ᐅ Floor Plan Design: Single-Family Home with Basement on an 800 sqm Plot

Hello everyone,

Until now, we have been silent readers and would now like to share our current planning status. We are planning a single-family house with a basement. The current plans are initial drafts that incorporate our requirements and wishes. We hope that some of you can provide appropriate feedback.

The development plan is oriented to the north, meaning the house is rotated about 45°.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size → 794 m² (8,544 sq ft), parcel 10
Slope → No
Site coverage → 140 m² (1,507 sq ft) for the house + 60 m² (646 sq ft) for the garage
Floor area ratio →
Building envelope, building line and boundary → see development plan
Edge development → Yes
Number of parking spaces → 2
Number of floors → 2 full floors
Roof type → symmetrical gable roof, 20° – 32°
Style → not specified
Orientation → see development plan
Maximum heights / limits → permitted wall height 5.50 m (18 ft) up to max. 6.00 m (20 ft) for 2 full floors
Further specifications → municipality is generally very open to deviations (e.g. garage/house setback deviations already approved)

Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type → classic (traditional) single-family house, gable roof, solid wood construction (solid wood wall)
Basement, floors → basement + 2 full floors
Number of occupants, age → 4 (31, 30, 1 month), planning 2 children’s bedrooms
Space requirements ground floor (GF), upper floor (UF) → GF (kitchen, dining, living, office, WC with shower, pantry, cloakroom); UF (parents’ bedroom, 2 x children, multifunctional room (overflow room, guest, storage), bathroom)
Office: family use or home office? → both (both can sometimes work from home simultaneously)
Guests per year → 12
Open or closed architecture → kitchen/dining open and spacious, living room smaller and separated (retreat area)
Conservative or modern construction → rather conservative traditional with a modern touch
Open kitchen, kitchen island → open kitchen with island and seating area
Number of dining seats → 6 - 8
Fireplace → yes (wood stove with viewing window and firebrick lining)
Music/stereo wall → no
Balcony, roof terrace → no
Garage, carport → double garage (optionally garage + carport)
Utility garden, greenhouse → no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for preferences →
GF: For us, the kitchen/dining area is the central space of the house and should be designed generously. The open kitchen with an island should also have seating attached to the exterior wall. The pantry is deliberately placed towards the north and does not need to be a hidden pantry directly next to the kitchen (with the current location, it’s also easily accessible from the living room). A wood stove with a viewing window will be placed in the dining area, connecting visually with the living room. If possible, a seating window in the dining area with a view towards the forest/field would be great. The living room should be a private, separate, relatively small retreat. The office should be on the ground floor so it can also be used as a bedroom if needed. The WC should be equipped with a shower. A separate cloakroom is intended to keep the hallway tidy. The additional hallway area may also serve as access to the garage. A staircase at the entrance area is an absolute no-go for us, so the staircase is located at the rear of the house. The stairway leads directly towards the bathroom in the evening, which we find optimal.

UF: We are not yet very happy with the layout. The second child’s room is relatively narrow. The guest room is too small (about 8-10 m² / 86-108 sq ft) and the first child’s room too large. The bathroom can certainly be reduced in size; we do not need a luxury bathroom. The goal on the upper floor is to make the most of the unobstructed view (field/forest) towards the northwest.

Basement: Also not optimal yet. The straight staircase makes it less convenient. We would appreciate tips here.

Garage: The garage rotation and its placement at the front of the plot has already been approved by the municipality. The garage’s length along the boundary (max. 9 m / 30 ft) will still be shortened. Whether there will be internal access to the garage from the house is still open; if necessary, a separate exterior entrance is sufficient.

House Design
Who designed it → Do-it-Yourself
What do you like most? Why? → We like the room layout, especially the placement of rooms on the ground floor in relation to the plot. The upper floor (unequal children’s rooms) and especially the basement still need optimization.
What don’t you like? Why? → The children’s rooms are relatively narrow (3.245 m / 10.6 ft)
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 500,000 € + basement
Personal price limit for house including fittings: 750,000 €
Preferred heating system: heat pump with trench collector + underfloor heating (wood stove as backup)

If you had to give up, which details/extras
-could you give up: guest room on the upper floor, separate cloakroom in the hallway, internal access to garage from the house
-could not give up: everything else

Why has the design ended up like this?
Standard design from the planner? → No. We searched through what felt like thousands of floor plans online. For a long time, a half-landing or spiral staircase was set, with access from the north side and compliance with the building envelope. With a garage width of about 7 m (23 ft) and a desired passage between garage and house, the house would be very close to the property boundary on the southwest side, making garden use less optimal. The layout with the straight staircase happened by chance and we actually like it quite well, as it allows good access to the relatively many rooms. Access to the house would then be from the street side. By rotating the garage and placing it at the front of the property, the house can be moved further north/east, improving garden usability in the southwest.
Which requests were implemented by the architect? → A mix from many examples found in various magazines...
What makes it, in your opinion, particularly good or bad?

We are open to constructive improvement suggestions. Fundamentally, the house’s placement on the plot may also be questioned.

Thank you very much for your ideas.
Best regards

Below are the floor plans in better quality.

Calling it a slope is somewhat understated. A 2.5 m (8 feet) elevation change from north to south within the property?

Here is a rough draft with contour lines. The blue triangle marks the reference height.

Here it is again with the house included.

You like doors, don’t you?
Seven doors within an area of 7 x 5 meters (23 x 16 feet) is quite a statement.

What does the budget say? With a basement and no garage, that's about 300 m² (3,230 sq ft), if I haven't miscalculated.