ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house on a 10% south-facing slope. Entrance with a landing staircase.

Created on: 2 Aug 2025 23:15
H
Hanger1
H
Hanger1
2 Aug 2025 23:15
Hello everyone,

Some time ago, I created a post about the layout and optimal use of our approximately 600 sqm (6460 sq ft) plot of land with about a 10% south-facing slope.
We have now spent some time drawing, considering, erasing, and so on, and have developed the following floor plan.
Since we have about a 10% slope, I want to make optimal use of the hillside. My idea is that the main entrance is on the landing staircase, meaning on the level between the ground floor and the first floor, but with an enlarged landing.
From there, half a flight of stairs leads up to the upper floor (sleeping area) or half a flight down to the ground floor (living area).
This idea comes from the split-level concept.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Size of the plot: 600 sqm (6460 sq ft)
Slope: 10% south-facing slope
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Number of parking spaces: not yet decided, probably 2
Number of stories: currently planning 2 full stories
Roof type: gable or hip roof
Architectural style: classic
Orientation: north-south

Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, number of floors
Number of residents, age: 2 adults, currently 1 child, 2-3 children planned in future
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor
Office: family use or home office? The office could alternatively be used as a third child’s bedroom
Overnight guests are negligible
Open or closed architecture: open design
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, cooking island: U-shaped kitchen, already planned at the kitchen studio. The optimal size for us is 3 x 4 m (10 x 13 ft). We want a hidden door on the short side leading to the storage/pantry.
Number of dining seats: 1
Fireplace: no
Guest WC should include a shower, as my wife will be working shift work again in the future and having a shower away from the bedrooms is convenient.

House Design
Who created the plan:
- Planner from a building company: ideas from a builder, but we are doing it ourselves (DIY)

What do you like about it? Why?
What do you not like? Why? We are uncertain whether the north side near the entrance on the intermediate level looks too disjointed, because the upper floor windows start at the height where the front door ends.

Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: 500k
Preferred heating technology: heat pump

If you have to give up anything, which details or extras
- could you give up? Preferably less square meters.
- cannot do without? WC/shower on the ground floor.

2D floor plan of a house with eight rooms, dimensions, and stairs


Floor plan of a house with six rooms (No. 9-14) and area indications in sqm


The following rooms are planned:
1: Living room with sliding door to dining area
2: Dining area
3: Kitchen with sliding door to dining area
4: Utility room
5: Guest WC/shower
6: Corridor
7: Landing staircase with enlarged landing
8: Storage room
9: Bathroom
10: Child I
11: Child II
12: Parents’ bedroom, possibly with a partition wall so you enter the bedroom through a small dressing room
13: Corridor (the landing staircase is not shown here)
14: Office / Child III

I look forward to your feedback!
N
nordanney
2 Aug 2025 23:27
Just a quick note, after that it’s no longer worth discussing the floor plan.
You’re planning two floors on a slope. 260 sqm (2,800 sq ft) gross floor area for 500k.
With a bit of bad luck, that budget will only cover one level. Certainly not both.
G
Gerddieter
2 Aug 2025 23:44
I find the floor plan disastrous. What is this supposed to be – an apartment from the 1970s? Does your house even have windows? And you don’t like the popular “open design” of the living area either?
GD
Y
ypg
2 Aug 2025 23:51
Is there a reason why Room 5, the guest bathroom, is awkwardly connected through the utility room (Room 4), resulting in the guest bathroom having no window and the utility room having more walking space than usable floor space?
Also, where is the stroller parked—that is, where is the cloakroom or hallway where guests are welcomed, shoes are removed, and jackets are stored?
The bathrooms are not stacked, which is not a major issue, but having a bathroom above the living room is not ideal. The ground floor feels more like an apartment than a detached house.
For 240 square meters (approximately 2,583 square feet), the estimated cost in standard quality is around €520,000, excluding additional construction-related expenses and without a split-level design. While a split-level does not cost a fortune, it does add to the total expense.
Y
ypg
3 Aug 2025 00:16
Split level is built when you want an open layout. Split level design relies on sightlines and an open spatial structure, with rooms flowing seamlessly into one another. What you have drawn is not a split level, but rather the idea of a split level that has not been realized. You have simply planned a two-story house, and not even a well-designed one at that.
N
nordanney
3 Aug 2025 09:29
ypg schrieb:

240 sqm costs in standard quality around 520,000€
I think you miscalculated there 😉