Dear forum users,
We have purchased a mid-terrace house from a developer and now need to finalize the floor plan for the room layout.
Right from the start: The layout of the house does not at all match our preferences, nor does the character of it being a mid-terrace house – but with current prices, this was the best we could afford... 😱 🙄 So please, no need to rub salt in the wound, we know there are houses with much better layouts.
Regarding the room planning, we believe there isn’t much that can be changed due to the elongated shape and the fixed window positions. Unfortunately, we don’t see many or any alternatives for the layout of the first floor, although the very narrow “corridor room” is a real problem for us. But maybe someone has an idea?
We have only considered partitioning part of the narrow room to create a storage closet, but that would be quite complex. Plus, vacuum cleaners and similar items could maybe just be stored in a closet inside one of the rooms?
As for the intended use of the rooms: initially, the rooms will be used as planned — two children’s bedrooms and the large room as the master bedroom. In a few years, we plan to move upstairs into the studio; the children will get the two bigger rooms, and the small room will become a study and guest room (where the vacuum cleaner, etc., could then be stored conveniently).
We appreciate any constructive suggestions and hope we haven’t forgotten anything (this is our first post in the forum).
Thank you very much!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 162 sqm (1740 sq ft)
Slope: none
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of floors: 3
Roof type: mono-pitched roof
Style: townhouse
Orientation: north-south (garden on the south side)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: mid-terrace house
Basement: yes, 3 floors total
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people (parents + 2 years + 4 years)
Room needs on ground floor, upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, 1 master bedroom, 1 office/guest room
Office use: family use or home office? Home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen
1 dining space in open living-dining area
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: roof terrace + terrace
Garage, carport: no
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden
Additional wishes/features/routine, including reasons why certain things should or should not be included
House Design
Who designed the plan: developer
What do you dislike? Why? especially one children’s bedroom is very narrow and corridor-like
Price estimate from architect/planner: 580k
Personal budget limit for house, including fittings: 620k
Preferred heating method: district heating
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner? Yes
Which wishes from the architects were implemented?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What, in your opinion, makes it particularly good or bad?
We have purchased a mid-terrace house from a developer and now need to finalize the floor plan for the room layout.
Right from the start: The layout of the house does not at all match our preferences, nor does the character of it being a mid-terrace house – but with current prices, this was the best we could afford... 😱 🙄 So please, no need to rub salt in the wound, we know there are houses with much better layouts.
Regarding the room planning, we believe there isn’t much that can be changed due to the elongated shape and the fixed window positions. Unfortunately, we don’t see many or any alternatives for the layout of the first floor, although the very narrow “corridor room” is a real problem for us. But maybe someone has an idea?
We have only considered partitioning part of the narrow room to create a storage closet, but that would be quite complex. Plus, vacuum cleaners and similar items could maybe just be stored in a closet inside one of the rooms?
As for the intended use of the rooms: initially, the rooms will be used as planned — two children’s bedrooms and the large room as the master bedroom. In a few years, we plan to move upstairs into the studio; the children will get the two bigger rooms, and the small room will become a study and guest room (where the vacuum cleaner, etc., could then be stored conveniently).
We appreciate any constructive suggestions and hope we haven’t forgotten anything (this is our first post in the forum).
Thank you very much!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 162 sqm (1740 sq ft)
Slope: none
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of floors: 3
Roof type: mono-pitched roof
Style: townhouse
Orientation: north-south (garden on the south side)
Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: mid-terrace house
Basement: yes, 3 floors total
Number of occupants, ages: 4 people (parents + 2 years + 4 years)
Room needs on ground floor, upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, 1 master bedroom, 1 office/guest room
Office use: family use or home office? Home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 10
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern design: modern
Open kitchen
1 dining space in open living-dining area
Fireplace: no
Music/sound wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: roof terrace + terrace
Garage, carport: no
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden
Additional wishes/features/routine, including reasons why certain things should or should not be included
House Design
Who designed the plan: developer
What do you dislike? Why? especially one children’s bedroom is very narrow and corridor-like
Price estimate from architect/planner: 580k
Personal budget limit for house, including fittings: 620k
Preferred heating method: district heating
Why is the design the way it is? For example:
Standard design from the planner? Yes
Which wishes from the architects were implemented?
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What, in your opinion, makes it particularly good or bad?
J
JuliaAlex4 Jul 2021 16:32Zaba12 schrieb:
In theory, that always sounds great, but in reality it’s different. I don’t know anyone with a loft or attic room—that is, a second floor upstairs—who a) willingly walks up and down, and in summer it will get unbearably hot there so you won’t want to spend more time than necessary. You might as well install air conditioning right away. Lofts are like balconies in single-family homes: everyone loves them and spends money on them, but no one really uses them because everyone prefers to be in the garden.
My parents have a loft. I had to sleep there three weeks ago — it was a complete disaster at 35°C (95°F). It’s mainly used for storage. My mother-in-law also has a loft. Guests have to suffer up there in summer as well.
So for you, either plan for a split air conditioning system or prepare for it to be a torture chamber for guests at least 3 months a year. I think it really depends on the residents... My sister has a detached house with a south-facing balcony/roof terrace and uses it a lot — you’re not sitting in full view of everyone, so you have some privacy. And you certainly can’t expect it to be cool in the loft during a heatwave; right now we live in an old apartment without any balcony or terrace — it’s over 30°C (86°F) inside, but there is no ground floor to cool off in and nowhere to step outside in the evening to escape the stuffy air. Overall, we still sleep quite well except for a few nights, so we’re not really worried and are looking forward to the roof terrace.
soneva2012 schrieb:
We live in a semi-detached house with a first floor and an attic. Our third child sleeps great upstairs. When it’s hot, you have to ventilate first thing in the morning, then lower the external blinds or shutters. Then ventilate again in the evening. This works well without air conditioning, and we are in southern Bavaria where it can get very hot.
We also enjoy our roof terrace. If the plot is less than 200 square meters (about 2,150 sq ft), there won’t be much garden space left. Then you appreciate the roof terrace in the evening where you’re not surrounded by sand toys and ride-on cars. For those same reasons, I completely understand what an “adult living room” is meant to be! That’s exactly how we imagine it 😀
J
JuliaAlex4 Jul 2021 16:36kbt09 schrieb:
I would reconsider placing the kitchen by the terrace and planning a seating area with a sofa in the current kitchen space. Thank you for the suggestion. We have thought about that as well, but we're not sure if it would be practical since the hallway and staircase are located in the front area, which might make it generally busier there. We also quite like the idea of having the sofa facing the garden. However, it’s definitely a good idea, as a lot of family life tends to revolve around the kitchen and dining table.
M
Myrna_Loy4 Jul 2021 16:36My parents have a roof terrace facing south. My mother liked the idea of being able to sunbathe there without being observed.
In summer, it gets extremely hot there. Laundry dries in 30 minutes (5 inches). The heat is retained so much that the space is only bearable at night.
Therefore, I would only plan roof terraces with a sunshade.
In summer, it gets extremely hot there. Laundry dries in 30 minutes (5 inches). The heat is retained so much that the space is only bearable at night.
Therefore, I would only plan roof terraces with a sunshade.
RomeoZwo schrieb:
The only alternative I see to avoid the utility rooms is to move the parent area including the bedroom to the attic floor and use the upper floor as shown in the sketch...
[ATTACH alt="grundrissoptimierung-1-og-falls-moeglich-508620-1~2.jpg"]63322[/ATTACH]
...This is probably the standard for even narrower single-family houses. I know it that way too; we had it like that as well. But then the bathroom on the upper floor had a double casement window and there was no floor above it.
vonBYnachSH4 Jul 2021 16:50RomeoZwo schrieb:
The only alternative I see to avoid narrow, corridor-like rooms is to place the parents’ area including the bedroom in the attic and arrange the upper floor as shown in the sketch...
[ATTACH alt="grundrissoptimierung-1-og-falls-moeglich-508620-1~2.jpg"]63322[/ATTACH]
... This is probably the standard for even narrower row houses.But then the bathroom has no window... I’d rather have a narrow, corridor-like room.
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