ᐅ Floor Plan Feedback Single-Family Home 140 sqm Two Full Stories
Created on: 4 Jul 2025 16:06
M
Milka0105
Hello everyone, following my last post about costs and so on, Ant11 suggested that I start with a floor plan here for evaluation. This plan has now existed for quite some time with a few minor adjustments, so the ideas have not changed. I’m looking forward to some feedback.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size 654 sqm (7040 sq ft)
Slope no
Site occupancy index 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.8
Building setback, building line and boundary 3 m (10 ft)
Edge development only garages or carport
Number of parking spaces 2
Number of floors max 2
Roof pitch 0–48 degrees
Style single-family house
Orientation any
Maximum heights / limits 6 m (20 ft) wall and 9 m (30 ft) total
Other requirements cistern
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type gable roof
Basement, floors 2
Number of people, age 2 adults and potentially 2 children, currently 1
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Both
Guest sleeping per year, if so guests sleep in the children’s rooms
Open kitchen, kitchen island open kitchen
Number of dining seats 1
Fireplace no
Music / stereo wall no
Balcony, roof terrace no
Garage, carport yes
Utility garden, greenhouse possible
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be included
House Design
Who designed it:
- Initial draft by architect then adjustments with builder/architect
What do you particularly like? Why? Utility room with separate door (mudroom), large pantry
What do you dislike? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 433k
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 500k
Preferred heating technology: air heat pump and central ventilation system
If you had to give up, which details / extensions
- Could you give up: if push comes to shove, the separate door for the utility room or the pantry could be omitted
- Could you not give up: guest WC with shower
Why did the design turn out the way it did? For example:
Build as small as possible but as large as necessary. The plot becomes wider toward the back.
So, this is a draft after a consultation appointment with the architect. It was then revised again with the builder.
We want a functional home that works for 2 adults and potentially 2 children (1 currently). In addition, we have a dog, but that obviously adapts too (the mudroom is also designed for this).
Home office is generally possible and planned. First, we have one child’s room reserved and intended for this purpose. Afterwards, the office niche or the bedroom upstairs. We don’t need much except a quiet place to work.
If all else fails, the pantry will become the office (possibly then accessible from the hallway).
The upstairs bathroom is somewhat elongated due to the narrow building footprint and straight staircase. The washing machine and dryer are shown upstairs and are planned to be there. There are also connections in the utility room. Otherwise, the space upstairs or downstairs will be used for storage.
I look forward to your opinions.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size 654 sqm (7040 sq ft)
Slope no
Site occupancy index 0.4
Floor area ratio 0.8
Building setback, building line and boundary 3 m (10 ft)
Edge development only garages or carport
Number of parking spaces 2
Number of floors max 2
Roof pitch 0–48 degrees
Style single-family house
Orientation any
Maximum heights / limits 6 m (20 ft) wall and 9 m (30 ft) total
Other requirements cistern
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type gable roof
Basement, floors 2
Number of people, age 2 adults and potentially 2 children, currently 1
Space requirements ground floor, upper floor
Office: family use or home office? Both
Guest sleeping per year, if so guests sleep in the children’s rooms
Open kitchen, kitchen island open kitchen
Number of dining seats 1
Fireplace no
Music / stereo wall no
Balcony, roof terrace no
Garage, carport yes
Utility garden, greenhouse possible
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be included
House Design
Who designed it:
- Initial draft by architect then adjustments with builder/architect
What do you particularly like? Why? Utility room with separate door (mudroom), large pantry
What do you dislike? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 433k
Personal price limit for the house, including fixtures: 500k
Preferred heating technology: air heat pump and central ventilation system
If you had to give up, which details / extensions
- Could you give up: if push comes to shove, the separate door for the utility room or the pantry could be omitted
- Could you not give up: guest WC with shower
Why did the design turn out the way it did? For example:
Build as small as possible but as large as necessary. The plot becomes wider toward the back.
So, this is a draft after a consultation appointment with the architect. It was then revised again with the builder.
We want a functional home that works for 2 adults and potentially 2 children (1 currently). In addition, we have a dog, but that obviously adapts too (the mudroom is also designed for this).
Home office is generally possible and planned. First, we have one child’s room reserved and intended for this purpose. Afterwards, the office niche or the bedroom upstairs. We don’t need much except a quiet place to work.
If all else fails, the pantry will become the office (possibly then accessible from the hallway).
The upstairs bathroom is somewhat elongated due to the narrow building footprint and straight staircase. The washing machine and dryer are shown upstairs and are planned to be there. There are also connections in the utility room. Otherwise, the space upstairs or downstairs will be used for storage.
I look forward to your opinions.
M
Milka01054 Jul 2025 23:21ypg schrieb:
The overall kitchen and bathroom (not the size, but the layout) really bother me.
Two tall cabinets, one requiring crawling through the pantry—this valuable space is lacking one tall cabinet too many. The pantry doesn’t even offer room for a second fridge or tall cabinet (due to door and window positions).
But even if I’m the only one cooking, the countertop space would be too small for me. Of course, storage space too, because as a cook I don’t want to have to constantly move through a cabinet inside the pantry to get something.
The whole combination isn’t well thought out.
I see something similar with the cloakroom and mudroom area: the cloakroom is basically only for the currently worn jackets, but what about the other jackets? And shoes? We have about 8.5sqm (90 sq ft) with gas heating and a controlled ventilation system, but there are about 3 meters (10 feet) of kitchen cabinets on one side. The rest of the space is shared between recycling bins, bags, cleaning supplies not stored in cabinets, tools, and more bags. For our dog, you need about as much space as for a person — roughly 60cm (24 inches) of wardrobe space per individual. That doesn’t fit anywhere here.
Sooner or later you’ll have a cluttered hallway if you don’t plan storage space for everyday items now.
I don’t see the office corner as a problem, although it could get tight if you need to fit a printer, various equipment, or multiple family binders.
To me it’s not just that — the bathtub with the washbasin together could get cramped:
If you place the bathtub where the washer and dryer are currently planned, then put the toilet at the head side of the bathtub by the window (rotated 90°), and then have two washbasins on a long countertop. Below that, where feet won’t get in the way, you can have the washer and dryer.
Since you can also rinse off in the bathtub, I would build without a shower on the ground floor. If it’s for the dog, please definitely avoid that door through the utility room, which just wastes valuable space.
Is there no roof hatch planned?
To sum it up: there are bigger houses with 150sqm (1,615 sq ft). Here the functions are shuffled around so much that the functional purpose of a room has to serve many things in theory. You will probably always be somewhat dissatisfied because the functional space is insufficient.
And who’s to blame? The straight staircase! A double quarter-turn staircase would make the hallway shorter and the kitchen wider. The house is already narrow — and due to the size limit, the kitchen is (too) small.
(..Says someone from a 2-person household who doesn’t accumulate much) So for now, we’ll let the kitchen get planned and see what the kitchen studio suggests. Maybe we can shift the kitchen into the dining room space.
Yes, the cloakroom is only for current jackets and shoes. Otherwise, shoes are stored in the wardrobes. Isn’t that normal? I don’t see that as a problem.
A dog needs some things, but we have a drawer full for that. Actually, it’s something you fully stock at the beginning. But dogs don’t need much—at least those with sufficient undercoat for summer and winter. Leash, collar, toys, waste bags, food, and water. That’s it. But of course, it might be different for each household.
What exactly do you mean by the door in the mudroom and “being consistent”? I don’t understand that idea right now.
The shower wasn’t planned for the dog. I’m actually planning a hot water connection outside or a hose station outdoors, unless it’s minus 10°C (14°F).
The shower is for more flexibility.
Roof hatch? You mean for the attic? A retractable staircase is planned. Not drawn in yet. Thanks! I’ll have to add that.
How exactly would a different staircase make the kitchen bigger? Could you give me an example? With the quarter turn, the hallway becomes wider, which would make the kitchen narrower.
M
Milka01054 Jul 2025 23:2511ant schrieb:
Criticizing the floor plan in detail doesn’t make much sense if the fundamental concept is already flawed. Still, I’m curious: what exactly is this three-part, four-and-a-half-meter-wide (15 feet) element from the terrace door family supposed to represent, and why designed in this particular way? (As not only a building consultant but also a former window specialist, I’m asking).That was our wish. We saw such a feature at friends’ houses.
It’s a wide door with an additional sash that can be opened if desired. Without a mullion in the middle. Alternatively, a lift-and-slide door. We wanted a lot of glazing there to bring in natural light.
M
Milka01054 Jul 2025 23:28wiltshire schrieb:
Some building services equipment (heat pump, hot water tank, inverter, battery storage, etc.) comes with requirements regarding the minimum distance to the nearest object. The equipment dimensions alone do not determine the space needed, similar to how kitchen layouts work. Okay, I’m actually a bit hesitant to say this, but the contractor should probably take that into account after all. I’ll make a note of it.
M
Milka01054 Jul 2025 23:31As for the kitchen, a U-shape layout could also be considered. It wouldn’t have an island, but this design offers a lot of space and countertop area.
Milka0105 schrieb:
So, we’ll let the kitchen be planned for now and see what the kitchen studio proposes. Honestly? There’s not much to plan. Much is already fixed, otherwise it wouldn’t work at all. Storage cabinets here are, due to limited options, just the connection between the sink and the stove. You can see that even without kitchen planning or a professional eye. With roughly 2.40m (7 feet 10 inches), where a main passageway also has to be factored in, you’re left with only about 1.40m (4 feet 7 inches). This gives the kitchen a row-house character.
Milka0105 schrieb:
Maybe the kitchen could be pushed out into the dining area. Yes, but then the dining area loses space.
Milka0105 schrieb:
A shower just for more flexibility. That’s the mistake many future homeowners make: they plan in a lot of “flexibility,” but then nothing really works properly. And the shower will just collect dust because no one needs it where it is.
Milka0105 schrieb:
Isn’t that normal? Hallway, cloakroom: well, it’s normal for rain boots, work shoes, garden clogs, street shoes, and sneakers to be down where they’re needed. It’s also normal to change shoes throughout the day. Whether or not people bring their street shoes upstairs—I don’t know anyone who does that.
That just having one pair of “shoes” in use is not normal. Yes.
Milka0105 schrieb:
A dog needs stuff, but we have a drawer full of it. But that drawer has already been removed from the plan, right? It’s not in the design here at all.
Milka0105 schrieb:
How exactly would a different staircase make the kitchen bigger? Can you give me an example? Please search the earlier floor plan discussions here before you—there are certainly some examples. It’s not forbidden to look at older problems or threads that are the same or similar to yours.
I’m currently on vacation and enjoying some leisure time.
Milka0105 schrieb:
With the quarter turn, the hallway gets wider, so the kitchen would become even narrower. No, this staircase will be placed against the exterior wall, so it uses only about 3.00 to 3.50 meters (9 feet 10 inches to 11 feet 6 inches) of the house’s width. This kind of staircase is designed specifically for narrow and slim houses. It results in an almost entirely different floor plan layout.
Regarding the supposed flexibility: your utility room is supposed to become a hallway, and the hallway is not supposed to serve as a cloakroom; the cloakroom should be in the upper floor rooms. The idea of a dirt lock (mudroom) completely disappears with this concept and is ridiculous as an argument. The kitchen has a vacation-home character, even though there is a pantry that isn’t suitably walk-in for adults (thanks, Instagram). The house basically has many things you don’t need, but none of what you really do.
Milka0105 schrieb:
Regarding the kitchen, a U-shape layout could also be considered. It wouldn’t have an island, but the kitchen would have plenty of space and countertop area. Perhaps, or rather definitely, you should not only familiarize yourself with measurements, 60cm x 60cm (24in x 24in) cabinets, and other to-scale furniture, but also include them in a draft layout. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT A DRAFT IS FOR: TO ALIGN THE DIMENSIONS WITH THE OWNER’S REQUIREMENTS.
Then you will also see where potential issues might arise.
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