ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a 145 sqm Single-Family Home – Requesting Feedback

Created on: 18 Feb 2020 22:59
J
jan berlin
Dear House Building Forum,

We are currently planning the floor layout for our single-family home and welcome any advice and tips. We are very grateful for your help and suggestions.

I have attached the site plan as well as the floor plans for the ground floor and upper floor. The positioning of the windows can be disregarded.

Unfortunately, we have no further ideas on how to resolve the issues with the current layout and are really hoping for your support.

Here is the completed questionnaire:

Development Plan / Restrictions:
Plot size: 830sqm (9,000 sqft)
Slope: no
Building coverage ratio: no development plan
Floor area ratio: no development plan
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: no development plan
Edge development
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full stories permitted according to §34BGB
Roof type: gable roof (for photovoltaics, with 2m (6.6 ft) standing height in the center)
Architectural style
Orientation: street on the east, garden on the west
Maximum heights / limits
Additional requirements

Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: 2 full stories with gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement
Number and age of residents: 3 persons (41, 37, 2), plus one additional child desired
Space requirement on ground/upper floor: approx. 145sqm (1,560 sq ft) total
Office: Family use or home office? The office is a retreat and workspace for the man of the house
Guests per year: 2-3
Open or closed architecture: open and bright
Traditional or modern construction: rather naturally modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with island (peninsula also welcome)
Number of dining seats: 4-6 (expandable)
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport for 1 car
Kitchen garden, greenhouse
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why something should or should not be included:
Prefer bathroom on the upper floor above the utility room for laundry chute, kitchen in the east, living area in the west as we are mostly home in the evenings
The right neighbor’s house is directly on the street; on the left side there is only a garden plot. There is a nice open view to the west.

House Design
Designed by:
- Planner from a construction company and ourselves
What do you particularly like and why? Dining and living facing the garden, natural lighting in ground and upper floor hallways, the idea of a window seat in the living/dining area but unsure where exactly?
What do you not like and why? Layout of living/dining (feels too wide), kitchen row with island too small, office could ideally face west (if possible), kitchen with light from the east (if possible)
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: pure house cost 260,000 Euro
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 260,000 Euro
Preferred heating technology: geothermal heat pump

If you have to forego something, which details or extras
- Can you do without: fireplace
- Cannot do without: open, bright floor plan

Why was the design created as it is now? For example:
The design was proposed by the building planner (not an architect) and adjusted based on our feedback.
What do you consider particularly good or bad about it?
The general arrangement of rooms by cardinal direction is good. Natural lighting on ground and upper floors is good.
We don’t like the width of the living/dining area. It creates a large empty space in the middle since we want to have a view of the garden from the couch.
We prefer a straight or L-shaped staircase. No U-shaped staircase, unless with a landing.

What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Are improvements possible and are there maybe completely new ideas for the floor plan?

Thank you very much and best regards,
Jan
kaho67419 Feb 2020 10:22
jan Berlin schrieb:

- There will be a folding attic ladder to the loft.
Then it’s not suitable as storage space. Only items that are used very rarely, like Christmas decorations, can be stored up there. Anything you need more often, you won’t want to carry up there regularly.
jan Berlin schrieb:

- On the ground floor, we have a shell construction height of 3m (10 feet), which results in a room height of about 2.75m (9 feet). On the upper floor, the room height will be 2.55m (8 feet 4 inches). The staircase is supposed to be quarter-turn and was planned that way by the general contractor’s designer. Maybe they didn’t take the shell height on the ground floor into account. Is there a good website where you can calculate this yourself?
Google: "Staircase basics"
Also, take a look at staircases in your current home and measure the tread width and riser height for comparison. Good values are: tread depth between 26 to 27cm (10 to 11 inches) without nosing, riser height between 17.5 to 19cm (7 to 7.5 inches).
J
jan berlin
19 Feb 2020 10:31
Matthew03 schrieb:

- Toilet flush right next to the sofa → inconvenient.
- The ballroom between the living and dining areas will cost you a lot of money*, are you such passionate dancers?
- Please add the cardinal directions, or is it already oriented north?


*Budget is not sufficient

- The floor plan is oriented north and an arrow is also marked.
- The ballroom is actually what we don’t like about the floor plan. If you have another idea for the layout here, we would be very happy.
kaho67419 Feb 2020 10:37
Why do you want such high ceilings? This means you lose a lot of space for the staircase (which, as you said, cannot be a half-turn staircase), and in my opinion, that is not feasible in a small house without a basement for four people.
J
jan berlin
19 Feb 2020 10:39
kaho674 schrieb:

Then it is not suitable as storage space. Only items that are used very rarely, like Christmas decorations, can be stored there. Anything you need more frequently is unlikely to be carried up there.

Google: "Treppe 1x1"
Also look at the stairs in your apartment and measure the tread width and riser height for comparison. Good values are: tread between 26 to 27cm (10 to 11 inches) without overhang, riser between 17.5 to 19cm (7 to 7.5 inches).
M
Matthew03
19 Feb 2020 10:52
jan Berlin schrieb:

- The floor plan is oriented north and an arrow is also marked.
- The ballroom is what we don’t like about the floor plan. If you have another idea for the layout, we would be very happy.

And what about the criticism regarding the restroom location and budget?
Please don't just pick the points you like...

You can’t get rid of the ballroom without completely redesigning the floor plan, but @kaho674 will be able to offer better suggestions for that...
Y
ypg
19 Feb 2020 11:03
I would redo everything and, given the budget, skip a higher ceiling. As a compensation, a wide floor-to-ceiling window is sufficient.