Hello everyone,
I have been a member of this forum for some time now and have mainly used it as a resource for our questions. I want to explicitly thank you all—without realizing it, you have already helped us a lot! 🙂
We are now somewhat further along in the planning, and I would like to expose our own blind spots to your feedback and ask for criticism of our floor plan.
Yvonne’s questions are not entirely applicable anymore since we have purchased the land and the building regulations are clear and reflected in the current plan. Nevertheless, I will try to answer them to give you a better overview.
Building Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 419m² (4511 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not specified
Number of parking spaces: 1.5
Roof type: gable roof, 30-38°
Ridge orientation: east/west
Maximum height / limits: ridge 7.5m (24.6 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof form, building type: single-family house, gable roof
Basement, number of stories: basement “mandatory”
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (32, 38, 3, 1), possibly a third child later
Space requirements on ground floor: open living/dining area + kitchen, guest room
Space requirements on upper floor: bathroom, master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, office (possibly becomes a third bedroom)
Office: home office (part-time) for both; might be combined with guest room
Overnight guests per year: mainly (parents-in-law)
Open or closed architecture: closed
Traditional or modern style: rather traditional
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open, no island
Number of dining seats: normally 6, expandable to 10
Fireplace: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no wish for either
Garage, carport: garage plus adjacent garden shed
House Design
Design provided by: planner from construction company / architect
Preferred heating system: district heating mandated by development area, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, KfW 55 standard
This is a prefabricated timber frame house.
To the north, south, and east there are similar lots, with the east side bounded by a stormwater retention basin.
What do we want from you? Of course, praise would be nice! 🙄
Seriously, we are mostly interested in what disadvantages you see in the floor plan. As first-time builders, we naturally have a somewhat idealized view. We are mainly concerned with the interior layout, such as room arrangement, windows, etc.
Where are we uncertain?
But I’m probably asking too much—surely you will notice other points as well.
We are already very excited about your opinions and thank you very much in advance!
I have been a member of this forum for some time now and have mainly used it as a resource for our questions. I want to explicitly thank you all—without realizing it, you have already helped us a lot! 🙂
We are now somewhat further along in the planning, and I would like to expose our own blind spots to your feedback and ask for criticism of our floor plan.
Yvonne’s questions are not entirely applicable anymore since we have purchased the land and the building regulations are clear and reflected in the current plan. Nevertheless, I will try to answer them to give you a better overview.
Building Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 419m² (4511 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: not specified
Number of parking spaces: 1.5
Roof type: gable roof, 30-38°
Ridge orientation: east/west
Maximum height / limits: ridge 7.5m (24.6 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof form, building type: single-family house, gable roof
Basement, number of stories: basement “mandatory”
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (32, 38, 3, 1), possibly a third child later
Space requirements on ground floor: open living/dining area + kitchen, guest room
Space requirements on upper floor: bathroom, master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, office (possibly becomes a third bedroom)
Office: home office (part-time) for both; might be combined with guest room
Overnight guests per year: mainly (parents-in-law)
Open or closed architecture: closed
Traditional or modern style: rather traditional
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open, no island
Number of dining seats: normally 6, expandable to 10
Fireplace: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no wish for either
Garage, carport: garage plus adjacent garden shed
House Design
Design provided by: planner from construction company / architect
Preferred heating system: district heating mandated by development area, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, KfW 55 standard
This is a prefabricated timber frame house.
To the north, south, and east there are similar lots, with the east side bounded by a stormwater retention basin.
What do we want from you? Of course, praise would be nice! 🙄
Seriously, we are mostly interested in what disadvantages you see in the floor plan. As first-time builders, we naturally have a somewhat idealized view. We are mainly concerned with the interior layout, such as room arrangement, windows, etc.
Where are we uncertain?
- Cloakroom / guest bathroom: it’s a somewhat odd setup—can it be done more efficiently?
- Entrance door swing: would it be better reversed for more direct access to the guest bathroom (e.g., dirty kids 😉)?
- Hallway to living area passage: wider? At least as wide as the kitchen area allows? Or does it make sense to have a wind/sight barrier?
- Light strip in the kitchen versus a regular window: we would prefer the latter to better use the wall space since, without a pantry, we need as much storage as possible
- Windows in general: too few? too many? Why do so many insist on symmetry? We would prefer to break it up more for furniture placement
But I’m probably asking too much—surely you will notice other points as well.
We are already very excited about your opinions and thank you very much in advance!
I quite like the floor plan overall. However, I really don’t like the cloakroom area. It only allows one person to be in the niche at a time, which could cause a bottleneck in front of it.
I might consider adding the cloakroom space to the restroom. Perhaps create a niche in the wall for a generous coat storage area and/or built-in cupboard. I think that would be more practical for you.
The door should definitely open the other way around.
I would skip the light strip in the kitchen and instead install a regular window, but aligned symmetrically under the window on the upper floor. That way, you would have the option to place a tall cabinet or wall cabinet on the side.
I would leave the passage to the hallway as it is. I would even consider adding a door there (glass door) with two side panels. I find that more appealing than leaving it open.
I would also consider rearranging the kitchen layout. When you cook and do the dishes, everyone can only see your backside ;-)
The upper floor looks good to me as it is.
I might consider adding the cloakroom space to the restroom. Perhaps create a niche in the wall for a generous coat storage area and/or built-in cupboard. I think that would be more practical for you.
The door should definitely open the other way around.
I would skip the light strip in the kitchen and instead install a regular window, but aligned symmetrically under the window on the upper floor. That way, you would have the option to place a tall cabinet or wall cabinet on the side.
I would leave the passage to the hallway as it is. I would even consider adding a door there (glass door) with two side panels. I find that more appealing than leaving it open.
I would also consider rearranging the kitchen layout. When you cook and do the dishes, everyone can only see your backside ;-)
The upper floor looks good to me as it is.
Manu1976 schrieb:
I think the floor plan is quite good. I just really don’t like this cloakroom area. More than one person can’t be in the niche at the same time, so it could easily get crowded in front of the niche.If you have a regular wardrobe, you can’t have three people using it at once either.
In that respect, I don’t find this walk-in built-in closet a big issue.
What I could imagine is that in the "11m (36 feet)" hall, without corners or breaking elements, there might be bigger problems with sound.
Therefore, the kitchen layout should really be optimized further to break up the sound with a counter, kitchen island, or similar.
The bed placed so far under the sloping roof could potentially cause problems depending on the size of the users.
Storm schrieb:
Number of dining seats: normally 6, expanded 10Since the dining table will probably be significantly shorter in its normal state than shown in the drawing, I would arrange the kitchen differently, as others have already suggested. Perhaps more of a U-shape with a breakfast bar, rather than spanning the entire width of the room. At the moment, the whole space still feels rather hall-like.
I also don’t like the cloakroom as it is. If I’m building new, the cloakroom doesn’t have to be a dark, enclosed space—it can definitely have natural light.
The upstairs bathroom isn’t exactly small; however, I fear that with the current furnishing it seems somewhat cramped or awkward. You might want to look at other bathroom layouts.
I find the narrow, long window on the west side by the kitchen rather unfortunate. I would prefer a standard window here, especially since this is the afternoon sun side.
Overall, I quite like the floor plan. 🙂
I believe you don’t need to be able to walk through every room with the whole family at the same time if it has a door 🙂
In that sense, I like the walk-in wardrobe: plenty of space for lots of stuff! However, I wouldn’t want closed cabinets in there, but rather shoe racks and clothes rails – and then please have a door on this chamber 😉
The hall on the ground floor doesn’t appeal to me – not for cooking or living!
Best regards, Yvonne
In that sense, I like the walk-in wardrobe: plenty of space for lots of stuff! However, I wouldn’t want closed cabinets in there, but rather shoe racks and clothes rails – and then please have a door on this chamber 😉
The hall on the ground floor doesn’t appeal to me – not for cooking or living!
Best regards, Yvonne
ypg schrieb:
I think it’s not necessary for the whole family to access every door at the same time 🙂
That’s why I like the walk-in wardrobe: plenty of space for lots of stuff! However, I wouldn’t want closed cabinets in there, just shoe racks and clothes rails – and please make sure this room has a door 😉 I just checked again. I had assumed it was a sliding door, but it’s not.
So I agree with Yvonne. Add a door (possibly with ventilation slots) and have open shelves and cabinets inside.
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