ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home of Approximately 150 m²

Created on: 12 Feb 2018 18:09
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chrisw81
Hello,

After a long search, we signed the notarized contract for the land purchase at the end of December. We are now actively planning the floor plan. Unfortunately, the plot is somewhat awkwardly shaped (not rectangular), which creates some limitations for the layout from our perspective. We already have a first draft, but there are several areas we don’t like and are unsure how to improve. Maybe you have some ideas; we would appreciate your input.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 601 m² (6465 sq ft)
Building envelope, building line, boundary: Building line with the house on the west side
Peripheral setbacks: 7 m (23 ft) from the street (north), otherwise the usual 3 m (10 ft)
Number of parking spaces: 2 desired
Number of floors: 1 full story allowed
Roof style: Gable roof
Design style: open construction method
Orientation: South
Maximum heights / limits: Ridge height max. 8.5 m (28 ft)
Additional requirements: Max. 100 m² (1076 sq ft) of built-up area

Client Requirements
Style, roof form, building type: Solid construction house, rectangular, no bay windows, no projections, etc., gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement; 1.5 stories
Number and age of residents: 2 people, age between 30 and 40, possibly children later
Space needs on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor – living/dining room, kitchen, guest toilet, utility room, office
Office: family use or home office?: family use
Guest stays per year: 20 days
Open or closed architecture: open living area, closed hallway
Conservative or modern style: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen, island without cooktop
Number of dining seats: 2-4
Fireplace: yes, chimney planned
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes, special features, daily routine, and reasons for preferences:
- A wardrobe area on the ground floor is important where coats can be stored relatively out of sight.
- On the upper floor, it would be nice to have an open gallery with a desk or similar (not a must and not necessarily next to the stairs).
- A walk-in closet would be nice but not essential.
- A storage room on the upper floor is very important since we do not have a basement.

House Design
Who created the design:
- Basic design by the construction company (FIBAV Stadthaus Vision Studio)
- DIY modifications based on online floor plans (especially Viebrockhaus Maxime 330)
What do you particularly like? Why?:
- Layout of the living/dining area and the narrowing kitchen reduces the hallway effect a bit
- Many windows in the living/dining area
- Wide hallway on the ground floor
What do you dislike? Why?:
- Few options to place furniture (dresser, wardrobe) in the ground floor hallway due to many doors
- Very large hallway upstairs, considered wasted space
- Bedroom is quite small; should be the largest room upstairs (preferably 16 m² (172 sq ft), children’s rooms rather 14 m² (151 sq ft))
- Stair placement limited by chimney location
- Door placement upstairs limited by chimney
- A staircase rotated 90 degrees (entrance next to front door) would appeal more
- Difficult to align windows upstairs and downstairs on the gable end vertically
- Floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs; wider windows with a sill height around 100 cm (40 inches) would be preferred
Price estimate by architect/planner: 200,000 €
Personal price limit for the house including equipment: 210,000 €
Preferred heating technology: gas heating

What details or expansions could you give up?
- Can do without: gallery next to stairs upstairs. Living area could also be narrower (e.g., 4.20 m (14 ft) instead of 4.47 m (15 ft))
- Cannot do without: storage room upstairs, shower in guest toilet, extra natural light in the ground floor hallway (e.g., side panel on front door or window)

Why was the design made this way? For example, standard plan from planner?
- Since the house has very little space on the south side, the house should be very narrow in order not to waste more space to the south. It should be wider so that living, dining, and kitchen areas face south as much as possible.
Were corresponding wishes from the architect implemented? No architect meeting has taken place yet.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
How can the ground floor hallway be better designed to fit a wardrobe? Can the stairs be positioned better or replaced? Should the hallway be enlarged and living space reduced? How can the upstairs hallway be better utilized? Can the bedroom be enlarged? Is it possible to swap the bedroom with another room, e.g., move it to the southeast to allow a walk-in closet?

Thank you very much in advance for your criticism and suggestions!

Lageplan eines Baugrundstücks mit Parzellen, Straßenverlauf und Gebäudestrukturen.


Grundriss: Kochen/Essen/Wohnen, HWR, WC, Diele, Gast, Treppenhaus, Schornstein.


Grundriss Obergeschoss: Zimmer 1, Zimmer 2, Schlafen, Bad, Flur/Galerie, Abstell, Schornstein.
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chrisw81
8 Mar 2018 11:42
kaho674 schrieb:
I'm a bit confused here. The mirrored version is relevant for me, so I uploaded it specifically. I thought the living room (LR) would be in the northeast there. With less than 8m (26 feet) of house depth, you get light from the south into the living room since it extends through the entire depth of the house. Unless you want to shield the living room from the north, for example, if there’s a busy street there. But I haven’t read anything about that so far.

Okay, I understand. But I’m still not convinced that the light will reach that far; I think the living room will be quite dark. Also, the carport is planned on the east side, so there wouldn’t even be a window there.
To go out towards the south, you’d have to squeeze past the table to reach the terrace door, which is a bit inconvenient. I think the floor plan makes sense if you can orient the house lengthwise towards the south, then the living room and dining room would be on the south side.
J
j.bautsch
8 Mar 2018 12:46
The question about lighting (especially natural light from outside) is whether you want it in the living room. What do you actually do there? For example, we mostly just watch TV there, so I don’t really want much light. On the other hand, I want plenty of daylight in the kitchen and dining area for long periods.
kaho6748 Mar 2018 13:01
I didn’t want to push the Scanhaus Marlow on you. I just thought it was a good fit. Nothing seems to compete with your rockfish anyway.
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chrisw81
8 Mar 2018 13:05
j.bautsch schrieb:
The question about lighting (especially natural light from outside) is whether you want it in the living room. What do you use that space for? For example, we mostly watch TV there, so I don’t really want a lot of light. On the other hand, I want to have long-lasting and plenty of daylight in the kitchen and dining area.

Okay, opinions seem to differ here; I mostly spend time in the living room and rarely at the dining table...
J
j.bautsch
8 Mar 2018 13:07
not opinions habits
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chrisw81
8 Mar 2018 13:08
kaho674 schrieb:
I wasn’t trying to persuade you to choose the Scanhaus Marlow Marlow. I just thought it fit well. Nothing seems to stand a chance against your grouper anyway.

I also think the Scanhaus Marlow Marlow is great, but as I said, not every floor plan suits every plot of land.
The grouper has its advantages, just as there are benefits in not having the grouper. I personally see more advantages with the grouper --> the chimney is less visible, and the hallway still has a nice space for a dresser, shelf, etc.

By now, I’m also at the end of my rope and just want to have a finished design.