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
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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
C
Costruttrice17 Jan 2022 19:17I like the floor plan! The only thing I wouldn’t like at all is the staircase. It would bother me if there were one or two steps on the landing. I would probably trip regularly because it would disrupt my walking rhythm.
Wouldn’t a half-turn staircase be an option here?
Wouldn’t a half-turn staircase be an option here?
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pagoni202017 Jan 2022 19:37The type of staircase seems to me more like a solution born out of necessity; an architect should be able to design something better.
I also find the space around the dining table a bit tight at the moment, as well as around the sofa. Additionally, I would prefer to have the dining table positioned centrally in front of the large, nice window, but perhaps that’s just my own rigid preference.
I also find the space around the dining table a bit tight at the moment, as well as around the sofa. Additionally, I would prefer to have the dining table positioned centrally in front of the large, nice window, but perhaps that’s just my own rigid preference.
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Bertram10017 Jan 2022 20:42I would definitely reconsider the cloakroom and the layout of the WC. With children, a long, narrow corridor where the cloakroom is located in a side wing is very impractical. I would probably rotate the small WC and push it as far as possible under the stairs, creating a small area in the hallway with corners where children's coats and a seating area can be placed without having to squeeze into a niche.
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Alessandro21 Jan 2022 11:42I find the floor plan very well designed! The staircase may take some getting used to, but even that becomes easier over time :-)
@K1300S: Thanks for the tip. The more we’ve moved the table back and forth, the more we are now leaning towards a horizontal alignment, closer to the window at the bottom. Otherwise, we will move the sofa up by half a meter (about 1.5 feet), which will make the study and the utility/technical room slightly smaller.
Interestingly, we’ve realized that we are currently very happy with doing the laundry on the ground floor. Therefore, we are removing the laundry room upstairs and placing the washing machine and dryer in the technical room. The architect is currently working on adjusting the staircase (away from the half-landing stairs with interruption). Upstairs, the children’s bathroom is planned to be where the utility room currently is, which will be eliminated. The additional space should, if possible, be added to the master bathroom, as having a bathtub there is important for us. If the space cannot be used efficiently, well, it’s an interesting question how to deal with that.
What I find difficult about these decisions is that no one can tell you what construction costs will be like in a year or what savings can be made by reducing living space. It’s clear that I can’t just calculate linearly with the total price per square meter (e.g., €2,500/m²). For example, at Weberhaus, the same house design with the same rooms, but larger (Sunshine 120 vs. Sunshine 220), costs approximately €1,000/m² more for the additional living space.
Interestingly, we’ve realized that we are currently very happy with doing the laundry on the ground floor. Therefore, we are removing the laundry room upstairs and placing the washing machine and dryer in the technical room. The architect is currently working on adjusting the staircase (away from the half-landing stairs with interruption). Upstairs, the children’s bathroom is planned to be where the utility room currently is, which will be eliminated. The additional space should, if possible, be added to the master bathroom, as having a bathtub there is important for us. If the space cannot be used efficiently, well, it’s an interesting question how to deal with that.
What I find difficult about these decisions is that no one can tell you what construction costs will be like in a year or what savings can be made by reducing living space. It’s clear that I can’t just calculate linearly with the total price per square meter (e.g., €2,500/m²). For example, at Weberhaus, the same house design with the same rooms, but larger (Sunshine 120 vs. Sunshine 220), costs approximately €1,000/m² more for the additional living space.
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