ᐅ Floor plan for a "temporary house" designed for 2 to 3.5 occupants
Created on: 23 Oct 2024 21:57
C
czumplanen
Greetings to the forum,
I am planning to build a house of about 100–110 sq m (1076–1184 sq ft) with one children’s room and a smaller room that can serve as an emergency children’s room for at least a few years. I like large windows and, due to my job, I will spend a lot of time in the living room, so I don’t want to cut back there. As a layperson, am I overlooking anything major, or are my ideas realistic?
Context of my situation:
I have a plot of land where building might be possible around 2026–2027, but so far there’s no guarantee that it will happen at all.
Since I want to move out of my parents’ place (or rather, my partner’s apartment, where I’ve been for a few months) and don’t expect house prices to get significantly cheaper, I would like to first buy and build on a plot of about 1000 sq m (0.25 acres) where a development plan is already in place. This won’t be my dream house, but there’s always a compromise somewhere, and finding that is currently causing me some stress.
My options are now:
I didn’t like the floor plan suggested by the construction company, so I came up with my own layout, which after about 15 hours of adjusting back and forth I find quite okay. The professionals here will probably laugh that I am using home.by.me, but if you have no experience at all, it’s incredibly helpful to place rooms with furniture in 3D to get an idea of the space dimensions. The furniture itself doesn’t have to be exactly as shown—my main concern was dimensions, like how far a closet might protrude into the hallway.
The driveway and carport will be approximately like shown; everything else on the plot, including the lovingly placed swing, is just a reference for the size of the remaining land, and the terrace is only roughly positioned. Due to my lack of knowledge, I naively set the walls at 170 mm (6.7 inches) thick both inside and outside.
About the rooms:
The hallway might be about 20 cm (8 inches) narrower in favor of a smaller house width or slightly larger children’s rooms, but that shouldn’t make a huge difference now.
Bathroom 1 is relatively small compared to the bathroom in my parents’ house, but I think it has everything needed. The shower is 90 x 90 cm (35 x 35 inches), slightly larger than my current 80 x 80 cm (31.5 x 31.5 inches), allowing approximately 100 cm (39 inches) clearance between sink and shower for passage. It’s not huge, but I think it will work. This means the door opens into the hallway.
Bathroom 2 is tiny, but the same size as our current guest toilet.
The utility room, if I haven’t forgotten anything, is 5.7 sq m (61 sq ft), which should have everything needed; I read online the minimum size is around 6 sq m (65 sq ft).
The bedroom is rather minimal size; an additional closet would certainly be useful. I might add taller cabinets to the left and right of the TV.
I have no idea about kitchen design. Are kitchen units modular and standardized in width, or do you build the kitchen around the existing walls? If I need to enlarge bathroom 1 later, I would likely take space from the kitchen for that.
In the living room, I don’t know how to arrange a nice view of the plot, a TV, and a fireplace all at once. I do like the idea of corner windows (if that’s structurally possible), and rearranging furniture is always an option. What’s important to me is not regretting later having too little space or windows in the wrong places. I like the recessed wall toward the kitchen as it creates some separation between the kitchen and living room, especially if there are items left out in the kitchen, despite the open-concept design.
Orientation: The top edge of the plan faces north-northeast (NNE).
Here is the list; I have removed what was already answered or is not applicable:
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1000 sq m (0.25 acres)
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: Corner plot, neighbor’s property is 9 meters (30 feet) behind the plot boundary next to the carport
Number of parking spaces: Probably 2 in tandem, using whichever is in front to drive out
Number of floors: 1
Roof style: No preference
Architectural style: No preference
Homeowners’ requirements
Basement: None
Open kitchen to make living room appear larger
Carport: Yes
House design
Plan origin: DIY
Personal budget limit for the house: €275,000 for 106 sq m (without kitchen, furniture, carport, terrace, or hedge—hedge shown as fence in design)
Preferred heating system: Heat pump
Why is the design the way it is now?
What do you think is particularly good or bad about it? I hope I’ve arranged the rooms reasonably well considering the space, but as an amateur, I don’t really have a sense of that. I would appreciate any feedback very much; better to be criticized now than waste money later because something was overlooked.
I am planning to build a house of about 100–110 sq m (1076–1184 sq ft) with one children’s room and a smaller room that can serve as an emergency children’s room for at least a few years. I like large windows and, due to my job, I will spend a lot of time in the living room, so I don’t want to cut back there. As a layperson, am I overlooking anything major, or are my ideas realistic?
Context of my situation:
I have a plot of land where building might be possible around 2026–2027, but so far there’s no guarantee that it will happen at all.
Since I want to move out of my parents’ place (or rather, my partner’s apartment, where I’ve been for a few months) and don’t expect house prices to get significantly cheaper, I would like to first buy and build on a plot of about 1000 sq m (0.25 acres) where a development plan is already in place. This won’t be my dream house, but there’s always a compromise somewhere, and finding that is currently causing me some stress.
My options are now:
- Wait quietly for another 3 years and possibly be disappointed that I still won’t be allowed to build on my dream plot
- Build a house the size of an apartment (around 80 sq m / 860 sq ft) and then regret the size when children come before I can build my larger dream home
- Build a 100–110 sq m house that is nice to live in but will likely be too small when the second child arrives
- Go all in and immediately build my dream house on a plot that isn’t ideal for me (location, layout, size)
I didn’t like the floor plan suggested by the construction company, so I came up with my own layout, which after about 15 hours of adjusting back and forth I find quite okay. The professionals here will probably laugh that I am using home.by.me, but if you have no experience at all, it’s incredibly helpful to place rooms with furniture in 3D to get an idea of the space dimensions. The furniture itself doesn’t have to be exactly as shown—my main concern was dimensions, like how far a closet might protrude into the hallway.
The driveway and carport will be approximately like shown; everything else on the plot, including the lovingly placed swing, is just a reference for the size of the remaining land, and the terrace is only roughly positioned. Due to my lack of knowledge, I naively set the walls at 170 mm (6.7 inches) thick both inside and outside.
About the rooms:
The hallway might be about 20 cm (8 inches) narrower in favor of a smaller house width or slightly larger children’s rooms, but that shouldn’t make a huge difference now.
Bathroom 1 is relatively small compared to the bathroom in my parents’ house, but I think it has everything needed. The shower is 90 x 90 cm (35 x 35 inches), slightly larger than my current 80 x 80 cm (31.5 x 31.5 inches), allowing approximately 100 cm (39 inches) clearance between sink and shower for passage. It’s not huge, but I think it will work. This means the door opens into the hallway.
Bathroom 2 is tiny, but the same size as our current guest toilet.
The utility room, if I haven’t forgotten anything, is 5.7 sq m (61 sq ft), which should have everything needed; I read online the minimum size is around 6 sq m (65 sq ft).
The bedroom is rather minimal size; an additional closet would certainly be useful. I might add taller cabinets to the left and right of the TV.
I have no idea about kitchen design. Are kitchen units modular and standardized in width, or do you build the kitchen around the existing walls? If I need to enlarge bathroom 1 later, I would likely take space from the kitchen for that.
In the living room, I don’t know how to arrange a nice view of the plot, a TV, and a fireplace all at once. I do like the idea of corner windows (if that’s structurally possible), and rearranging furniture is always an option. What’s important to me is not regretting later having too little space or windows in the wrong places. I like the recessed wall toward the kitchen as it creates some separation between the kitchen and living room, especially if there are items left out in the kitchen, despite the open-concept design.
Orientation: The top edge of the plan faces north-northeast (NNE).
Here is the list; I have removed what was already answered or is not applicable:
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 1000 sq m (0.25 acres)
Building envelope, building line, and boundaries: Corner plot, neighbor’s property is 9 meters (30 feet) behind the plot boundary next to the carport
Number of parking spaces: Probably 2 in tandem, using whichever is in front to drive out
Number of floors: 1
Roof style: No preference
Architectural style: No preference
Homeowners’ requirements
Basement: None
Open kitchen to make living room appear larger
Carport: Yes
House design
Plan origin: DIY
Personal budget limit for the house: €275,000 for 106 sq m (without kitchen, furniture, carport, terrace, or hedge—hedge shown as fence in design)
Preferred heating system: Heat pump
Why is the design the way it is now?
What do you think is particularly good or bad about it? I hope I’ve arranged the rooms reasonably well considering the space, but as an amateur, I don’t really have a sense of that. I would appreciate any feedback very much; better to be criticized now than waste money later because something was overlooked.
ypg schrieb:
Why should the utility room be locked?You’re right, I imagined a non-existent door leading to the garden and saw the utility room as a mudroom, allowing access from the outside into the utility room and then into the bathroom. However, this doesn’t make the overall design any less "unconventional."
C
czumplanen24 Oct 2024 19:47SoL schrieb:
- No technical room available, cannot be integrated into 5m² (54 ft²) utility roomWhat is the difference here? When I google "technical room vs utility room," the first result says, "The utility room is often also called a technical room," and the second one says "Technical room/utility room." Are these the same in prefab house plans?
>When you enter the living room, you immediately stumble over the furniture
Do you mean the armchair? For access, I only planned the door on the left side of the layout; the other side could simply be a large window or a door with a window that you would never open.
>Corner window in the living room (a trend) is blocked by the TV. Depending on the orientation (not checked), watching TV could be difficult at certain times of the year because the sun blinds from behind the TV through the window.
I prefer having the window, even if in the worst case it is partially blocked (and ideally nothing stands in front of the window). Very good point about the sun glare… I’ll consider whether an external awning could help or if the room still has enough window area with the blind half-lowered.
>Long and dark hallway
Don’t you think doors with large glass panels would bring in enough light? There’s one from the living room and one from the main entrance door.
>Hallway is furnished so that furniture is placed right in front of the double doors to the living room already in the planning phase. Either the wrong furniture or a poorly planned hallway.
Definitely the wrong furniture, thanks.
>Window with patio door in the kids’ room planned so there is practically no wall left, which means extra structural support is needed, making it more expensive than necessary
Do you mean statically?
>View from the sofa into the kitchen feels cluttered due to the bedroom’s recessed corner
I’ve seen some floor plans where the living room and open kitchen are arranged in an L-shape. I assumed this was intentional, so you don’t always have the entire kitchen in view. Or does it work better if that corner extends further downward in the plan?
So you have another plot of land, whose buildability for 2026/27 seems uncertain. I find that hard to imagine since we are already in autumn 2024. Any potential impossibility of obtaining building rights within such a short period should already be evident at the earliest stage. Or is the municipal decision already made, but the formal approval process has not yet started (because, according to rumors, a rare species of rock louse is supposed to breed there)?
The house design shown here would, however, be more of a contamination than a proper use of the plot under discussion and, being neither one thing nor the other, a substantial waste of money. Instead, build an “interim house” that performs well on the market as such, meaning develop the lot as far as allowed with a duplex or find a family interested in the second half. Given the shape of the plot, perhaps something like non-identical twins, see @MadameP.
A detached apartment unit the size of a small guest room is definitely nonsense without any benefit. In the design, I see several reasons to assume this would create a slow-selling property and, at the same time, nothing that would make me understand why you even bothered to design your own plan. Because there is nothing "unique" or "hard to fulfill with catalog models" about it. Wouldn’t @motorradsilke’s house at least be a somewhat suitable option (even if it also only weakly utilizes the plot here)?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
The house design shown here would, however, be more of a contamination than a proper use of the plot under discussion and, being neither one thing nor the other, a substantial waste of money. Instead, build an “interim house” that performs well on the market as such, meaning develop the lot as far as allowed with a duplex or find a family interested in the second half. Given the shape of the plot, perhaps something like non-identical twins, see @MadameP.
A detached apartment unit the size of a small guest room is definitely nonsense without any benefit. In the design, I see several reasons to assume this would create a slow-selling property and, at the same time, nothing that would make me understand why you even bothered to design your own plan. Because there is nothing "unique" or "hard to fulfill with catalog models" about it. Wouldn’t @motorradsilke’s house at least be a somewhat suitable option (even if it also only weakly utilizes the plot here)?
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
C
czumplanen24 Oct 2024 20:06kbt09 schrieb:
If the top of the plan is roughly north, I would try to position the house as far east as possible (shorter driveway), with the main entrance maybe more on the right side of the plan (which could mean a smaller hallway). To open up the garden more toward the south/west, also the terrace. My idea here was to have the longest possible view axis from the living room toward the narrowing corner of the plot. So when sitting on the couch, you can look across the property as far as possible in the direction of the swing.
I placed the front door at the top of the plan because I want to give the other rooms on the south side most of the natural light.
>Everyone who wants to get from their bedrooms to the bathroom has to pass the front door. Depending on the plot orientation, this might not be very visible, but somehow feels a bit uncomfortable.
I'm surprised that someone could see this as a problem; I can’t really imagine it myself, but that’s why I’m here.
C
czumplanen24 Oct 2024 20:15nordanney schrieb:
that instead of building a new transitional house, I would simply consider an existing property. Just move in and live there, and if needed (or if desired, when the ideal plot fits) build the "real" house.That would be my dream too, I agree with you, but without exaggerating, unfortunately, that doesn’t come without headaches here. I have been searching since 2020, and it’s either "handyman specials," which often don’t include land, or there are seemingly random steps between the hallway and living room throughout the house—there’s always something. There’s almost always some issue, but here it’s always something significant. Three years ago, there was a house I regret not buying because back then I thought I could build the way I wanted. Also, it’s worth mentioning that I live in a small town, not a big city where new properties are listed daily.Anecdote: This year, there was exactly one house for which I would have been willing to pay $50,000 more because so much about it was right and it was move-in ready (a recently separated couple had just moved in). But right during the viewing, problems with the right of way came up. According to the land registry, the right of way does exist, so it was likely all unfounded, but when you meet a neighbor with such an attitude in the first minute, you don’t need enemies. The neighbor is probably a nice person, and maybe he just wanted to spoil the sale for the current owner, but I don’t want to deal with the stress that those two may have had in the past, so that was the end of that house for me.
czumplanen schrieb:
What is the difference? When I google "equipment room vs utility room," the first result says, "The utility room is often also called the equipment room," and the second says "equipment room/utility room"—are they the same in prefab house plans? Of course, you can plan the utility room and equipment room together. But in your space, with some luck, you’ll only fit the heating equipment, connections, etc., and that’s it.
A utility room is actually intended for laundry and similar tasks, and you don’t have space for that in your room.
> When you enter the living room, you immediately stumble over the furniture
Do you mean the armchair? I only planned to have the door on the left side of the plan to open, the other side could just be a large window or a door with a window that you never open. Why? Why are you planning a door that you will not open? When I have guests, I want them to be able to use the house without having to consider that some areas are inaccessible because I blocked doors during planning.
> Corner window in the living room (a trend) is blocked by the TV. Depending on orientation (not checked), watching TV will be unpleasant in some seasons because the sun shines from behind the TV through the window.
Having the window and in the worst case blocking half of it (and in the best case nothing in front of it) is better for me than having no window at all. Very good point about the counter sun—I will consider whether an external awning might help or whether the room still has enough window area with the blinds half closed. Exactly the same here: you are planning a window that you deliberately block. Also, the blinds are already planned to be half closed... Please consult a professional architect if you want to continue, because your overall approach is unfortunate.
> Hallway is long and dark
Don’t you think doors with large windows in them bring enough light in? One from the living room and one from the front door? Sure, you get some light in there. But due to the length of the hallway and the living room located in front of the hallway doors, it will be significantly less than you might expect. Alternatively, you could use a transom window, but a proper architect will plan that properly.
> Window with patio door in the children’s room is planned so that there is practically no wall left, meaning it needs to be structurally supported somehow, which makes it more expensive than necessary
Do you mean structurally? Yes
> View from the sofa into the kitchen looks untidy because of the protruding corner of the bedroom
I have seen several floor plans where the living room and open kitchen are arranged in an L-shape, so I assumed that is intentional so you don’t have the entire kitchen in view all the time. Or does it work better if the corner extends further toward the bottom of the plan? Yes, you can do an L-shape, but what you have is not L-shaped—it’s rectangular with a small protruding wall.
That will look awkward when realized.
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