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?
evelinoz schrieb:
I took a look at the housing developments in Adelsdorf. I thought such developments wouldn’t be built in the 21st century anymore. I was speechless. Then I found a 2016 article in meier-magazin, Urban Megalomania, which describes the problems of these developments and why the municipality, formerly with 8,000 residents, approved such a thing. Well, I’d rather live in my "cage" with 1.8m (6 feet) high, opaque fencing.It is one development that was built, with about 40 houses still to be completed. And especially in the 21st century, if anything is built like this, then it’s like this: land sealing! 12 hectares (30 acres) and 550 housing units represent a density you normally only see in city centers. Yet there are no apartment blocks, only affordable townhouses, each with at least a small garden.The municipality mainly approved this to address the growing problem in commuter towns: an aging population. The municipality gained many new taxpayers (homebuilders are rarely on welfare) who are relatively young (80% are between 25 and 40) and bring many children with them. As a result, the municipality invested primarily in daycare centers and will be able to keep the middle school in the village in the medium term. Not every municipality in the district can claim that!
By the way, your "megalomania" is made possible partly because the entire area is a low-traffic zone and is located on the open edge of town. This means children can be found everywhere, running around and playing freely in groups without constant supervision or helicopter parenting. Not everyone wants to isolate themselves behind a 2-meter (6.5 feet) tall, plastic-covered fence. And due to the affordable housing, many parents can afford this or still have enough left to fulfill other wishes for their children.
And honestly: for most builders, including ourselves, the alternative wouldn’t be a detached single-family house (due to runaway costs and lack of available plots in the metropolitan area) but an apartment unit. And most of the "long-time residents" have now not only come to terms with the development but have also formed friendships with the "new residents." It was no different back then in Feucht and Zirndorf!
Scout schrieb:
Instead of apartment buildings, there are affordable terraced houses, each with at least a small garden.… and apparently some even with a lake view?ypg schrieb:
… and apparently some even with a lake view?Well, the pond was more for marketing purposes :pypg schrieb:
… and apparently some even with a lake view?You mean the carp pond that was euphemistically marketed as a "lake" 😉 Those at least have an edge-of-town location and from the roof terrace a distant view over more than 10 km (6 miles). And there is a larger body of water visible just beyond the garden…
Scout schrieb:
You mean the carp pond that was euphemistically marketed as a "lake" 😉A water view is a water view—if you don’t appreciate that… well, I don’t know either 🙄ypg schrieb:
A water view is a water view – if you don’t appreciate that… well, I don’t know 🙄Well, if you knew about those dense clouds of mosquitoes and midges that sometimes come from a carp pond and could appreciate that… go ahead, I’m happy to step back so the volunteers can move forward better :pSimilar topics