ᐅ Floor Plan Design Single-Family House approximately 170 m² plus Attic as a Modern Brick-Faced Home
Created on: 3 Jan 2022 18:41
V
Varrader
Good evening,
as previously silent readers, we (a young family with 2 children) are now slowly reaching the point where we would like to ask for help, critique, and ideas here.
We plan to build a single-family house in early 2023 and have already been working with an architect on the design for some time (so far commissioned for phases 1–4).
Here is the forum questionnaire filled out to the best of our knowledge:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 560m² (6027 sq ft), cul-de-sac location; parking spaces on the west side, wide pedestrian path on the east side, followed by a field (likely to become building land in 10–15 years)
Slope: none
Site occupancy index (Grundflächenzahl): 0.4
Floor area ratio (Geschossflächenzahl): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: 3m (10 ft) all around
Border grouping: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full floors + attic
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: modern brick construction with a simple building shape, no roof overhangs
Orientation: east-west
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 6.5m (21 ft 4 in), eaves height 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements: hedge on the left side limited to 1m (3 ft) height, distance from first parking space to street at least 5m (16 ft)
Rooms:
Ground floor: living/dining area with open kitchen, small workspace “corner,” utility/storage room, guest toilet
First floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom (preferably with a separate closet area, main room oriented to the east side of the house!), master bathroom with shower and bathtub, children’s bathroom with shower, small laundry room for washing machine and drying rack
Attic: third children’s room, storage room, hobby/office room
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof type, building type: single-family house with gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, two full floors, attic to be used as living space
Number of people, age: 2 adults, 2 children (2 & 4 years old, another child planned)
Space needs on ground and first floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office space on the ground floor “close to the main activities,” additional more secluded space in the attic
Guests per year: none expected
Open or closed architecture: open living/dining area
Conservative or modern construction: modern construction
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, kitchen island optional
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: space for a large TV (about 1.9m (6 ft 3 in) wide expected, no additional equipment like speakers planned)
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage for one parking space plus storage for garden tools and equipment inside
Utility garden, greenhouse: decorative garden
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain things are or are not chosen: Our current house has very small windows (timber-frame house), so we especially want more light in the house and attractive sightlines into the garden
House design
Who created the plan:
- Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The arrangement of the south-facing rooms on the ground floor and the small study, which can feel connected to the living area when the door is open.
We also like that the staircase on the ground floor faces the living areas rather than the front door.
What do you dislike? Why?
We want to enjoy as much of our garden as possible, so our basic desire was to build a narrow but long house. In this design, however, the current platform staircase is very large and feels overwhelming in the hallway area.
On the practical side, this staircase also allows direct access to the attic with the same stair flight.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €500,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €550,000
Preferred heating technology: geothermal heat pump
If you have to give up anything, which details/finishes
- can you do without:
- can you not do without:
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Which wishes from the architect have been implemented: spatial plan discussed with the architect
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
We are worried about missing a good idea; we sometimes lack the creative input to find solutions that are a bit outside the box.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The arrangement of the staircase and the spatial feeling when entering the house are our main concerns. The staircase shapes the entire concept upstairs.
I’ve attached an alternative ground floor plan, where we try to reach the upper floor with an L-shaped staircase. However, this requires a second stair flight to access the attic, which also takes up space...
We look forward to your critique and suggestions!
Best regards,
Stefan
as previously silent readers, we (a young family with 2 children) are now slowly reaching the point where we would like to ask for help, critique, and ideas here.
We plan to build a single-family house in early 2023 and have already been working with an architect on the design for some time (so far commissioned for phases 1–4).
Here is the forum questionnaire filled out to the best of our knowledge:
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 560m² (6027 sq ft), cul-de-sac location; parking spaces on the west side, wide pedestrian path on the east side, followed by a field (likely to become building land in 10–15 years)
Slope: none
Site occupancy index (Grundflächenzahl): 0.4
Floor area ratio (Geschossflächenzahl): 0.8
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: 3m (10 ft) all around
Border grouping: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full floors + attic
Roof type: gable roof
Architectural style: modern brick construction with a simple building shape, no roof overhangs
Orientation: east-west
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 6.5m (21 ft 4 in), eaves height 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements: hedge on the left side limited to 1m (3 ft) height, distance from first parking space to street at least 5m (16 ft)
Rooms:
Ground floor: living/dining area with open kitchen, small workspace “corner,” utility/storage room, guest toilet
First floor: 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom (preferably with a separate closet area, main room oriented to the east side of the house!), master bathroom with shower and bathtub, children’s bathroom with shower, small laundry room for washing machine and drying rack
Attic: third children’s room, storage room, hobby/office room
Homeowner requirements
Style, roof type, building type: single-family house with gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, two full floors, attic to be used as living space
Number of people, age: 2 adults, 2 children (2 & 4 years old, another child planned)
Space needs on ground and first floor
Office: family use or home office? Home office space on the ground floor “close to the main activities,” additional more secluded space in the attic
Guests per year: none expected
Open or closed architecture: open living/dining area
Conservative or modern construction: modern construction
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, kitchen island optional
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: space for a large TV (about 1.9m (6 ft 3 in) wide expected, no additional equipment like speakers planned)
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage for one parking space plus storage for garden tools and equipment inside
Utility garden, greenhouse: decorative garden
Additional wishes/special features/daily routine, including reasons why certain things are or are not chosen: Our current house has very small windows (timber-frame house), so we especially want more light in the house and attractive sightlines into the garden
House design
Who created the plan:
- Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
The arrangement of the south-facing rooms on the ground floor and the small study, which can feel connected to the living area when the door is open.
We also like that the staircase on the ground floor faces the living areas rather than the front door.
What do you dislike? Why?
We want to enjoy as much of our garden as possible, so our basic desire was to build a narrow but long house. In this design, however, the current platform staircase is very large and feels overwhelming in the hallway area.
On the practical side, this staircase also allows direct access to the attic with the same stair flight.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €500,000
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: €550,000
Preferred heating technology: geothermal heat pump
If you have to give up anything, which details/finishes
- can you do without:
- can you not do without:
Why is the design as it is now? For example:
Which wishes from the architect have been implemented: spatial plan discussed with the architect
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?
We are worried about missing a good idea; we sometimes lack the creative input to find solutions that are a bit outside the box.
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The arrangement of the staircase and the spatial feeling when entering the house are our main concerns. The staircase shapes the entire concept upstairs.
I’ve attached an alternative ground floor plan, where we try to reach the upper floor with an L-shaped staircase. However, this requires a second stair flight to access the attic, which also takes up space...
We look forward to your critique and suggestions!
Best regards,
Stefan
Varrader schrieb:
We all agree aesthetically that we prefer the entrance from the front. You can create a nice small path with a front garden leading to the door. An entrance on the side, especially if it’s under a carport roof, often looks like a delivery entrance at worst. That’s also my opinion. I like entrances that face the resident or visitor directly 😉
Varrader schrieb:
And one topic that keeps coming up: most floor plans have the entrance on the eaves side, with the advantage that you enter the house in the middle. Yes. It makes sense to have the staircase aligned with the roof. Also, placing the staircase next to or in front of the entrance is well thought out in terms of space. Everything else usually requires more square meters, which not everyone can or wants to afford. Most standard house models are designed that way (staircase starting at the entrance). Only custom villas or larger houses that you can afford give the possibility to run the staircase straight with some distance from the door. When building has to be reconsidered due to construction costs and the energy crisis, we will come back to minimizing house size.
Varrader schrieb:
What we often notice: Stair landings are nowhere to be found. Everywhere spiral or straight stairs. Because stair landings are very expensive and require even more space. I bet many who plan stair landings won’t actually build them.
My personal opinion: they often (but not always) have the feel of stairwells in apartment buildings.
K a t j a schrieb:
A heartfelt wish of some homeowners that is then implemented at all costs. Or not… in the case of stair landings… what a straight staircase offers is: walking continuously without interruption, but a full-length fall if you trip.
Compared to a landing: an interrupted walking flow, but you would only fall half the length.
A normal spiral staircase, even a double one, allows a normal walking flow… falls are almost excluded.
K a t j a schrieb:
For the average homeowner, I would always recommend to first create the floor plan and then adjust the entrance accordingly. I wouldn’t say that as a general rule. The average homeowner often wants Pinterest-style, i.e., mainstream, and aligns with that, making many mistakes. But many average homeowners can not only look but also think and implement spatially.
And that’s why smart planning starts with the plot.
By now, we are quite flexible about the staircase design and shape. We have seen appealing examples of almost every type of staircase. Currently, due to the access to the attic, a staircase with a landing is our choice, but hopefully, there will be a more compact solution.
Sunhsine from Weberhaus (which was mentioned earlier in this thread) has an entrance on the ridge side, but the living areas are arranged incorrectly for us. We want to enter the house from the west and have all living spaces preferably on the south side.
PS: The office is one candidate to be removed from the ground floor and moved to the attic. The current ground floor office only fits two desks for home offices, and there is no room for hobby activities, which would be in the attic anyway. It would therefore make sense to create a dual-use room in the attic.
Sunhsine from Weberhaus (which was mentioned earlier in this thread) has an entrance on the ridge side, but the living areas are arranged incorrectly for us. We want to enter the house from the west and have all living spaces preferably on the south side.
PS: The office is one candidate to be removed from the ground floor and moved to the attic. The current ground floor office only fits two desks for home offices, and there is no room for hobby activities, which would be in the attic anyway. It would therefore make sense to create a dual-use room in the attic.
So, we visited the architect. He wasn’t keen on simply reducing the current floor plan, so he’s starting again from an earlier stage.
The entrance on the eaves side is still a topic for us, as we become increasingly aware of the layout limitations. Also, having an entrance on our north side would mean that the garden on the west side could be used much better.
Attached is a floor plan (Baufritz house "Schneider") of a ground floor that we really like in terms of room layout (it would just need to be mirrored along the longitudinal axis, and the garage would naturally be different for us). In particular, the balance between utility and living space is good here. And this with external dimensions of 10.7 × 8.2 m (35.1 × 26.9 ft). Considering we have so far planned 13 × 9 m (42.7 × 29.5 ft) (+0.5 m (1.6 ft) bay window)...
The entrance on the eaves side is still a topic for us, as we become increasingly aware of the layout limitations. Also, having an entrance on our north side would mean that the garden on the west side could be used much better.
Attached is a floor plan (Baufritz house "Schneider") of a ground floor that we really like in terms of room layout (it would just need to be mirrored along the longitudinal axis, and the garage would naturally be different for us). In particular, the balance between utility and living space is good here. And this with external dimensions of 10.7 × 8.2 m (35.1 × 26.9 ft). Considering we have so far planned 13 × 9 m (42.7 × 29.5 ft) (+0.5 m (1.6 ft) bay window)...
Varrader schrieb:
Well, we have the driveway at the top of the plan anyway.Oh...Varrader schrieb:
Or what do you mean by that?The question is, what exactly do you mean by that? The driveway is on the left side of the plan!Similar topics