Hello,
I would like to introduce you to a project that has been developing in my mind for several years now. I look forward to your constructive feedback! First of all: the two views are not entirely up to date. Some windows have different sizes, for example, they are not all floor-to-ceiling. Also, the canopy does not extend to the bay window but ends at the “main facade.”
Zoning plan / restrictions
Plot size: approx. 1250m² (square)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio
Plot ratio
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Boundary construction: the requirement is at least 3m (10 feet) distance from the neighbor’s property line, which we are complying with
Number of parking spaces: 2 mandatory parking spaces; planned are 2 either inside the garage or in front
Roof type: I’m not sure what it’s called, but it is definitely not a flat roof.
Orientation: the garage is on the north side, and the kitchen faces south. The street is a very quiet cul-de-sac running parallel to the house’s front.
Additional requirements: the distance from the property line at the street to the building must be 4m (13 feet); in the area of the office, it may be 3m (10 feet). Building is allowed up to 20m (66 feet) from the street into the property (minus the first 4m, so 16m). Sorry for the missing technical terms and the amateurish description!
Homeowner requirements
Basement, floors: two floors plus basement
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults (40), two children aged 3 and 6
Office: the upstairs office should also serve as a PC workstation. The ground floor office is primarily planned as a storage room but possibly also as a PC workstation.
Guest stays per year: currently none, but probably later when the children are older. They would sleep on extra beds in the children’s rooms. We do not want a separate guest room or guest bathroom/WC.
Open or closed architecture: rather closed. Originally, we thought about an open connection between dining and living room but decided against it, even though the door will mostly remain open. The same applies to the dining room – hallway passage.
Traditional or modern construction: I would describe it as rather traditional. Function over form.
Open kitchen, cooking island: open kitchen facing the dining area, but intentionally no cooking island, rather a standing desk/bar with stools to allow for interaction.
Number of dining seats: at least 4, with the option to extend the table for family gatherings and similar occasions
Fireplace: yes, in the living room on the wall next to the stairs (plus another fireplace in the basement)
Music / stereo wall: no dedicated setup, only a TV in the living room with space for speakers on each side. In the bedroom, a place for a TV is planned in case we want to install one later. Each of the children’s rooms will have a TV.
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage yes; a carport possibly later.
Utility garden, greenhouse: regular garden with a pool adjacent to the living room/terrace
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions:
- Main terrace faces the garden and a small secondary terrace facing the street to enjoy the morning sun or to escape the hot afternoon sun in summer
- Second stairway leading to the basement (not to the upper floor!) to have quicker access from the garden to the workshop
- The WC behind the garage was an idea after removing the WC in the basement. It should also serve as a kind of mudroom after gardening or for the kids. The WC and stairway design are still a work in progress; this is just a snapshot.
- I couldn’t properly represent the wall thickness in my design program. The exterior walls are all 50cm (20 inches) brick; the interior walls are not yet defined individually.
House design
Who created the design: basically by us, now revised with an architect (and still in progress)
What do you like most? Why? The L-shape of the building, because it creates a nice, sheltered terrace and partially screens the garden from the street view.
What do you dislike? Why? The limited daylight in the hallway, especially on the ground floor. I plan to ease this by using glass panels in the doors. There is a window next to the elevator on the upper floor. I am also concerned about the relatively narrow children’s rooms and would appreciate your opinions about whether they are too “thin.”
If you have to give up certain details / add-ons
- can you give up: the WC behind the garage
- can you not give up: hmm…
Why is the design the way it is now?
As mentioned, I wanted an L-shape. The garage location on the north side was non-negotiable for me. The main entrance should also face north, sheltered from wind and rain. The WCs should be ventilated by windows, so not located in interior spaces. I had originally placed the kitchen near the living room to shorten the walk from the car to the kitchen but quickly abandoned that design. It is important for us to access both terraces quickly from the kitchen.
Regarding the upper floor: my wife wanted a small walk-in closet/dressing room, which resulted from the short corridor leading to the bedroom.
We wanted a parent and a children’s bathroom as well as separate toilets, but with the requirement that no toilet is directly inside a bathroom. I am personally not a fan of that due to odor reasons! Since both bathroom and WC should have windows, this was the compromise.
I would like the door from the hallway to the walk-in closet to open outward, but I fear this might cause conflicts with people and the stairs... Removing the door entirely is not an option since we do walk around naked here, and when friends of the children come over and pass by...
The door from the walk-in closet to the bedroom is not a must. It is more of a comfort factor, giving a sense that there is no dark corner in the room when sleeping, if you know what I mean.
I would like to introduce you to a project that has been developing in my mind for several years now. I look forward to your constructive feedback! First of all: the two views are not entirely up to date. Some windows have different sizes, for example, they are not all floor-to-ceiling. Also, the canopy does not extend to the bay window but ends at the “main facade.”
Zoning plan / restrictions
Plot size: approx. 1250m² (square)
Slope: no
Floor area ratio
Plot ratio
Building envelope, building line, and boundary
Boundary construction: the requirement is at least 3m (10 feet) distance from the neighbor’s property line, which we are complying with
Number of parking spaces: 2 mandatory parking spaces; planned are 2 either inside the garage or in front
Roof type: I’m not sure what it’s called, but it is definitely not a flat roof.
Orientation: the garage is on the north side, and the kitchen faces south. The street is a very quiet cul-de-sac running parallel to the house’s front.
Additional requirements: the distance from the property line at the street to the building must be 4m (13 feet); in the area of the office, it may be 3m (10 feet). Building is allowed up to 20m (66 feet) from the street into the property (minus the first 4m, so 16m). Sorry for the missing technical terms and the amateurish description!
Homeowner requirements
Basement, floors: two floors plus basement
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults (40), two children aged 3 and 6
Office: the upstairs office should also serve as a PC workstation. The ground floor office is primarily planned as a storage room but possibly also as a PC workstation.
Guest stays per year: currently none, but probably later when the children are older. They would sleep on extra beds in the children’s rooms. We do not want a separate guest room or guest bathroom/WC.
Open or closed architecture: rather closed. Originally, we thought about an open connection between dining and living room but decided against it, even though the door will mostly remain open. The same applies to the dining room – hallway passage.
Traditional or modern construction: I would describe it as rather traditional. Function over form.
Open kitchen, cooking island: open kitchen facing the dining area, but intentionally no cooking island, rather a standing desk/bar with stools to allow for interaction.
Number of dining seats: at least 4, with the option to extend the table for family gatherings and similar occasions
Fireplace: yes, in the living room on the wall next to the stairs (plus another fireplace in the basement)
Music / stereo wall: no dedicated setup, only a TV in the living room with space for speakers on each side. In the bedroom, a place for a TV is planned in case we want to install one later. Each of the children’s rooms will have a TV.
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage yes; a carport possibly later.
Utility garden, greenhouse: regular garden with a pool adjacent to the living room/terrace
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions:
- Main terrace faces the garden and a small secondary terrace facing the street to enjoy the morning sun or to escape the hot afternoon sun in summer
- Second stairway leading to the basement (not to the upper floor!) to have quicker access from the garden to the workshop
- The WC behind the garage was an idea after removing the WC in the basement. It should also serve as a kind of mudroom after gardening or for the kids. The WC and stairway design are still a work in progress; this is just a snapshot.
- I couldn’t properly represent the wall thickness in my design program. The exterior walls are all 50cm (20 inches) brick; the interior walls are not yet defined individually.
House design
Who created the design: basically by us, now revised with an architect (and still in progress)
What do you like most? Why? The L-shape of the building, because it creates a nice, sheltered terrace and partially screens the garden from the street view.
What do you dislike? Why? The limited daylight in the hallway, especially on the ground floor. I plan to ease this by using glass panels in the doors. There is a window next to the elevator on the upper floor. I am also concerned about the relatively narrow children’s rooms and would appreciate your opinions about whether they are too “thin.”
If you have to give up certain details / add-ons
- can you give up: the WC behind the garage
- can you not give up: hmm…
Why is the design the way it is now?
As mentioned, I wanted an L-shape. The garage location on the north side was non-negotiable for me. The main entrance should also face north, sheltered from wind and rain. The WCs should be ventilated by windows, so not located in interior spaces. I had originally placed the kitchen near the living room to shorten the walk from the car to the kitchen but quickly abandoned that design. It is important for us to access both terraces quickly from the kitchen.
Regarding the upper floor: my wife wanted a small walk-in closet/dressing room, which resulted from the short corridor leading to the bedroom.
We wanted a parent and a children’s bathroom as well as separate toilets, but with the requirement that no toilet is directly inside a bathroom. I am personally not a fan of that due to odor reasons! Since both bathroom and WC should have windows, this was the compromise.
I would like the door from the hallway to the walk-in closet to open outward, but I fear this might cause conflicts with people and the stairs... Removing the door entirely is not an option since we do walk around naked here, and when friends of the children come over and pass by...
The door from the walk-in closet to the bedroom is not a must. It is more of a comfort factor, giving a sense that there is no dark corner in the room when sleeping, if you know what I mean.
HeimatBauer schrieb:
Tip: You can do both. And even combine them very well. I have a large terrace with a very large balcony above it. There is also a sunshade partially extended over the balcony. I have thought about that too. But as I said, we would not use the balcony.
H
HeimatBauer8 Aug 2023 18:04Unfortunately, I do not receive any sales commission from installed balconies, so I really don't care who decides to build a balcony and who does not.
For myself, I use my balcony not only by sitting on it but also when sitting on the terrace, where I always have perfect protection from sun and rain.
For myself, I use my balcony not only by sitting on it but also when sitting on the terrace, where I always have perfect protection from sun and rain.
W
WilderSueden8 Aug 2023 20:42There are also dedicated systems for sun and rain protection, known as patio roofs. These usually still allow light to enter the rooms behind them, whereas a balcony tends to make the area darker.
WilderSueden schrieb:
There are also dedicated systems for sun and rain protection, such as patio roofing. These usually still allow light into the rooms behind, whereas a balcony tends to make them darker. I am also planning the patio roofing more like a pergola with a glass roof plus shading if needed. This allows the terrace to be used even during transitional seasons when there is less sun and every sunbeam is appreciated. But @HeimatBauer, I understand that in this case you have the balcony.
H
HeimatBauer9 Aug 2023 10:51WilderSueden schrieb:
There are also dedicated systems for sun and rain protection, such as patio roofs. These usually still allow light to enter the rooms behind them, whereas a balcony tends to make the space darker. In actual use, the desired effect has been exactly as expected: due to the different sun angles in summer and winter, it is wonderfully bright in winter and more than sufficiently bright in summer, but without direct sunlight hitting the glass panes.
I absolutely cannot confirm the statement that a “balcony makes it dark.”
As mentioned before, the balcony is often combined with additional shading elements all around, which can be quickly and easily attached to the balcony railings. I mention this here specifically because it was a positive surprise for me how practical a balcony can be.
Regarding the initial self-designed plan presented, I do not see the absence of a balcony as the biggest issue 🙂
W
WilderSueden9 Aug 2023 21:13I am familiar with the concept. It can work, but it needs to be planned very carefully in relation to the sun’s position and any neighboring buildings.
How far does the balcony extend? To create a usable roof from it, we are talking about a span starting from 3m (10 feet), where the sun would have to be quite low.
How far does the balcony extend? To create a usable roof from it, we are talking about a span starting from 3m (10 feet), where the sun would have to be quite low.
Similar topics