Hello everyone,
The planning for our construction project is gradually becoming more concrete, so we would really appreciate your feedback on our floor plan ideas. I have attached our first floor plan concept below. Windows, doors, etc., are not yet finalized; at this stage, we are focusing mainly on the general room layout. The square meterage is probably not yet exact, as after subtracting the sloped ceilings (I believe!), it comes to about 150 m2 (1,615 sq ft), which is likely beyond our budget, but the overall shape and layout of the house roughly match our vision.
Our given conditions are:
Building plot 10x10 m (33x33 ft), one-and-a-half storey construction. The plot is approximately 575 m2 (6,190 sq ft), about 30 m (98 ft) east-west and about 20 m (66 ft) north-south. The house is planned to be positioned in the northeast corner, with the roof ridge running east-west (not sure if this is mandatory, but it seems logical, right?).
We are a family of five with grandparents living far outside our city (Berlin), and therefore we would like:
At minimum: open-plan living-dining-kitchen area, large utility/storage room, one shower bathroom, one family bathroom, four bedrooms
Ideally: an additional room (office/guest) and/or usable extra space in the attic
All this as cost-effectively as possible, since our budget for the house alone is 190,000 EUR.
Based on the previous recommendations, we would like to include a staircase to the attic right from the start, even if we may not finish the attic immediately.
After visiting a 134 m2 (1,442 sq ft) sample house of a well-known manufacturer over the weekend, we found that the six rooms we want are technically accommodated there with some charm, but it felt a bit cramped.
So, we tried creating a floor plan that makes the house somewhat larger overall, allowing space on the ground floor for a shower bathroom and a slightly bigger extra room, as follows:
The middle bedroom in the attic works because it is fully located in a dormer. We actually really like this layout, and a house with such a dormer also looks attractive from the outside. Our concern, however, is that the dormer might be too expensive, and/or that even with somewhat more square meters than the sample house, the rooms might still feel a bit tight.
The alternatives we are considering are as follows:
First, to forgo the fourth bedroom on the upper floor and instead have three equally sized bedrooms plus a bathroom there. In that case, a resident would have to temporarily relocate to another room when grandparents visit or the attic would need to be clearly designated as overflow space. It would then be important that the extra room on the ground floor is large enough to serve as a fully functional private room (which we have tried to plan accordingly on the ground floor).
Second, if we cannot afford the dormer, we attempted to maximize the attic space by moving the bathroom to the center, so that all four bedrooms still have proper windows. This resulted in the following layout:
Aside from the fact that the feeling of cramped space remains here as well, what bothers me about this variant is that, unlike the version with the dormer, it would later be difficult to create 2-3 well-shaped rooms from this space, which would actually be an attractive option for when the children move out.
This is where we are so far! Tomorrow we have an appointment with the architect’s office, into which we would like to go with as clear ideas as possible. Therefore, we would really appreciate any feedback today that could help us to refine and improve the ideas presented here. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Best regards,
Kazazi
The planning for our construction project is gradually becoming more concrete, so we would really appreciate your feedback on our floor plan ideas. I have attached our first floor plan concept below. Windows, doors, etc., are not yet finalized; at this stage, we are focusing mainly on the general room layout. The square meterage is probably not yet exact, as after subtracting the sloped ceilings (I believe!), it comes to about 150 m2 (1,615 sq ft), which is likely beyond our budget, but the overall shape and layout of the house roughly match our vision.
Our given conditions are:
Building plot 10x10 m (33x33 ft), one-and-a-half storey construction. The plot is approximately 575 m2 (6,190 sq ft), about 30 m (98 ft) east-west and about 20 m (66 ft) north-south. The house is planned to be positioned in the northeast corner, with the roof ridge running east-west (not sure if this is mandatory, but it seems logical, right?).
We are a family of five with grandparents living far outside our city (Berlin), and therefore we would like:
At minimum: open-plan living-dining-kitchen area, large utility/storage room, one shower bathroom, one family bathroom, four bedrooms
Ideally: an additional room (office/guest) and/or usable extra space in the attic
All this as cost-effectively as possible, since our budget for the house alone is 190,000 EUR.
Based on the previous recommendations, we would like to include a staircase to the attic right from the start, even if we may not finish the attic immediately.
After visiting a 134 m2 (1,442 sq ft) sample house of a well-known manufacturer over the weekend, we found that the six rooms we want are technically accommodated there with some charm, but it felt a bit cramped.
So, we tried creating a floor plan that makes the house somewhat larger overall, allowing space on the ground floor for a shower bathroom and a slightly bigger extra room, as follows:
The middle bedroom in the attic works because it is fully located in a dormer. We actually really like this layout, and a house with such a dormer also looks attractive from the outside. Our concern, however, is that the dormer might be too expensive, and/or that even with somewhat more square meters than the sample house, the rooms might still feel a bit tight.
The alternatives we are considering are as follows:
First, to forgo the fourth bedroom on the upper floor and instead have three equally sized bedrooms plus a bathroom there. In that case, a resident would have to temporarily relocate to another room when grandparents visit or the attic would need to be clearly designated as overflow space. It would then be important that the extra room on the ground floor is large enough to serve as a fully functional private room (which we have tried to plan accordingly on the ground floor).
Second, if we cannot afford the dormer, we attempted to maximize the attic space by moving the bathroom to the center, so that all four bedrooms still have proper windows. This resulted in the following layout:
Aside from the fact that the feeling of cramped space remains here as well, what bothers me about this variant is that, unlike the version with the dormer, it would later be difficult to create 2-3 well-shaped rooms from this space, which would actually be an attractive option for when the children move out.
This is where we are so far! Tomorrow we have an appointment with the architect’s office, into which we would like to go with as clear ideas as possible. Therefore, we would really appreciate any feedback today that could help us to refine and improve the ideas presented here. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Best regards,
Kazazi
The knee wall can be a maximum of 1.10 m (3 ft 7 in), so an upper floor like Jaydee’s probably won’t work for us, we thought – although we do like it. However, the bathroom and hallway on the ground floor might also be too small for us, with 5 permanent residents plus frequent guests.
Strictly regarding the building plot, a bit more space would still be possible, but financially it’s unlikely. Actually, I also think that a simple house of this size should be sufficient; a floor plan like the Richter gable roof 140 seems quite balanced to me. The only differences we want there are a shower on the ground floor and a slightly larger utility room...
I wouldn’t go smaller than your utility room. Ours is just under 13 sqm (140 sq ft) and it’s almost completely full. Utilities like electricity and water take up more space than expected. Our hot water tank and buffer are also not exactly small. Plus, the controlled residential ventilation system (okay, it’s mounted high, but there’s just enough room underneath for the washer and dryer). So, there’s really not much space left for miscellaneous stuff.
In your hallway, you don’t have much more wall space than we do. It only seems larger because the corridor extends around the corner to the bathroom and utility room. Maybe you’d do better with a different staircase design, like one with two quarter turns or a half-turn staircase, which takes up less space.
How wide is the living room? It looks really narrow. It should be at least 3.5 m (11.5 ft), preferably 4 m (13 ft). Otherwise, it feels very elongated.
Friends of ours have a similar floor plan to ours, with living, dining, and kitchen areas extended along the entire length. Their layout looks something like this (just quickly sketched):
In their case, the stairs go up from the living area. That’s a matter of taste. Naturally, it changes the entire upper floor plan as well.
Downstairs, there’s a bit more space because the hallway is fairly usable, the utility room is near the kitchen, and there isn’t an extra corridor (traffic flow) in between. I’ve indicated the dimensions similar to yours, about 10 by 9 meters (33 by 30 ft).
In your hallway, you don’t have much more wall space than we do. It only seems larger because the corridor extends around the corner to the bathroom and utility room. Maybe you’d do better with a different staircase design, like one with two quarter turns or a half-turn staircase, which takes up less space.
How wide is the living room? It looks really narrow. It should be at least 3.5 m (11.5 ft), preferably 4 m (13 ft). Otherwise, it feels very elongated.
Friends of ours have a similar floor plan to ours, with living, dining, and kitchen areas extended along the entire length. Their layout looks something like this (just quickly sketched):
In their case, the stairs go up from the living area. That’s a matter of taste. Naturally, it changes the entire upper floor plan as well.
Downstairs, there’s a bit more space because the hallway is fairly usable, the utility room is near the kitchen, and there isn’t an extra corridor (traffic flow) in between. I’ve indicated the dimensions similar to yours, about 10 by 9 meters (33 by 30 ft).
B
Bauexperte17 Jan 2014 11:23Hello,
You rightly mention the costs of building the house. Has your architect provided you with a cost estimate based on the current design? What would prevent you from asking them to create an alternative plan where the regular standard staircase is repositioned and extended directly to the attic? So far, you have planned a spiral staircase for future access to the attic. This not only brings a lot of mess into the house again, but it also costs money, takes up more floor area, and with a roof pitch of 45° (45°) and the bay window in front, it wastes even more space. Besides, moving furniture of any size on this spiral staircase is not enjoyable. When you compare both cost estimates side by side, I believe there will be no significant price difference, but you would have a more relaxed situation on the ground floor… even if the currently planned bay window is removed.
To clarify, I have attached the attic plan of a recently completed project. The related design is a single-family home measuring 9.00 x 10.00 meters (29.5 x 32.8 feet), with a knee wall of 1.20 m (4 feet) and a gable roof pitched at 42° (42°); so quite comparable. On the ground floor, we planned an open kitchen of 10 sqm (108 sq ft), a living room of 34 sqm (366 sq ft), a utility room of nearly 12 sqm (129 sq ft) with an additional lobby to the garage, as well as the classic cloakroom with an adjacent shower toilet. On the upper floor, there are 3 bedrooms plus a walk-in closet and a bathroom of 12 sqm (129 sq ft), with the option – by slightly rearranging the walls – to turn the walk-in closet into an office or guest room. You can see the attic space yourself. On one side, a nice gallery window designed as a triangular window is planned; of course, this is not entirely inexpensive. However, it can easily be replaced with a sufficiently large roof window, as in the opposite room, which is intended purely for storage. Overall, in my opinion, our architect managed to create an appealing design for a larger family on a relatively small footprint without making it boring. I am confident your architect can achieve this too… and at a price you can afford.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Kazazi schrieb:The issue is not the straightforward floor plan; that is definitely feasible. In my opinion, your architect has made the best use of your specifications. The main challenge, in my view, remains the fourth room on the ground floor, which is also the reason for the bay window – it helps to brighten up the living space a bit. The entire floor plan revolves around this and leads to the comments from other users.
Technically, there is still some space available within the building envelope, but financially probably not. And actually, I think a simple house of this size should be possible;
You rightly mention the costs of building the house. Has your architect provided you with a cost estimate based on the current design? What would prevent you from asking them to create an alternative plan where the regular standard staircase is repositioned and extended directly to the attic? So far, you have planned a spiral staircase for future access to the attic. This not only brings a lot of mess into the house again, but it also costs money, takes up more floor area, and with a roof pitch of 45° (45°) and the bay window in front, it wastes even more space. Besides, moving furniture of any size on this spiral staircase is not enjoyable. When you compare both cost estimates side by side, I believe there will be no significant price difference, but you would have a more relaxed situation on the ground floor… even if the currently planned bay window is removed.
To clarify, I have attached the attic plan of a recently completed project. The related design is a single-family home measuring 9.00 x 10.00 meters (29.5 x 32.8 feet), with a knee wall of 1.20 m (4 feet) and a gable roof pitched at 42° (42°); so quite comparable. On the ground floor, we planned an open kitchen of 10 sqm (108 sq ft), a living room of 34 sqm (366 sq ft), a utility room of nearly 12 sqm (129 sq ft) with an additional lobby to the garage, as well as the classic cloakroom with an adjacent shower toilet. On the upper floor, there are 3 bedrooms plus a walk-in closet and a bathroom of 12 sqm (129 sq ft), with the option – by slightly rearranging the walls – to turn the walk-in closet into an office or guest room. You can see the attic space yourself. On one side, a nice gallery window designed as a triangular window is planned; of course, this is not entirely inexpensive. However, it can easily be replaced with a sufficiently large roof window, as in the opposite room, which is intended purely for storage. Overall, in my opinion, our architect managed to create an appealing design for a larger family on a relatively small footprint without making it boring. I am confident your architect can achieve this too… and at a price you can afford.
Best regards, Bauexperte
Thank you for the additional feedback. We are certainly open to alternative stair layouts of any kind, and I will share this idea with the architect along with the other points we have collected.
However, I still can’t quite visualize how the main staircase would run overall (including the ground floor and upper floor) if it continues up to the attic, and where space could be saved in this case. I also haven’t been able to find many example images on Tintiweb right away. Could someone perhaps help with this?
At the moment, I’m hesitant to move the fifth room into the attic. It is intended to provide storage space and room for a sixth bedroom, which we could use for guests, work, or hobbies. Additionally, I believe there are some restrictions on how the attic in our house can be used as full living space (?) — at least our planners said it should not be classified as such…
We will follow up on this and continue to consider the location of this room between the ground and upper floors. However, I would greatly appreciate further opinions, ideas, and tips on how we might fit the room into one of the main floors without relegating a family member to a “cat box” or ending up with an unusable utility room….
Are there any positive experiences here on how to manage with a smaller utility room without a basement?
Best regards,
Kazazi
However, I still can’t quite visualize how the main staircase would run overall (including the ground floor and upper floor) if it continues up to the attic, and where space could be saved in this case. I also haven’t been able to find many example images on Tintiweb right away. Could someone perhaps help with this?
At the moment, I’m hesitant to move the fifth room into the attic. It is intended to provide storage space and room for a sixth bedroom, which we could use for guests, work, or hobbies. Additionally, I believe there are some restrictions on how the attic in our house can be used as full living space (?) — at least our planners said it should not be classified as such…
We will follow up on this and continue to consider the location of this room between the ground and upper floors. However, I would greatly appreciate further opinions, ideas, and tips on how we might fit the room into one of the main floors without relegating a family member to a “cat box” or ending up with an unusable utility room….
Are there any positive experiences here on how to manage with a smaller utility room without a basement?
Best regards,
Kazazi
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