ᐅ Floor plan design and optimization for a single-family house without a basement
Created on: 17 Jul 2023 17:08
H
HausBaus
Hello everyone,
My husband and I are currently planning a single-family house that we want to build next year. With the help of a draftsman, we have designed this floor plan and would now like to gather your ideas and suggestions for improvements. Here are the details:
Development plan / restrictions:
Plot size: 880 m2 (9,470 sq ft)
Slope: no
Number of floors: max. 2 full floors
Roof shape: gable roof
Otherwise no restrictions according to the development plan
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic single-family house / Jura house, gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 full floors
Number of people, age: 2 adults and 2-3 children
Space requirements on the ground floor: shower bathroom, open kitchen/dining area, living room, utility room & technical room, pantry, entrance area
Space requirements on the upper floor: 3 bedrooms, 1 office (which may later become an additional children's room), bathroom, possibly a storage room
Office: family use or home office? Initially a home office, possibly later an additional children’s room
Overnight guests per year: not relevant
Open or closed layout: open kitchen/dining/living area, otherwise rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: one parking space each for garage and carport
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: rather not
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
- Entrance area with a door leading to the living/warm area (serving as a dirt trap / windbreak, as well as separation for dogs/children going outside)
- Toilet and stairs also within the “warm zone,” i.e., accessed without going through the entrance area
- Spacious utility/technical room: if possible, it should also be suitable for hanging laundry
- Side entrance via carport/garage
House design
Designed by: draftsman
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Orientation of the main rooms according to cardinal directions
- Garage/carport combination plus covered entrance
- Layout and room usage on the upper floor
What do you dislike? Why?
- Entrance area possibly too small and dark, no real place for a wardrobe—where to put shoes, jackets, etc.? (We initially considered a niche for this in the living room but believe we wouldn’t like having such an awkward corner in the living room, and it would also be more difficult to furnish.)
- Utility/technical room may be too small?
- Also wondering if the toilet next to the kitchen could be problematic, especially when guests are visiting
(- Originally, we wanted the living room to be somewhat more spatially separated, i.e., no door to the living-dining area, but rather, for example, a stove with a small wall as room divider, a straight staircase as separation, or the living room somewhat like a niche / without clear sightlines)
Cost estimate by architect/planner: not yet available
Personal budget for the house including fixtures: approx. 550,000 €
Preferred heating technology: district heating
What could you do without?
- Can do without: stove, upstairs storage room
- Cannot do without: pantry
Why is the design the way it is now? Which wishes were implemented by the architect? What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?
- Not a standard design; collaboration and attempt to implement all our wishes as best and cost-efficiently as possible without wasting much space
- Essentially, our key points were implemented, so it meets our requirements and we quite like it
- The draftsman’s plan does not show any furniture, which makes it somewhat difficult for us to assess the scale (we are currently recreating the plan including furniture in a software program to better visualize everything)
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
- In general, we would like to know if and how we could optimize it further, so feel free to suggest small changes or things we might have overlooked.
- We have some concerns about whether the interior feels good/harmonious or if, for example, the entrance area and the first impression come across as too oppressive/dark; any ideas how to solve this in the plan (without removing the door)?
We look forward to your suggestions. Thank you very much for your help and best regards
My husband and I are currently planning a single-family house that we want to build next year. With the help of a draftsman, we have designed this floor plan and would now like to gather your ideas and suggestions for improvements. Here are the details:
Development plan / restrictions:
Plot size: 880 m2 (9,470 sq ft)
Slope: no
Number of floors: max. 2 full floors
Roof shape: gable roof
Otherwise no restrictions according to the development plan
Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: classic single-family house / Jura house, gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 full floors
Number of people, age: 2 adults and 2-3 children
Space requirements on the ground floor: shower bathroom, open kitchen/dining area, living room, utility room & technical room, pantry, entrance area
Space requirements on the upper floor: 3 bedrooms, 1 office (which may later become an additional children's room), bathroom, possibly a storage room
Office: family use or home office? Initially a home office, possibly later an additional children’s room
Overnight guests per year: not relevant
Open or closed layout: open kitchen/dining/living area, otherwise rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: one parking space each for garage and carport
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: rather not
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons for why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
- Entrance area with a door leading to the living/warm area (serving as a dirt trap / windbreak, as well as separation for dogs/children going outside)
- Toilet and stairs also within the “warm zone,” i.e., accessed without going through the entrance area
- Spacious utility/technical room: if possible, it should also be suitable for hanging laundry
- Side entrance via carport/garage
House design
Designed by: draftsman
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Orientation of the main rooms according to cardinal directions
- Garage/carport combination plus covered entrance
- Layout and room usage on the upper floor
What do you dislike? Why?
- Entrance area possibly too small and dark, no real place for a wardrobe—where to put shoes, jackets, etc.? (We initially considered a niche for this in the living room but believe we wouldn’t like having such an awkward corner in the living room, and it would also be more difficult to furnish.)
- Utility/technical room may be too small?
- Also wondering if the toilet next to the kitchen could be problematic, especially when guests are visiting
(- Originally, we wanted the living room to be somewhat more spatially separated, i.e., no door to the living-dining area, but rather, for example, a stove with a small wall as room divider, a straight staircase as separation, or the living room somewhat like a niche / without clear sightlines)
Cost estimate by architect/planner: not yet available
Personal budget for the house including fixtures: approx. 550,000 €
Preferred heating technology: district heating
What could you do without?
- Can do without: stove, upstairs storage room
- Cannot do without: pantry
Why is the design the way it is now? Which wishes were implemented by the architect? What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?
- Not a standard design; collaboration and attempt to implement all our wishes as best and cost-efficiently as possible without wasting much space
- Essentially, our key points were implemented, so it meets our requirements and we quite like it
- The draftsman’s plan does not show any furniture, which makes it somewhat difficult for us to assess the scale (we are currently recreating the plan including furniture in a software program to better visualize everything)
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
- In general, we would like to know if and how we could optimize it further, so feel free to suggest small changes or things we might have overlooked.
- We have some concerns about whether the interior feels good/harmonious or if, for example, the entrance area and the first impression come across as too oppressive/dark; any ideas how to solve this in the plan (without removing the door)?
We look forward to your suggestions. Thank you very much for your help and best regards
H
hanghaus202318 Jul 2023 13:07How old is the architectural draftsman?
Here, a smaller house is used much more efficiently.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-planung-2-vollgeschosse-ca-130-140-qm-ohne-keller.39946/page-29#post-635356
Here, a smaller house is used much more efficiently.
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-planung-2-vollgeschosse-ca-130-140-qm-ohne-keller.39946/page-29#post-635356
H
hanghaus202318 Jul 2023 14:46I have drawn the current floor plan onto the plot.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
I have drawn the current floor plan onto the plot. Ah, so the main house would work well with a wider rectangular floor plan. In that case, my recommendations as sources of inspiration are the houses by @Tolentino
or by @Zaba12 or by @HansHaus
What exactly is the purpose of the draftsman here – were you looking for drawings to submit a preliminary building inquiry (building permit / planning permission enquiry), or (hopefully not!) plans that you intend to take directly to construction companies without your own architect?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Hello everyone,
First of all, thank you all for your responses! 🙂 Unfortunately, we are only able to reply now...
Here are some background details:
- We are aware that the budget is tight for the garage, carport, and terrace (still, thanks for the tips) – we planned to get approval for everything together with the house and then complete these parts ourselves later.
- @Sunshine387: Regarding the local heating network: lower initial costs, availability since the network already exists, and considering that not 100% of the electricity is yet generated from renewable sources, we find it environmentally sensible.
We completely agree with you about the entrance area, but enlarging it would reduce the size of the utility room, which is already quite small. We really like the location of the utility room because it allows short cable runs to the street and is located directly below the bathroom on the upper floor.
Reducing the >5sqm (54 sq ft) pantry to 2sqm (22 sq ft) as suggested would be acceptable; we will think again about how to use the space gained in the right place (keyword: wardrobe/entrance or utility room) – then my mother-in-law might have to find another place 🙂
We looked through floor plans for orientation and have already reviewed many options from various prefab house manufacturers. Unfortunately, there are always one or two issues we don’t like and for which we have no solution. Usually, the stairway and/or the guest toilet/shower bathroom are accessed through the entrance area. Even though these rooms are now as warm as the others, we would actually prefer, if possible, to have both of them in the living area, simply because these spaces are used frequently, and the entrance area tends to be dirtier, considering shoes and so on.
Regarding the proximity of the bathroom to the kitchen, we considered solving this with a wall and an entrance from the hallway to the living room, as suggested by "ypg." However, we are still trying to figure out how to place the fireplace then...
My husband has now drawn the floor plan in CAD; I will upload a screenshot here.
We already implemented the tip about adding a door to the storage room, thanks 😉
And yes, our draftsman has been retired for a few years now (funny that you can tell from the floor plan). He used to be a construction manager for 20 years and is a certified master bricklayer. Many private and industrial plans from our region go through his hands.
First of all, thank you all for your responses! 🙂 Unfortunately, we are only able to reply now...
Here are some background details:
- We are aware that the budget is tight for the garage, carport, and terrace (still, thanks for the tips) – we planned to get approval for everything together with the house and then complete these parts ourselves later.
- @Sunshine387: Regarding the local heating network: lower initial costs, availability since the network already exists, and considering that not 100% of the electricity is yet generated from renewable sources, we find it environmentally sensible.
We completely agree with you about the entrance area, but enlarging it would reduce the size of the utility room, which is already quite small. We really like the location of the utility room because it allows short cable runs to the street and is located directly below the bathroom on the upper floor.
Reducing the >5sqm (54 sq ft) pantry to 2sqm (22 sq ft) as suggested would be acceptable; we will think again about how to use the space gained in the right place (keyword: wardrobe/entrance or utility room) – then my mother-in-law might have to find another place 🙂
We looked through floor plans for orientation and have already reviewed many options from various prefab house manufacturers. Unfortunately, there are always one or two issues we don’t like and for which we have no solution. Usually, the stairway and/or the guest toilet/shower bathroom are accessed through the entrance area. Even though these rooms are now as warm as the others, we would actually prefer, if possible, to have both of them in the living area, simply because these spaces are used frequently, and the entrance area tends to be dirtier, considering shoes and so on.
Regarding the proximity of the bathroom to the kitchen, we considered solving this with a wall and an entrance from the hallway to the living room, as suggested by "ypg." However, we are still trying to figure out how to place the fireplace then...
My husband has now drawn the floor plan in CAD; I will upload a screenshot here.
We already implemented the tip about adding a door to the storage room, thanks 😉
And yes, our draftsman has been retired for a few years now (funny that you can tell from the floor plan). He used to be a construction manager for 20 years and is a certified master bricklayer. Many private and industrial plans from our region go through his hands.
H
hanghaus202320 Jul 2023 12:36Did you forget the screenshot of the CAD plan?
Hand sketches are often sufficient to develop the room layout.
Detailed planning only begins once the concept is finalized.
Well-intentioned by the draftsman.
Hand sketches are often sufficient to develop the room layout.
Detailed planning only begins once the concept is finalized.
Well-intentioned by the draftsman.
H
hanghaus202320 Jul 2023 12:52Somehow, I have the impression that the views to the southwest and northeast have been swapped?
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