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!
ypg schrieb:
Don’t be upset. There are compromises, and some have to make even bigger ones. Everything has its time... almost everyone would plan differently now, since only now can you truly experience what was planned. But that’s just life: you should also be content to look forward to other important events in the future. The house’s significance quickly becomes relative, as it matters less whether the west side is symmetrical, bare, or animated with a bench.It’s just sometimes frustrating when you stand in the living room and see the simple options that could have been done. Why, for example, not just place the piano on the other side next to the living room door and make the fireplace a bit smaller? Then the entire south side would have been open for windows of any width — or a wider sofa, and so on.
But as you already said, you have to experience it first. On paper, everything always looks quite different, and I can’t always imagine things clearly beforehand either.
But yes, I will be satisfied with it, and eventually life goes on, and other things become more important.
Still, you spend a lot of money on it, and of course, it would have been nice to have a floor plan that works well for everyday life.
chrisw81 schrieb:
Why not simply move the piano to the other side next to the living room door and make the fireplace a bit smaller? Back then, the fireplace was very important to you. And you probably had some great moments of success while planning. So now, enjoy your fireplace.
Photos would be nice!
When I was younger, I also would have been much more meticulous. Fortunately, I’m at an age now where you learn to be a bit more relaxed.
chrisw81 schrieb:
it would obviously have been better to have a floor plan that works well in everyday life Hello??? It does work! In every area where functionality matters: kitchen, bathroom, hallway, daily routine, and daily tasks.
Just wait for garden season to start (it actually already has), not just lounging on the sofa... then you’ll have other things on your mind than looking for flaws.
ypg schrieb:
Let’s wait for the gardening season to arrive first (which, by the way, is already underway), Yeah! I just cleared out my old garden bed. I’ll have a new one in spring at a different spot, hopefully once the terrace is finished sometime.ypg schrieb:
The fireplace was very important to you back then. And you probably had some great moments planning it. So now enjoy your fireplace.
Photos would be nice! We have already enjoyed the fireplace, and it turned out very well and is well integrated into the Zackenbarsch.
The planning really went well here. Even in the bedroom, the fireplace doesn’t bother at all; the wardrobe fits perfectly between the fireplace and the gable wall.
ypg schrieb:
Hello??? It works! In all areas where functionality matters: kitchen, bathroom, hallway, daily routine, and day’s work.
Just wait for the garden season to come (it’s actually already here), not just lazing on the sofa... then you’ll have other things on your mind than looking for faults. Of course the floor plan works. I actually think it works very well in these areas.
During the planning and construction phases, I was quite enthusiastic and really looked forward to it, but since the final result, I have been pretty disillusioned and depressed.
The living room seating area is bright, but when I sit there, I see a lot of walls, and I feel trapped. The rather low ceiling adds to the oppressive feeling. Even in my old apartment, the window situation was better. Ideally, you should feel improved and comfortable in a house, especially in the living area. But right now, I don’t feel comfortable there at all. I don’t even feel like doing anything in or on the house right now because the space drags me down so much.
Of course, it’s difficult to predict in advance how a floor plan will feel later on, and I wouldn’t have thought it would bother me this much. Unfortunately, I didn’t visit any show homes with so few/small windows, so I couldn’t foresee this either. Thinking about living there for a long time now actually makes me a bit sad.
Recently, I showed some exterior views to an acquaintance and was asked if we had renovated an old house. By now, I feel ashamed to show those views.
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Pinkiponk14 Jan 2020 11:43chrisw81 schrieb:
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The living room seating area is already bright, but when I sit down, I see a lot of walls and I feel trapped. On top of that, the fairly low ceiling adds to the cramped feeling. The window situation was even better in my old apartment.
...
Thinking about having to live there for a long time makes me a bit sad.
Recently, I showed the exterior views to an acquaintance who asked if we had renovated an old house. By now, I’m ashamed to show those views.I understand your feelings and want to try to offer some comfort and encouragement. From a technical standpoint, you certainly have the option to install one or two additional windows later on, in the medium to long term (with the necessary building permit / planning permission). Maybe you’re among those who receive a Christmas bonus each year or occasionally get a small financial contribution from parents or grandparents. Consider already where you would like to have another window and start making plans, imagining the size, shape, number of panes or glass blocks for the window(s) you might want to add later on. In principle, you could even request concrete and free quotes and find out that it’s not as expensive or complicated as you might think.
Please keep in mind that a house and garden are never really finished. There is always something to change or improve, as I suspect is the case for everyone.
It’s a shame that you’ve felt ashamed recently. Even among professionals, opinions vary widely on what can be considered successful architecture.
The fireplace turned out really well.
Now I have to smile, even though I understand how badly you’re feeling. At first, my living room also felt very cold. Everything was so quiet (my husband isn’t home much during the week, and before that, we lived in a multi-generational house). It was awful. But the more you make the house your own—adding a curtain here, changing something there, creating more lovely moments—the better it gets.
Why shouldn’t you be proud to show your house? Yes, it’s simple. IT IS YOURS!!! You set your budget and decided against many costly extras. That takes determination and commitment. Be proud of that.
Try placing the sofa against the opposite wall so your view looks through the balcony door. Maybe that will work better.
Now I have to smile, even though I understand how badly you’re feeling. At first, my living room also felt very cold. Everything was so quiet (my husband isn’t home much during the week, and before that, we lived in a multi-generational house). It was awful. But the more you make the house your own—adding a curtain here, changing something there, creating more lovely moments—the better it gets.
Why shouldn’t you be proud to show your house? Yes, it’s simple. IT IS YOURS!!! You set your budget and decided against many costly extras. That takes determination and commitment. Be proud of that.
Try placing the sofa against the opposite wall so your view looks through the balcony door. Maybe that will work better.
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