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
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Hanger1
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.
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!
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.
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!
M
MachsSelbst3 Aug 2025 15:45However, it is not 240m² (2580 ft²) but only 200m² (2150 ft²). The base area of the foundation slab is 260m² (2800 ft²), which results in about 200m² (2150 ft²) of living space.
The floor plan itself... complete rubbish. Almost 40m² (430 ft²) on the ground floor for the utility room and storage, and only about 45m² (485 ft²) for the living room, dining area, and kitchen?
I’m laughing out loud—on our 154m² (1660 ft²) house, we have nearly 60m² (645 ft²) for the kitchen and open living area. Who needs a utility room almost 20m² (215 ft²) in size?
The floor plan itself... complete rubbish. Almost 40m² (430 ft²) on the ground floor for the utility room and storage, and only about 45m² (485 ft²) for the living room, dining area, and kitchen?
I’m laughing out loud—on our 154m² (1660 ft²) house, we have nearly 60m² (645 ft²) for the kitchen and open living area. Who needs a utility room almost 20m² (215 ft²) in size?
H
hanghaus20234 Aug 2025 09:58This is the maximum you can build according to your budget. This shows where you need to cut costs.
11 by 8 meters (36 by 26 feet) with 2 full floors. Over 8 meters (26 feet) you only have a 0.8 meter (0.8 yard) slope. A true hillside house or split-level doesn’t make sense with such a gentle slope.
11 by 8 meters (36 by 26 feet) with 2 full floors. Over 8 meters (26 feet) you only have a 0.8 meter (0.8 yard) slope. A true hillside house or split-level doesn’t make sense with such a gentle slope.
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hanghaus20234 Aug 2025 10:03Do you already own the plot of land? Or why is there no actual site plan? Your sketch and the photo of the plan do not match. How are you supposed to plan with that?
H
hanghaus20234 Aug 2025 10:25An example from the web with 135m2 (1453 sq ft)
Papierturm4 Aug 2025 13:16Actually, I don’t think the original idea is that bad. But the execution reminds me of stories where people blindly followed GPS (in this case, the idea) and ended up driving into the sea or on a subway staircase.
For the next draft:
1. Rooms should work well for daily living.
Examples where I suspect this is not the case:
The utility room is huge but almost entirely (very expensive) circulation space.
The ratio of living spaces to utility rooms is very costly.
The entrance area will probably become annoying in everyday use because it is only half-realized (not large enough for a functional entrance).
The ground floor toilet has no window (do you really want that?).
(I know the ground floor toilet is often called a guest toilet. But if family life mainly happens in the living room, it will be used frequently.)
I’m also not sure if the segmented space (kitchen, living, dining) will work well. It feels very cramped to me.
2. Think about what we actually need.
Also: keep an eye on costs! The question is “need,” not “want.” Start with must-haves, then nice-to-haves.
3. Consider what the plot dictates (orientation, building permit/planning restrictions, etc.).
After that, try to create the best possible blend from these factors.
Light and circulation routes should always be part of this.
And above all: the functionality of the rooms! Especially the utility room may be so impractical depending on the heating technology chosen that, in the end, the (also large) storage room will become the utility room instead.
For the next draft:
1. Rooms should work well for daily living.
Examples where I suspect this is not the case:
The utility room is huge but almost entirely (very expensive) circulation space.
The ratio of living spaces to utility rooms is very costly.
The entrance area will probably become annoying in everyday use because it is only half-realized (not large enough for a functional entrance).
The ground floor toilet has no window (do you really want that?).
(I know the ground floor toilet is often called a guest toilet. But if family life mainly happens in the living room, it will be used frequently.)
I’m also not sure if the segmented space (kitchen, living, dining) will work well. It feels very cramped to me.
2. Think about what we actually need.
Also: keep an eye on costs! The question is “need,” not “want.” Start with must-haves, then nice-to-haves.
3. Consider what the plot dictates (orientation, building permit/planning restrictions, etc.).
After that, try to create the best possible blend from these factors.
Light and circulation routes should always be part of this.
And above all: the functionality of the rooms! Especially the utility room may be so impractical depending on the heating technology chosen that, in the end, the (also large) storage room will become the utility room instead.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Do you already own the land? Or why isn’t there an actual plan of the plot? see https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/sued-hang-grundstueck-700qm-einfamilienhaus-ca-150qm-ideen-input.49143 image 3
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Your sketch and the photo of the plan don’t match. How are you supposed to plan with that? Yes, in the brochure the plot looks narrower than in the sketch with the elevation details.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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