ᐅ Floor plan for a new single-family house, 1.5 stories, 148 m² (approximately 1,593 sq ft)

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 766m² (width at the street 20.5m (67 feet))/ No. 28, drawing oriented to the north
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: II
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of stories: 1.5 or 2
Roof type: gable or hip roof
Architectural style: modern
Orientation:
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height 9.5m (31 feet), eaves height 6.5m (21 feet)
Additional requirements: rainwater infiltration on site

Homeowner Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: 1.5 stories with minimum 1.60m (5 feet 3 inches) knee wall or urban villa
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5-2 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults aged 27 and 33, 1 child planned
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor: about 75m² (800 sq ft) each
Office: family use
Guest overnight stays per year: 10
Open or closed layout: open living-dining area preferred
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: yes, preferred but not mandatory
Number of dining seats: 6-8 (daily need is 4 seats)
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony or roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: 1 garage with annex, 1 carport
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also explanations why certain things are desired or not: none

House Design
Planner: combination of builder and self-designed
What do you particularly like? Why? We are very satisfied with the upper floor, especially regarding the room layout and sizes. An L-shape for the living-dining area on the ground floor is preferred.
What do you dislike? Why? I am still uncertain about the ground floor because the study is also intended as a guest room; it seems a bit small for that purpose, although a 1.40m (55 inch) pull-out couch would likely fit.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 275,000
Personal budget limit for the house, including equipment: 300,000
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump or ground-source heat pump

If you had to give up something, on which details/upgrades
- could you do without:
- could you not do without: staircase not directly at the front door, ground floor shower

Why is the design as it is now? For example:
We have visited many model homes and construction companies, sought advice, and usually returned to a floor plan like this because we wanted an additional guest/office room on the ground floor. We saw the upper floor almost exactly as drawn in a model home and only enlarged the bathroom slightly and shifted the dressing room a little.

So, I hope I’ve filled in the most important details first. I am open to any changes; as mentioned, the L-shape in the living-dining area should be maintained.
What still concerns me somewhat is the placement of the possible outdoor unit for the air-to-water heat pump, which according to the development plan must be at least 10m (33 feet) from the nearest neighbor; with the current plan it would be directly in front of the house or beside the carport.
After a long selection process and several offers, we are currently favoring Gussek Haus, Helma, and Elbe-Haus, which could realize the house roughly within the budget. The tendency currently leans towards Gussek Haus because although it is a prefab house, we like the hybrid wall and the clinker brick exterior well, and the price-performance ratio fits. But nothing is decided yet; the plot will be developed at the beginning of next year and construction will start from summer 2021.

What immediately catches my attention is the small utility room. What needs to fit here besides the heating system, water system, water softener, possible ventilation, and electrical equipment? Washing machine and dryer? Where do you plan to hang your laundry in winter? (Using only the dryer isn’t always an option.) Vacuum cleaner, cleaning supplies, and so on (you don’t have a storage room or pantry on the ground floor).

The air-to-water heat pump, the ventilation system, as well as the washing machine and dryer, all need to fit into the utility room. According to the consultant, this should be enough space.

Good question—cleaning supplies and similar items could probably be stored in a cupboard in the study. My partner also wanted a pantry, but I think there isn’t enough room for that. If anyone has ideas on how to cleverly fit one in, they’re very welcome.

As an alternative floor plan, we also considered the one shown here.

I like that one better, but it doesn’t leave enough space for a guest couch in the study. We will probably have to make some compromise there.

And where will the electrical panel be installed (space needs to be left in front of it, I believe about 1 m (3.3 feet)) and the multi-utility entry point, since you don’t have a basement.

I would get the dimensions of all the devices and then plan accordingly (possibly including minimum clearances).

Good question, I can bring this up again during tomorrow’s appointment to see if and how everything will fit. Thanks for the hint.

The utility room also seems too small to me. If you don’t have any other storage space in the house, quite a lot needs to fit in there.
Vacuum cleaner + nozzles/broom/mop, cloths, cleaning products, possibly tools, laundry detergent, laundry sorting, ironing board, ladders, pet supplies (?), provisions, etc.

Also, personally, I wouldn’t like having a direct view of the toilet from the bathtub. But maybe I’m a bit picky.