ᐅ House Floor Plan with a Separate Apartment – Suggestions for Improvement?

Created on: 31 Aug 2022 12:31
M
MarlenP
Hello everyone,

we plan to build a house with two residential units on a 472m2 (5,079 sq ft) plot of land (Unit 1: 143.39m2 (1,543 sq ft) / Unit 2: 69.57m2 (749 sq ft)).
The second unit is intended for my parents, while the main unit is for my family, which includes my spouse and three children (ages 7, 13, and 17).
Since our plot is relatively small, we want to build a compact house to maximize the garden space.
We are currently in the final planning stage and would appreciate your feedback on our project.
We have a feeling that we might have overlooked some important aspects or not paid enough attention to certain details because our planning focus was mainly on the compactness of the house.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 472m2 (5,079 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.6
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Perimeter development: south and east
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style:
Orientation: south/west
Maximum heights / limits: 10m (33 ft)
Additional requirements

Client Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: urban villa
Basement, number of storeys: no basement
Number of occupants and ages: Unit 1 – 5 people (ages 43, 38, 17, 13, 7); Unit 2 – 2 people, both over 60
Space needs on ground floor / upper floor:
Office: family use or home office? -
Number of guest stays per year: 2-3 times per year
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern build style: modern
Open kitchen, with or without island: open kitchen, no island
Number of dining seats: 5
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage or carport: garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routines, also reasons why certain features are included or excluded

The house should be compact but still feel spacious.

House Design
Planning by:
- planner from a construction company
- architect: by the architect
- do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? It is a relatively small house with two residential units.
What do you dislike? Why? Maybe some rooms (children’s rooms and the rooms in the secondary unit) are too small?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: approx. 600,000€
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: 650,000€
Preferred heating system: district heating

If you had to give up something, which details or expansions
- could you do without: basically nothing – we have already minimized everything.
- could you not do without: the planned number of rooms

Why did the design end up like it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect? Yes

A mix of many examples from various magazines…
What makes it particularly good or bad in your opinion?

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?

We wanted the house to be as compact as possible. Maybe we focused too much on compactness and neglected other important aspects.
What do you like about the house, what do you not like so much, and what would be unacceptable?

Site plan: building II WD 30 with red hatching, outlines and driveway.


Floor plan of a house with living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, stairs and garage.


Floor plan showing bedrooms, children’s rooms, bathroom, hallway and staircase.


Two-storey house with gable roof; south and east views, windows and doors.


Section and west elevation of a single-family house with foundation, stairs and window front.


North elevation of a two-storey house with gable roof and garage; window front and entrance.
K a t j a11 Sep 2022 10:14
I’m just saying, a staircase is cheaper than a fifth bathroom. Bet it’ll be the staircase... 😀
Y
ypg
11 Sep 2022 10:16
K a t j a schrieb:

I’m just saying, a staircase is cheaper than a fifth bathroom. Bet it will be the staircase.

The fifth bathroom will be the utility room—that’s how it was communicated.
K a t j a11 Sep 2022 10:26
Utility room ensuite? I hadn’t noticed that. Hmm, I’m still betting on the staircase. 😀
K
kbt09
11 Sep 2022 11:21
2. A staircase means basically giving away about 8 to 10 square meters (approximately 86 to 108 square feet) without compensation.
K a t j a11 Sep 2022 11:31
kbt09 schrieb:

2. A staircase basically means giving away about 8 to 10 square meters (85 to 110 square feet) just like that.
Yes, especially if you only want to access one room. But – the customer’s wish… you know how it is. 😀
I just realized that I could actually fit an even bigger dining table in the granny flat if I move the kitchen to the other wall:


Floor plan of a house with stairs, bathroom, bedroom, and other rooms.

Yeah – we definitely deserve a bit of fun.
K
kbt09
11 Sep 2022 11:47
.. and when the staircase is removed, there is still space left for a storage room with a washing machine connection 😉