ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home of Approximately 150 m²
Created on: 12 Feb 2018 18:09
C
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!
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!
J
j.bautsch4 Apr 2018 07:56So, we have a projector in the living room, so darkening the room is essential.
Referring to my earlier conversation with the architect, I wanted to ask the group again whether you find the windows in the living area sufficient. There is a lift-and-slide door in the "dining area" measuring 2.63 meters (8 ft 7 in) wide by 2.385 meters (7 ft 10 in) high. In the "living room," there are two windows with a sill height of 1.00 meter (3 ft 3 in): one measuring 1.76 meters (5 ft 9 in) by 1.385 meters (4 ft 6 in) facing south, and another measuring 1.135 meters (3 ft 8 in) by 1.385 meters (4 ft 6 in) facing west.
The window on the west side should not be located above the couch, since we also want to have some space behind our backs. It could therefore only be floor-to-ceiling or larger towards the interior wall. However, the current setup might already provide enough light. It is always difficult to judge. Attached is the ground floor plan again.
The window on the west side should not be located above the couch, since we also want to have some space behind our backs. It could therefore only be floor-to-ceiling or larger towards the interior wall. However, the current setup might already provide enough light. It is always difficult to judge. Attached is the ground floor plan again.
I consider the windows to be sufficient. Don’t focus too much on the furniture placements shown in the plan. For windows behind which a sofa backrest might be placed, I would always position them high enough so that the sofa backrest is not bleached by direct sunlight.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
According to the current state of the art, when it comes solely to shading and not burglary protection, external venetian blinds (also called louvers) are the best option. They keep the heat out while allowing regulated light into the house.
This may not have reached every builder yet. These systems are not cheap and usually require additional technology (such as wind sensors).
I personally find roller shutters very unattractive and cannot understand why they are installed almost everywhere in Germany. To me, they always look like a bunker or prison when the shutters are down.
Apart from that, as far as I know, there are even combinations of both.
This may not have reached every builder yet. These systems are not cheap and usually require additional technology (such as wind sensors).
I personally find roller shutters very unattractive and cannot understand why they are installed almost everywhere in Germany. To me, they always look like a bunker or prison when the shutters are down.
Apart from that, as far as I know, there are even combinations of both.
11ant schrieb:
I consider the windows to be sufficient. Don’t focus too much on the furniture positions shown in the plan. For windows where a sofa back might be placed in front, I would always install them high enough so that the sofa back isn’t bleached by direct sunlight. That’s a good tip, I’ll measure again!
I’m also considering, instead of a double casement window for the south-facing window (1.76m (5 ft 9 in) / 1.385m (4 ft 6 in)), to use a single fixed pane. That way, there would be no central mullion reducing the glass area. But on the downside, it could never be opened. Still, it would probably look good?
apokolok schrieb:
From a technical standpoint, when it comes to shading alone and not burglary protection, external venetian blinds are state of the art. They keep the heat outside while letting controlled light into the house. I’m not interested in what’s state of the art—I don’t want to cut my view into pieces. Driving with too much drag means you’re in too high a gear—in my opinion, there is a smart, if somewhat simple, alternative to the concept of "too much window area, so shade it." Besides, people tend to shade mostly when they are bothered by glare or overheating themselves—by that time, the sofa might already have had too much sun.
chrisw81 schrieb:
I’m also considering replacing the double casement window (1.76/1.385 meters (5 ft 9 in/4 ft 6 in)) on the south side with a single fixed pane, so there would be no middle mullion reducing the glass area. But then it could never be opened. It would probably look good though? The middle mullion doesn’t make that much difference; the window sashes themselves have a bigger impact. The gain in panoramic view is really only worth it when looking outside, less so for windows behind you. Cleaning isn’t an issue here on the ground floor, so not being able to open it is not a problem, and there’s still plenty of air coming in elsewhere.
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