ᐅ Floor plan design for a single-family house on a hillside, with a separate apartment and a double garage

icandoit schrieb:

My question about the architect’s age probably hit the mark—not only regarding the budget.

It’s really become clear to me now:
Visually, we are dealing with a 1950s style (attached is a house from 1952), with a similarly conservative interior. Even the side terrace was often built back then on a mound leading down to the garden. This strictly separated dirty garden soil from the coffee gathering on the elevated terrace.
This is not meant as a criticism—I actually like 1980s bungalows too 😉
I can’t quite place the 1.80-meter (6-foot) corner sofa. Once you add a family sofa of at least 2.40 meters (8 feet), the space gets really tight.
The fireplace feels too bulky for the narrow room.
The idea of “keeping children in the house while mom cooks” now makes sense.
Sorry, but what needs to be said will be said here.
This isn’t meant to be spiteful, and regarding the “prison” comment: I really think the low safety factor is careless, and you could get into serious trouble because of it.
About the budget: plus two dormers, plus sliding doors, plus fireplace. The rest will probably also be somewhat above standard.
And regarding the question: at the eye doctor, playing children would bother me less than during a personal meeting at a desk.

Hello everyone,

I also needed some time to process all the feedback, so I’m only responding to your comments today. Most of the feedback was rather critical, mainly concerning costs and finances. Our main request is to receive feedback on the design itself.

The site plan clearly shows that the sloped terrain allows for efficient use by building a basement. That’s why we decided to include a granny flat. In the future, a small business could be integrated there.

Unfortunately, the thread has somewhat shifted away from the original topic of the floor plan. Therefore, I kindly ask you to put financial aspects aside for now and, when criticizing the floor plan, to also provide suggestions on how to improve it. This is the only way to benefit from this forum.

Comments about it being a 1950s-style build, etc., are all very nicely phrased but not constructive, dear @ypg. As I said, criticism is always welcome, but it should be constructive.

Thank you 😉

Andreas94 schrieb:

Statements like "1950s construction" are nicely worded but ultimately not very helpful, dear @ypg.
As I said, criticism is always welcome. But it should also be constructive.

Hmm... I know it can be uncomfortable to hear certain things. However, you should assume that people are more likely to be glad to find a suitable property, and if financial matters have come to the forefront here, it’s probably because they needed to be addressed honestly and clearly.
Building a house is a complex project, and if you don’t pay enough attention in one area, you’ll face problems elsewhere.
Of course, it depends on what your goal is, but if you want a successful project overall, then doubts should not be ignored, and discussions shouldn’t be limited. We often start with brainstorming here, and the biggest obstacle to that is setting limits too early, which usually reduces the quality of the outcome.
Of course, no one wants to hurt anyone’s feelings, but for example, I see the comment about the 1950s construction the same way—if I were to comment on it, I would be more direct. This isn’t directed against you as the builder but could be a hint to encourage you to think critically in a different direction.
It’s common here to encounter builders who just want their plans approved or are looking for agreement. I have learned that constant praise rarely helps. Here, it’s not just about complaining—you also get alternatives suggested, which you might like or not, and floor plan proposals for a house without knowing the budget are usually pointless.

Andreas94 schrieb:

This is the only way to benefit from this forum.

No—it’s also possible, and in fact especially valuable, to approach things differently, even if it’s sometimes uncomfortable at first.

If you answer my follow-up questions, I will gladly provide more detailed feedback on your project and floor plans. There is definitely a lot of potential.

I prefer not to spend energy on unrealistic ideas.

pagoni2020 schrieb:

Hmm... I know it can be uncomfortable to hear certain things. However, you should expect that people are generally happy about finding a suitable property, and if financial matters have come to the forefront here, it might be because they genuinely needed to be addressed openly and clearly.
Building a house is a complex undertaking, and if you don’t pay enough attention to one aspect, you might run into problems elsewhere.
Of course, the question is what your goal is, but if the aim is a successful project overall, then doubts shouldn’t be ignored and discussions shouldn’t be limited. We often start here with brainstorming, and the biggest obstacle to that is setting strict boundaries too early, which usually reduces the quality of the results.
Nobody wants to hurt anyone’s feelings, but for example, I see the issue with the 1950s-style house in the same way; if I were to comment on it, I would be more direct. This isn’t directed against you as the client but rather could serve as a prompt to think critically in a different direction.
Often, clients just want their plans approved or seek agreement. I’ve learned that simply giving compliments usually doesn’t help much. Here, it’s not just about criticism—suggestions for alternatives are offered that you might like or not, and floor plan proposals for a house without knowledge of the budget are usually pointless.

No—it is possible, and indeed necessary, to approach this differently, even if it sometimes stings at first.

Please don’t misunderstand me; we are grateful for every piece of feedback.
We have already discussed some of the initial input internally and with our planner, and we have also visited a “similar build.”
The planner will now draft changes and hopefully provide us with the updated plans by the end of next week.
For example, we will now "integrate the stairwell between the garage and the house into the main building." We expect this to create a more compact layout.
This will also shorten the overall length of the building on the garden side, so it won’t seem as massive.

Once we have the new sketches, we will share them here. Until then, we have to wait.

icandoit schrieb:

My question about the architect's age probably hit the mark. Not only regarding the budget.

I don't think you can tell the age of a planner based on a building sketch.
But to answer this "question" as well: our planner has about 15 years of experience in planning. 😉