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!
Tamstar schrieb:
Not in addition to the sofa, otherwise it will get too crowded again. I think it’s better if not all guests sit “in a row,” like it would be with the current suggestion. That’s why I originally thought of the corner sofa—this way, two people can sit on the south side and two on the west side.
With an armchair, you could at least fit one more person. Or maybe just two separate sofas—a 2.5-seater on the south side and a 2-seater on the west side? Probably still too crowded?
11ant schrieb:
Hmm – even if you complain about the living space being cluttered, doesn’t that make it a bit sad? I would find it a shame to leave out the piano now – in fact, I’ve already given up windows to fit it in, windows that could have been placed there instead. I would be really annoyed about that.
chrisw81 schrieb:
I think it’s good when not all guests sit “in a row,”That’s why I believe single armchairs—combined with carefully balanced multi-seat options—are the best way to avoid the rigid, chicken-coop style seating arrangement.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
That’s why I believe that single armchairs—combined with carefully measured multi-seat options—are the best alternatives to the traditional bench seating arrangement. Having a seating option on the west side is important to me, if only to be able to look out the window on the south side sometimes.
ypg schrieb:
No, that’s exactly the difference between furnishing a room and just filling it up or dumping things in the corner. And there’s actually no problem with traffic flow there. Besides, you can sit in the middle and watch the fireplace burning, or turn around and look out into the garden. Maybe a simple, elongated sofa with a separate cube or footstool would be more flexible. Well, I don’t think the issue pointed out at the beginning really is a problem, but for the OP it clearly is—and then that section of the sofa might actually(!) become a problem again because you’d have to zigzag to get from the back part of the sofa to the fridge (which is kind of how the problem with the table was described). So that’s why I (and yes, you too) suggested having a flexible sofa.
chrisw81 schrieb:
Just a fundamental question… Would it be worth considering additional windows or widening existing windows now or sometime in the future to give the room more daylight or openness? I find it very wall-bound as it is.
Or can the room be made to feel spacious enough with design elements so that it doesn’t feel too cramped? Do you really feel cramped, or is it just uncomfortable?
Everyone here has confirmed it feels unfinished.
Search for “Wohnzimmer streichen” on ploetzlichbauherr (which is a building blog), they have a living room with even fewer windows, but it doesn’t look uncomfortable at all. It’s not my style, but it still feels welcoming there.
chrisw81 schrieb:
I’d really regret leaving out the piano now—That would annoy me a lot. But you’re annoyed now anyway. If the piano ends up blocking a potentially beautiful and cozy room, that’s even worse!
Tamstar schrieb:
Well, I don’t think the issue raised at the beginning is actually a problem, but it is for the original poster, and then that section of the sofa might(!) become a problem again because you’d have to weave around to get from the back part of the sofa to the refrigerator (the problem with the table was described in a similar way). That’s why I (and you as well) suggested choosing a flexible sofa.Flexible is great, the idea of an attachable/detachable ottoman is brilliant, since you can place it anywhere as needed.At that point, I don’t think the sofa section or ottoman would bother me in the room; the walking path probably runs along the TV/fireplace towards the dining area/kitchen.
Tamstar schrieb:
Do you really feel confined, or is it just uncomfortable?
Everyone here has confirmed that it’s unfinished.
Search for “living room painting” on the blog ploetzlichbauherr (which is a construction blog); they have a living room with even fewer windows, but it doesn’t look uncomfortable. It’s not my style, but you can still feel comfortable there.
But you’re also frustrated. If the piano prevents you from creating a potentially nice and cozy room, that makes things worse!When I look west from the living room door, I don’t see a balance between the wall and window proportions.The center with the large lift-and-slide door looks great and inviting, but the view to the west looks more like a dark hole (slightly exaggerated).
Especially on the west side, the small window seems almost ridiculously small and lost.
Also, for example, the south window is narrower than the wall to its left (the piano wall), which looks very odd and also lost. That’s why I asked whether this can even be fixed with furnishing, since the wrong proportions remain.
Of course, you could also see the whole thing as a cozy “retreat” where you’re hardly disturbed by outside influences, but when I see other contemporary modern houses, they seem more inviting to me. It doesn’t have to be a glass palace, but a bit more balance, carefully dosed, would have been good.
I actually know that construction blog, and their living area is indeed cozy, even if I find it a bit too enclosed as well.
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