ᐅ Floor plan of a single-family home with a daylight basement on a hillside?
Created on: 24 Nov 2013 21:37
D
Dipl-WiING
Hello, as I mentioned before on the forum, due to the sloped site (and the fact that we need a basement anyway) we will probably omit the upper floor.
Now we plan to develop the basement as a fully functional living area with a large glass front. We spent several hours working on the floor plan and wanted to ask an architect for their opinion, but unfortunately all three architects I contacted are currently too busy with other projects.
So I’m asking for your help.
It was important to us that you can go directly from the ground floor down the stairs to the terrace, and otherwise to have as few square meters wasted on hallways as possible. The ground floor (above) is mostly open except for a small guest toilet and an office.
The staircase is separated by a large built-in wall cabinet. The terrace above partly extends the carport and partly will have a wooden structure to bring the terrace size to about 12–14m² (130–150 sq ft). The house is oriented southwest.
Thank you very much for any advice!
Pit
Now we plan to develop the basement as a fully functional living area with a large glass front. We spent several hours working on the floor plan and wanted to ask an architect for their opinion, but unfortunately all three architects I contacted are currently too busy with other projects.
So I’m asking for your help.
It was important to us that you can go directly from the ground floor down the stairs to the terrace, and otherwise to have as few square meters wasted on hallways as possible. The ground floor (above) is mostly open except for a small guest toilet and an office.
The staircase is separated by a large built-in wall cabinet. The terrace above partly extends the carport and partly will have a wooden structure to bring the terrace size to about 12–14m² (130–150 sq ft). The house is oriented southwest.
Thank you very much for any advice!
Pit
W
Wanderdüne25 Nov 2013 21:47A central element in a multi-story house is the staircase. In my opinion, this one is too narrow (after subtracting the handrail, it should be at least 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches), especially for a straight staircase!), but above all, it is far too steep. Also, when entering, you almost fall down the stairs. Therefore, independent of any design, first decide what kind of staircase you would like. The same approach applies to all other rooms, without considering the specific floor plan. Where should room X (for example, the bedroom) be located, how should the bed be positioned, where should the entry to the bedroom be, what is the view, morning sunlight? The same goes for the dressing room. You probably don’t even know all the questions that need to be answered. Write down everything that is important to you, and then look for an architect whose portfolio fits your needs. Regards, WD
Dipl-WiING schrieb:
Hello and thanks to everyone for the feedback so far!
To move forward, I have a few more questions about the comments and want to share a bit more information from my side:
- The staircase doesn’t work? How could it work?It needs more space... and a better design...
Dipl-WiING schrieb:
- Corridor too dark, OK, I already extended the corridor all the way to the window front so light comes in from the front and so you can get to the terrace downstairs from upstairs without detours. The rooms are currently arranged somewhat around the corridor. The corridor is there because I didn’t want to position the staircase too far from the entrance upstairs (which is planned to be under the carport). How can I get more light into a corridor in the basement?You don’t design around something (except the staircase). The corridor won’t work even if it was brightly lit... it’s simply too narrow and creates a claustrophobic feeling... I wouldn’t want to enter it willingly.
The rest also needs revising. Therefore: take some time to read up on preliminary design (Google or more expensive books) or call an architect – especially for two-story houses on a slope, an architect is very helpful if the client is not familiar with the topic.
J
Justifier26 Nov 2013 09:16Hello Pit
Bed, wardrobe, desk, and a TV mounted on the wall somewhere, visible from the bed. With that, the requirements for a teenager’s room are basically more or less met. That was the case with mine, and I never felt like I was missing anything.
Of course, if it’s supposed to be a French bed with a huge wardrobe, then you need a bit more space, but you have to know whether that’s really necessary.
I also think 11 square meters (118 square feet) is too much for a baby room. I mean, a baby mostly lies in its small crib and doesn’t need much else (at least during the night – and during the day, you usually keep it close by or it’s back in bed). In your case, the crib is in an 11 square meter (118 square feet) room, and on top of that, you have to go through the entire bedroom and hallway to get to the baby room when it wakes up crying at night.
Bed, wardrobe, desk, and a TV mounted on the wall somewhere, visible from the bed. With that, the requirements for a teenager’s room are basically more or less met. That was the case with mine, and I never felt like I was missing anything.
Of course, if it’s supposed to be a French bed with a huge wardrobe, then you need a bit more space, but you have to know whether that’s really necessary.
I also think 11 square meters (118 square feet) is too much for a baby room. I mean, a baby mostly lies in its small crib and doesn’t need much else (at least during the night – and during the day, you usually keep it close by or it’s back in bed). In your case, the crib is in an 11 square meter (118 square feet) room, and on top of that, you have to go through the entire bedroom and hallway to get to the baby room when it wakes up crying at night.
Completely discard it. Unfortunately, this just won’t work.
Do you really like the design so much that you absolutely want to publish it?
I don’t know how many times I started over until I had a design that truly convinced us.
I suspect you first planned the living room/kitchen and then tried to fit the remaining rooms downstairs somehow.
However, I believe the real challenge is downstairs, and it might be better to reverse the approach.
In general, I think you need to position the staircase more centrally to create proper rooms in the basement without narrow corridors.
I would try to eliminate the third bathroom. First, it just adds extra cost, and second, it takes up space.
This could be achieved by moving the guest room or the bedroom upstairs. You will probably have to make some compromises in the living area for that.
If the bedroom stays downstairs, you could place a walk-in closet in the rear “dark area.”
Do you really like the design so much that you absolutely want to publish it?
I don’t know how many times I started over until I had a design that truly convinced us.
I suspect you first planned the living room/kitchen and then tried to fit the remaining rooms downstairs somehow.
However, I believe the real challenge is downstairs, and it might be better to reverse the approach.
In general, I think you need to position the staircase more centrally to create proper rooms in the basement without narrow corridors.
I would try to eliminate the third bathroom. First, it just adds extra cost, and second, it takes up space.
This could be achieved by moving the guest room or the bedroom upstairs. You will probably have to make some compromises in the living area for that.
If the bedroom stays downstairs, you could place a walk-in closet in the rear “dark area.”
D
Dipl-WiING26 Nov 2013 20:35Hello and thanks again for the comments. I now realize that the endless hallway was not such a great idea. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with a solution for a more elegant way to get from the upper floor to the terrace in the basement without having the staircase in the living room. So, I removed the flight of stairs and instead enlarged the middle room. In case of emergency, I can now simply walk through, or I am considering installing a spiral staircase from the upper terrace down. That way, guests wouldn’t have to walk through half the house when, for example, there is a barbecue downstairs.
I was also able to significantly reduce the staircase access to the bedroom, but I couldn’t manage without it. The bathtub extends slightly into the bedroom, separated by a glass window; I thought it would be nice to have some natural light coming in from the front. I narrowed the utility basement a bit to make the other rooms wider. The staircase situation is very difficult, but I hope there is enough space now. From the front door, it’s about 2.6 m (8.5 feet) to the stairs, which should be enough to avoid falling down!?
The built-in closet is meant to be part of both the living room and the hallway and should provide a lot of storage space. I don’t mind that the hallway behind it isn’t so bright or spacious. I didn’t want to give up the guest toilet to avoid having to go up and down the stairs all the time. In general, I think we will spend about 80% of our time (other than sleeping) in the living area. The structural engineering will probably be challenging, but I have already seen larger rooms with open roof trusses (of course, it could get expensive...).
OK, now I’m releasing the revised version for final review.
Best regards
Pit
I was also able to significantly reduce the staircase access to the bedroom, but I couldn’t manage without it. The bathtub extends slightly into the bedroom, separated by a glass window; I thought it would be nice to have some natural light coming in from the front. I narrowed the utility basement a bit to make the other rooms wider. The staircase situation is very difficult, but I hope there is enough space now. From the front door, it’s about 2.6 m (8.5 feet) to the stairs, which should be enough to avoid falling down!?
The built-in closet is meant to be part of both the living room and the hallway and should provide a lot of storage space. I don’t mind that the hallway behind it isn’t so bright or spacious. I didn’t want to give up the guest toilet to avoid having to go up and down the stairs all the time. In general, I think we will spend about 80% of our time (other than sleeping) in the living area. The structural engineering will probably be challenging, but I have already seen larger rooms with open roof trusses (of course, it could get expensive...).
OK, now I’m releasing the revised version for final review.
Best regards
Pit
J
Justifier27 Nov 2013 08:51I’m still not completely satisfied with the sleeping area. I would suggest removing the door from the bedroom to the hallway and instead extending the lower bathroom wall further down. This way, you gain more space in the bathroom and can plan for a shower, a large bathtub, and even a “hidden” toilet. There’s nothing worse than one person relaxing in the bathtub while having to watch someone else using the toilet.
In my opinion, you won’t really lose space in the bedroom either, since it’s currently very large. From the bedroom, you could create a small walk-in closet on the left, which leads directly into the hallway. The advantage here is that with just one door, you can separate the entire sleeping area including the bathroom. I think this adds an incredibly valuable level of privacy.
There will still be enough space left in the left part of the house to accommodate a small guest room, a children’s bedroom, your workshop, and the laundry area (which doesn’t need 7m² (75 sq ft)).
In my opinion, you won’t really lose space in the bedroom either, since it’s currently very large. From the bedroom, you could create a small walk-in closet on the left, which leads directly into the hallway. The advantage here is that with just one door, you can separate the entire sleeping area including the bathroom. I think this adds an incredibly valuable level of privacy.
There will still be enough space left in the left part of the house to accommodate a small guest room, a children’s bedroom, your workshop, and the laundry area (which doesn’t need 7m² (75 sq ft)).
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