ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family House with Basement and Double Garage on a 540 sqm Plot

Created on: 13 Sep 2019 22:44
M
MakeNBreak
M
MakeNBreak
13 Sep 2019 22:44
Hello everyone,

we need help planning our house. We have purchased a 540 sqm (5810 sq ft) plot and want to build a single-family home with a basement, two full floors, and a double garage. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attach PDFs, but I hope the quality of the mysweethome snapshot is sufficient.

Details on the floor plan below...

Development plan/restrictions:
Plot size: 540 sqm (5810 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building line, building boundary, and building zone: see plan
Edge development: detached housing
Number of floors: no restriction
Maximum height: 8.5 m (natural ground to ridge)
A 5 m (16 ft) wide protected buffer zone along the water must be planted and cannot be built on.

Client requirements:
Building type: single-family house with double garage
Roof shape: gable roof
Basement ceiling height: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in), ground floor ceiling height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in), upper floor ceiling height: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Number and age of occupants: 2 adults (mid-30s), 2 children (<3 years)
Living area: 160-180 sqm (1720-1940 sq ft)
Basement with waterproofing “black tank” system

We want to combine the following:
- No kitchen-dining-living room corridor; instead, an L-shaped layout with the living room somewhat separated
- Office/guest room on the ground floor (double bed and desk); home office once a week, guests about ten times a year; also usable as a bedroom later in life (space for double bed and wardrobe)
- Ground floor toilet with shower
- Direct access from the garage to the house or at least a dry path from the garage to the house
- Half-landing staircase
- Gable roof
- House oriented lengthwise (gable side) towards the street to preserve as much garden space as possible on the west side
- Pantry would be nice but can be omitted if the kitchen is large; a storage room for food is planned in the basement
- Open kitchen
- Seating for 6 people
- No balcony

House design:
The current design is our own. After visiting many show homes and working through various planning drafts, we gradually became clear about what we want. The current design incorporates the above wishes.

What do we not like? Why?
  • Where could shelves be integrated in the living area?
  • Is the size of the dining and living area proportionate to the house?
  • The hallway on the ground floor is quite wide – seems like wasted space
  • It would be nice if the living room felt a bit more separated

If you had to give up some details/extensions, which ones would they be?
  • Pantry (we haven’t managed to integrate it yet)
  • Half-landing staircase is practical and attractive but takes up a lot of space (alternative: straight staircase or two-flight angled staircase)
  • Kitchen orientation facing the street

What we cannot do without:
  • Direct access from the garage

- Living/dining area should be spacious and feel open
- We do not want a kitchen-dining-living corridor; the living room should be somewhat separated/offset.

Why did the design turn out this way?
Optimal use of the plot, placing the double garage and house towards the street to have enough garden space at the back. Kitchen faces the street, living and dining area face the garden/terrace. Simple house shape (no bay window because of the waterproof basement “black tank,” cost savings, etc.). After much trial and error, this layout made the most sense.

What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
Are there other options to meet our requirements? What are the main criticisms or improvement suggestions for the current design?

Site plan: two rectangular buildings, north arrow, plot boundaries, and dimensions.


Floor plan of a house with double garage, living and dining area, terrace, and garden.


Floor plan of a home with several bedrooms, dressing room, library, bathroom, and hallway.
Y
ypg
13 Sep 2019 23:14
Left, uh right is north, and the floor plan design places the garage in the ??? west? And then?
MakeNBreak schrieb:

Can’t you do without:
  • direct garage access

Ok...
MakeNBreak schrieb:

Where could shelves be placed in the living area?

Planning!
Don’t get me wrong. But if you plan yourself, the requested area should also be available.
M
MakeNBreak
13 Sep 2019 23:22
The plot is now aligned exactly as the floor plans.

Grundriss eines Baugrundstücks mit zwei Rechteckgebäuden, Maßlinien und Nordpfeil.
Y
ypg
13 Sep 2019 23:33
.. I'm completely out of this... totally indifferent... but the upper floor is really impressive. Better not to plan too much... it will work out.
Y
ypg
13 Sep 2019 23:52
MakeNBreak schrieb:

Plot now oriented the same way as the floor plans.

Sorry for my previous response.
But what are we supposed to do with your orientation issue, meaning the mirroring?
Or should we think outside the box?

By the way, I see a 90-degree rotation.
11ant14 Sep 2019 01:08
PDFs are generally not popular here for practical reasons—especially among mobile users. Do the parents sleep separately, or does only one child have a walk-in closet? Overall, the floor plans feel awkward, like a typical first attempt at rooms-and-walls tetris by amateur planners.

Would you like to name the model homes that served as inspiration here (only by name, without links) or that were partially mixed into the plans?

It never rains in southern California—setting the door to the garage at priority 99 easily allows for more freedom in arranging the building layout.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/