kitchen island possibly
Number of dining seats – currently 3 daily, occasionally more up to 12
Fireplace – yes
Music/stereo wall – home theater if possible
Balcony, roof terrace – no
Garage, carport – in the future yes, carport next to the house, garage if possible at the back of the plot
Vegetable garden, greenhouse – vegetable garden yes, small area up to 100 sqm (1076 sq ft)
House design
Who designed the plan: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why?
Estimated price according to architect/planner: 330,000€
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: 370,000€
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you have to give up something, which features/expansions
- can you give up:
- can you not give up:
Why is the design as it is? For example:
The first draft from the planner included a winding staircase, but since we don’t like those and wanted uniform step depths, the final design features a straight staircase. We also tried a staircase with a landing, but it took up too much space.
The design was therefore partly based on our wishes and partly self-planned. We tried to fit everything as well as possible.
Regarding the design, there is a storage room on the upper floor which will still be modified. Instead of a storage room, this will become the entrance to the bedroom. The wall where the wardrobes will be placed will be extended forward so it almost aligns with the fireplace. The bed will be positioned facing the window.
The bathroom layout is provisional and will be changed. A major wish is to include a small sauna, but this is a low priority.
I hope I have provided enough information and will try to respond as quickly as possible.
Thank you in advance for your input.
Urban villa, 140-145 sqm (1507-1562 sq ft)
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size – 1200 sqm (12917 sq ft)
Slope – no
Floor area ratio – unknown or according to §34 Building Code
Plot coverage ratio – §34 Building Code
Building line, building boundary – §34 Building Code
Edge development –
Number of parking spaces – 2
Number of floors – 2 full floors
Roof type – hipped roof
Architectural style – modern
Orientation – main entrance south/southeast, terrace north/northwest
Maximum heights/limits –
Other requirements –
Homeowner requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type – urban villa with hipped roof, modern design
Basement, floors – 2 full floors without basement
Number of people, ages – 2 adults (33, 29), 1 child (1), 1 dog (3), one more child planned in the next years
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor – Ground floor: open living-dining area with open kitchen, pantry, utility room, office/guest room, guest toilet with shower
Office: family use or home office? – office for home office and family use
Guests per year – parents-in-law or other family about 3 times per year
Open or closed architecture – rather open
Traditional or modern construction – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – open kitchen yes, kitchen island possibly
Number of dining seats – currently 3 daily, occasionally more up to 12
Fireplace – yes
Music/stereo wall – home theater if possible
Balcony, roof terrace – no
Garage, carport – in the future yes, carport next to the house, garage if possible at the back of the plot
Vegetable garden, greenhouse – vegetable garden yes, small area up to 100 sqm (1076 sq ft)
House design
Who designed the plan: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
What do you dislike? Why?
Estimated price according to architect/planner: 330,000€
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: 370,000€
Preferred heating system: heat pump
If you have to give up something, which features/expansions
- can you give up:
- can you not give up:
Why is the design as it is? For example:
The first draft from the planner included a winding staircase, but since we don’t like those and wanted uniform step depths, the final design features a straight staircase. We also tried a staircase with a landing, but it took up too much space.
The design was therefore partly based on our wishes and partly self-planned. We tried to fit everything as well as possible.
Regarding the design, there is a storage room on the upper floor which will still be modified. Instead of a storage room, this will become the entrance to the bedroom. The wall where the wardrobes will be placed will be extended forward so it almost aligns with the fireplace. The bed will be positioned facing the window.
The bathroom layout is provisional and will be changed. A major wish is to include a small sauna, but this is a low priority.
I hope I have provided enough information and will try to respond as quickly as possible.
Thank you in advance for your input.
Arauki11 schrieb:
I have had a dog myself for many years, and if I had the time, I would get one again immediately. Still, I believe that these costs are often underestimated, and that is what I want to focus on here.
A quick search on Google also shows that, on average, these total costs are usually higher. However, personally, I could also agree more with your assessment. Yes, I’m with you… it’s just like with a child: some are expensive, others are more low-maintenance.
Der-Dachs schrieb:
By the way, this is a regional construction company. Not a big chain. Yes, they are cheaper. However, they don’t give anything away for free. The price is reflected in the reduced scope of services, where you then find tiles listed at 20€/m² (about 1.86 sq ft) or not at all, cheaper plaster, or many things to be supplied by the client.
Der-Dachs schrieb:
Attached is the floor plan updated today, as well as the first draft with the landing stairs. Even worse… a pantry that is narrower than the door. Does anyone actually consider things like this during planning?
Still, here are some points to keep in mind:
- Under the stairs, you won’t easily fit cloakroom storage for four people: rubber boots, rain jackets, winter clothes, scarves and gloves, plus all the everyday shoes that are regularly rotated. Also, you lose height under the stairs because a wall will be built in front. One meter (about 3.3 feet) of shelf width is not enough; those pull-out drawers under the stairs are bulky, not easy to use quickly, and expensive. The stairs enclose the space and create storage for the cloakroom, which also allows for some clutter.
- Hallway: A chest of drawers will be cramped. Who plans this carelessly and forgets the door to the open living space?
- Guest room is poorly planned. Although it’s quite a “generous” room, windows and doors eliminate three walls for furniture. Moreover, the door is positioned so that you cannot place a wardrobe behind it (as a substitute for a coat closet).
- The pantry takes up a lot of space—and an expensive space at that. With that area, you could afford a great kitchen in a larger room that would work well without a pantry at all.
- Swapping the utility room and guest bathroom would make more sense.
- The walk-in closet is far too narrow. Just remove that wall and give up on this option. Having the bedroom as a passage room defeats the purpose of a walk-in closet—it basically becomes just a clothes room with free reign for clutter.
- The current bedroom layout is even less cozy to use.
- The bathroom door is also positioned poorly.
I will link another thread about storage space
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/die-liste-die-jeden-bauherren-zu-interessieren-hat.34418/
- And one more tip: arguments like “it will work like this anyway” or “it’s even smaller now” do not fix planning mistakes, nor do they make the daily hassles more bearable. A house, especially a new build, is simply too expensive for that. Usually, you pay for a flaw for 30 years. You can design these modern villas thoughtfully instead of just drawing straight lines as walls and then adding one corner.
If you can’t wait an extra month or two for your building permit / planning permission, then I don’t know what else to say.
Papierturm28 Nov 2025 16:54Oh dear!
As others have already mentioned, a warning is needed regarding the budget here. Without substantial owner-built work, this will be a problem.
With basic finishes from providers in the lower price range, you’re already beyond 2500€/m² (about 232 sq ft) excluding additional construction costs. Most are in the range of 3000€/m² to 3200€/m² (about 279–298 sq ft).
There are also several features planned that definitely don’t belong in the lower price segment: huge sliding doors, a fireplace, and more.
So please take a really close look at the budget first. Especially the price quoted by the builder. Right now, about 2300€/m² (about 213 sq ft) is being quoted. To me, that sounds like "it will suddenly become unexpectedly (tm) more expensive during construction."
Also, prioritize ruthlessly. Here are some suggestions—not intended as criticism, but rather ways to potentially save between 50,000 and 100,000€.
Unfortunately, the storage cupboard upstairs will be lost to stair space.
(I would recommend a half-turn staircase with the newly proposed house dimensions, as this would simplify the layout significantly).
I would estimate that all these changes combined might save around 80,000€. Admittedly, some of this is really tough, but as mentioned before: If construction cost matched these prices, almost no company could survive on the market, since even the lowest-end builders charge more.
Or there could be hidden traps here, such as the foundation slab not being included, various additional costs on site (which can quickly reach five figures), and so on. I would advise looking very closely to avoid falling into a trap.
As others have already mentioned, a warning is needed regarding the budget here. Without substantial owner-built work, this will be a problem.
With basic finishes from providers in the lower price range, you’re already beyond 2500€/m² (about 232 sq ft) excluding additional construction costs. Most are in the range of 3000€/m² to 3200€/m² (about 279–298 sq ft).
There are also several features planned that definitely don’t belong in the lower price segment: huge sliding doors, a fireplace, and more.
So please take a really close look at the budget first. Especially the price quoted by the builder. Right now, about 2300€/m² (about 213 sq ft) is being quoted. To me, that sounds like "it will suddenly become unexpectedly (tm) more expensive during construction."
Also, prioritize ruthlessly. Here are some suggestions—not intended as criticism, but rather ways to potentially save between 50,000 and 100,000€.
- Remove the fireplace! Fireplaces cause very rapid overheating even in highly energy-efficient (KfW55) houses. Unless you are a real fire enthusiast and the fireplace is a lifelong dream, leave it out.
- Remove the pantry. It’s poorly designed anyway (too much walking space compared to usable area).
- Convert the utility room into a guest room, eliminate the current utility room → with some other changes upstairs, the house becomes about 1.36 m (4 ft 6 in) narrower → saving roughly 28 m² (300 sq ft) across both floors. This will get you down to around 120 m² (1290 sq ft), making the budget slowly achievable.
- Use a gable roof instead of a hip roof (gable roofs are cheaper and look acceptable now due to the narrower house shape).
- Eliminate the huge lift-and-slide door. Opt for large fixed glazing plus a standard patio door.
- Use shower trays instead of tiled showers (tiled showers cost significantly more).
- Upstairs: Both children’s rooms need to be reduced in depth. Remove the walk-in closet and redesign the bathroom to be much narrower (it doesn’t need to be as spacious). Place wardrobes inside the bedroom without a partition wall. With some luck, you can squeeze in a small guest room between the bathroom and bedroom. If not, the current utility room on the ground floor becomes a small guest room at the expense of the living area.
Unfortunately, the storage cupboard upstairs will be lost to stair space.
(I would recommend a half-turn staircase with the newly proposed house dimensions, as this would simplify the layout significantly).
I would estimate that all these changes combined might save around 80,000€. Admittedly, some of this is really tough, but as mentioned before: If construction cost matched these prices, almost no company could survive on the market, since even the lowest-end builders charge more.
Or there could be hidden traps here, such as the foundation slab not being included, various additional costs on site (which can quickly reach five figures), and so on. I would advise looking very closely to avoid falling into a trap.
M
MachsSelbst28 Nov 2025 19:29With this budget, you are a typical client for companies like Town & Country and others, and you will definitely be involved with significant self-contracted work. Even then, a total cost of 370,000 EUR including all additional expenses and furnishing will already be tight, depending on the region.
B
Bertram10028 Nov 2025 20:04I live in a standard terraced house that comfortably accommodates four people, and can still be reasonably comfortable for five. The living area is about 120 sqm (1,292 sq ft). If the budget is tight, I would seriously consider giving up the staircase; you can walk normally on a quarter-turn staircase. Get rid of the fireplace, move the staircase to a better location, away from the entrance. Make the house a bit narrower, and then it fits well within the budget without major compromises.
Once you really dive into the planning, everything suddenly becomes very important. You start thinking life will be so much better with a straight staircase. But in reality, that’s not very significant. Take a breath from time to time and remember that it’s “just” a house, which can/should/may be adapted to your life. Then the number of square meters won’t seem so important anymore.
Once you really dive into the planning, everything suddenly becomes very important. You start thinking life will be so much better with a straight staircase. But in reality, that’s not very significant. Take a breath from time to time and remember that it’s “just” a house, which can/should/may be adapted to your life. Then the number of square meters won’t seem so important anymore.
@Der-Dachs First of all, I really want to thank you for addressing every single point I raised, no matter how small. That’s quite rare in this forum!
You can be sure that almost everyone here can understand your thoughts and actions because we have all faced the same questions repeatedly. Everyone wants to start quickly and doesn’t want to question or redesign everything again. If I, as someone who has built multiple houses, told you about all the little doubts I had in my head—many of which I thankfully didn’t act on (though some I did)—you would probably just smile.
For example, when I mentioned the dog, I mainly wanted to emphasize that in private life as well as in house building, there are usually many small adjustment points that seem minor individually but collectively have a big impact. I have already mentioned several times that with my first house, I could have saved around 100,000 DM (about 50,000 USD) without losing even 1% of living quality.
You should really take seriously the clear warnings from several participants about budget and construction costs, as they mostly have just been through what lies ahead for you or are in the middle of it.
Ideally, you would share the scope of work or construction specification here so we could review it and point out potential pitfalls that might cause trouble later on—or unfortunately, usually will.
Paying rent a few months longer may feel unnecessary, but in the long run, that could end up being one of your better decisions, because rushing has never helped anyone, and probably everyone here would agree with that.
In the end, it’s your decision, and you will have to live with it. Here, you mainly receive warnings about the traps others have stumbled into before you.
If you end up under more pressure than you expected, that often affects your marriage or family more than if the house turns out smaller or different than you dreamed for whatever reason. @Bertram100 explained this quite well.
From what you’ve written, I genuinely sense your urgency and thus possibly your intention to reject fundamental criticism; however, this criticism is valid, and you should carefully consider whether it might actually apply to you.
That’s my word for Saturday.
You can be sure that almost everyone here can understand your thoughts and actions because we have all faced the same questions repeatedly. Everyone wants to start quickly and doesn’t want to question or redesign everything again. If I, as someone who has built multiple houses, told you about all the little doubts I had in my head—many of which I thankfully didn’t act on (though some I did)—you would probably just smile.
For example, when I mentioned the dog, I mainly wanted to emphasize that in private life as well as in house building, there are usually many small adjustment points that seem minor individually but collectively have a big impact. I have already mentioned several times that with my first house, I could have saved around 100,000 DM (about 50,000 USD) without losing even 1% of living quality.
You should really take seriously the clear warnings from several participants about budget and construction costs, as they mostly have just been through what lies ahead for you or are in the middle of it.
Ideally, you would share the scope of work or construction specification here so we could review it and point out potential pitfalls that might cause trouble later on—or unfortunately, usually will.
Paying rent a few months longer may feel unnecessary, but in the long run, that could end up being one of your better decisions, because rushing has never helped anyone, and probably everyone here would agree with that.
In the end, it’s your decision, and you will have to live with it. Here, you mainly receive warnings about the traps others have stumbled into before you.
If you end up under more pressure than you expected, that often affects your marriage or family more than if the house turns out smaller or different than you dreamed for whatever reason. @Bertram100 explained this quite well.
From what you’ve written, I genuinely sense your urgency and thus possibly your intention to reject fundamental criticism; however, this criticism is valid, and you should carefully consider whether it might actually apply to you.
That’s my word for Saturday.
D
Der-Dachs29 Nov 2025 21:13I see there is active participation here again. I probably won’t be able to address everything, but of course, I will try to answer as much as possible; otherwise, I wouldn’t have started this topic.
There is indeed some time pressure. We are currently renting, and the rent has become extremely expensive, making building a house more worthwhile. However, this also means a significant financial burden for a period of time. The sooner we submit the building permit application / planning permission, the better. It can apparently take around three months to be processed.
The earlier it is approved, the sooner construction can begin.
The contract specifies the size of the foundation slab at 95.0625 square meters (approximately 1,023 square feet), which corresponds to external dimensions of 9.75 x 9.75 meters (32 x 32 feet). However, the external dimensions can be adjusted.
According to the construction company and the bank, the house can be larger but not smaller. (The bank does not agree to a smaller size.)
I carefully consider all criticism and suggestions here but also weigh them against our ideas and wishes.
For example, the utility room is deliberately placed in the middle and would not be swapped with the guest bathroom or guest/office room.
The office/guest room is meant to be bright to allow for comfortable home-office work. It also offers space for a small sofa bed and shelves for storing files.
In the hallway, there is a small recess in front of the guest bathroom where a shoe rack for daily shoes can fit. Coats will have enough space under the stairs.
The pantry provides enough space to store many kitchen items out of sight. We also still prepare pickled and other preserved foods, which are stored there.
What we are seriously considering now is removing the partition wall between the bedroom and the walk-in closet to create more space. We are still thinking about the best way to do this.
The contract currently includes a T-shaped layout for the bathroom, but we are reconsidering whether to keep it that way.
I hope this provides some clarity.
I will try to upload the description of construction services by tomorrow. I prefer not to post the contract here publicly. It includes further useful information but would require removing many details. I can provide it privately if requested.
From it, it should definitely become clear how the price is calculated.
I certainly haven’t addressed every point, and I apologize for that, but I have read every comment and thank everyone for their participation!
There is indeed some time pressure. We are currently renting, and the rent has become extremely expensive, making building a house more worthwhile. However, this also means a significant financial burden for a period of time. The sooner we submit the building permit application / planning permission, the better. It can apparently take around three months to be processed.
The earlier it is approved, the sooner construction can begin.
The contract specifies the size of the foundation slab at 95.0625 square meters (approximately 1,023 square feet), which corresponds to external dimensions of 9.75 x 9.75 meters (32 x 32 feet). However, the external dimensions can be adjusted.
According to the construction company and the bank, the house can be larger but not smaller. (The bank does not agree to a smaller size.)
I carefully consider all criticism and suggestions here but also weigh them against our ideas and wishes.
For example, the utility room is deliberately placed in the middle and would not be swapped with the guest bathroom or guest/office room.
The office/guest room is meant to be bright to allow for comfortable home-office work. It also offers space for a small sofa bed and shelves for storing files.
In the hallway, there is a small recess in front of the guest bathroom where a shoe rack for daily shoes can fit. Coats will have enough space under the stairs.
The pantry provides enough space to store many kitchen items out of sight. We also still prepare pickled and other preserved foods, which are stored there.
What we are seriously considering now is removing the partition wall between the bedroom and the walk-in closet to create more space. We are still thinking about the best way to do this.
The contract currently includes a T-shaped layout for the bathroom, but we are reconsidering whether to keep it that way.
I hope this provides some clarity.
I will try to upload the description of construction services by tomorrow. I prefer not to post the contract here publicly. It includes further useful information but would require removing many details. I can provide it privately if requested.
From it, it should definitely become clear how the price is calculated.
I certainly haven’t addressed every point, and I apologize for that, but I have read every comment and thank everyone for their participation!
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