ᐅ Floor plan of a semi-detached house, 135 m², two full stories
Created on: 6 Jul 2025 10:15
R
Roli8485
Hello everyone, we are in the middle of planning our semi-detached house and would appreciate any thoughts and ideas on our floor plan.
We are a family of four (children aged 3 and 0 years), and my husband is currently mostly working from home. The house will not have a basement; for storage, we plan to use the attic as well as the utility room. We decided against the traditional layout with the utility room and guest toilet near the entrance because we want to have light coming in from three sides and make good use of the west-facing garden.
We would be very happy to receive further opinions and ideas, as the architect from our building company has offered relatively few suggestions.
We are a family of four (children aged 3 and 0 years), and my husband is currently mostly working from home. The house will not have a basement; for storage, we plan to use the attic as well as the utility room. We decided against the traditional layout with the utility room and guest toilet near the entrance because we want to have light coming in from three sides and make good use of the west-facing garden.
We would be very happy to receive further opinions and ideas, as the architect from our building company has offered relatively few suggestions.
ypg schrieb:
I really don’t like the upstairs bathroom: dark washbasin, shower by the window. I would swap the shower and toilet and replace the bathtub with an asymmetrical one sized 90cm by 160cm (35 inches by 63 inches).I completely agree with that.N
nordanney6 Jul 2025 16:14[QUOTE="ypg, post: 690839, member: 12491"]
What is considered common?
Common is what the majority does (personally, I don’t know anyone who has their main access to the garden or patio through the kitchen. None of the construction projects I have overseen in recent decades had that as a standard solution). That doesn’t rule out uncommon solutions. If it works for the original poster, then that’s fine. There’s no need to insist on what’s common. 😉
What is considered common?
Common is what the majority does (personally, I don’t know anyone who has their main access to the garden or patio through the kitchen. None of the construction projects I have overseen in recent decades had that as a standard solution). That doesn’t rule out uncommon solutions. If it works for the original poster, then that’s fine. There’s no need to insist on what’s common. 😉
ypg schrieb:
I don’t see any major mistakes, except...!
However, the kitchen doesn’t have an island, just so you know.
Is the shower on the ground floor really necessary? It’s already very cramped under the stairs. A utility room accessed from the living room—that’s not ideal, but I’ve seen worse. I would work with a hidden door there.
I really don’t like the bathroom upstairs: dark vanity, shower next to the window. I would swap the shower and toilet and replace the bathtub with an asymmetrical one measuring 90cm by 160cm (35 inches by 63 inches).
Also: I would use the front door as a terrace door and make the kitchen accessible right after a 70cm (28 inch) wall stub. Then design the kitchen as a U-shape with the countertop along the bottom wall and the U opening inward. A wide tilt-and-turn window at countertop height facing the terrace, and the vacation can begin.
What’s going on with the stairs in the master bedroom upstairs? Thanks for your ideas. We want to keep the hallway spacious and separate since with two kids we simply have too much stuff.
The stairs in the bedroom are more of a long-term plan for the future, when the kids have moved out. Then we could install a permanent staircase to the attic and use one of the other rooms as the bedroom.
Regarding the bathroom, that’s a good point—we will take another look!
nordanney schrieb:
You don’t have to keep insisting on “usually” 😉I’m not insisting, I am explaining to you. Maybe someone else will come along and insist on the “one” 😉
Roli8485 schrieb:
The staircase in the bedroom is planned more for the distant future, when the children have moved out. Then a permanent staircase to the attic could be installed, and one of the other rooms used as the bedroom. I would reconsider that. Ultimately, no thermal insulation is planned under the roof, and even with windows, space is limited in a hipped roof. Therefore, there is no emergency escape route in the attic. And once the kids have moved out, you already have enough living space—and probably enough clutter stored up there as well.
Thank you very much for all the feedback and suggestions!
Regarding the roof: we probably wouldn’t use the attic as living space. The idea was that a fixed staircase might be nicer than the typical folding attic ladder, especially when we’re around 70 years old and not as sure-footed carrying a box. With the changed roof pitch, about 15m2 (160 sq ft) of standing height space should be created upstairs.
Bathroom topic: we plan to build the masonry wall up to a height of 130cm (51 inches), with a glass wall above that. Do you think it will still be too dark at the washbasins?
Terrace in front of the kitchen: I see opinions are very divided here. For us, it feels right since a lot of our time happens in the kitchen. It doesn’t bother us that the children go in and out, and yes – we hope to have some peace and relaxation later in the living room without people passing through every three minutes.
Stairs: yes, unfortunately, they are designed to be as space-saving as possible. We need the space at the bottom for access to the guest toilet and do not want to give up the large hallway in favor of an additional room there. Also, the staircase should end at the bottom so you can look into the garden or the living area.
Regarding the roof: we probably wouldn’t use the attic as living space. The idea was that a fixed staircase might be nicer than the typical folding attic ladder, especially when we’re around 70 years old and not as sure-footed carrying a box. With the changed roof pitch, about 15m2 (160 sq ft) of standing height space should be created upstairs.
Bathroom topic: we plan to build the masonry wall up to a height of 130cm (51 inches), with a glass wall above that. Do you think it will still be too dark at the washbasins?
Terrace in front of the kitchen: I see opinions are very divided here. For us, it feels right since a lot of our time happens in the kitchen. It doesn’t bother us that the children go in and out, and yes – we hope to have some peace and relaxation later in the living room without people passing through every three minutes.
Stairs: yes, unfortunately, they are designed to be as space-saving as possible. We need the space at the bottom for access to the guest toilet and do not want to give up the large hallway in favor of an additional room there. Also, the staircase should end at the bottom so you can look into the garden or the living area.
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