ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization for a Traditional Single-Family Home without a Basement and with a Home Office
Created on: 19 Feb 2026 21:17
C
cbauthaus
Hello everyone,
we (30 & 33) have been working on our house-building project for about half a year now and have been in talks for several weeks with a great local carpentry company that builds timber frame prefabricated houses. We had fairly clear ideas, and from these, the company created the attached floor plan. To make sure we haven’t overlooked anything, I’m putting it in your capable hands to point out any weaknesses.
A big thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time—we’re looking forward to your suggestions and critiques!
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 695 sqm (7,482 sq ft)
Slope: 1 m (3 ft) height difference over the length of the plot
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, setback lines and boundaries: The current design deviates from the building envelope, but this has been agreed with the city and is okay
Edge development: Garage permitted
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2 full storeys allowed
Roof type: Gable / hipped roof
Orientation: see plan
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type:
Rather classical style, gable roof (25%), single-family house
Basement, storeys:
No basement, 2 full storeys plus half upper floor with attic
Number of people, ages:
2 people, 30 & 33, planning for 2 children
Space requirements on ground and upper floors:
170–180 sqm (1,830–1,940 sq ft)
Office: home office, rarely used as a guest room
Number of overnight guests per year: approx. 3
Open or closed layout: open kitchen-living area, otherwise closed rooms
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island:
Open L-shaped kitchen-living area with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 4 seats + space for guests
Fireplace: undecided, possibly a smaller storage stove (e.g. Rondolino) for coziness, not yet included in the design
Garage, carport: double garage with additional storage room
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things are preferred or not:
Utility room should be on the upper floor, small sauna in the bathroom if possible, shower also on the ground floor, and office large enough so the bedroom could be relocated there if necessary
Double garage with passage between house and garage to quickly access the rear garden
House design
Designer of the plan:
- Planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
L-shape of the kitchen-living area, exactly how we liked it in a show home
Pantry under the stairs, accessible from the kitchen
Window seat in the kitchen, also seen in the show home and loved it
Children’s rooms with mezzanines, something I would have loved as a child and can now implement
What don’t you like? Why?
Bathroom layout upstairs is not quite right for us yet
Utility room upstairs: the window makes furnishing difficult and is, in my view, impractical in that spot
Entrance door hidden on the garage side, it’s okay but I don’t really like it
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Offer currently being calculated, initial estimate was 3,500–4,000 €/sqm (325–370 USD/sq ft) excluding additional costs
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 900,000 € with everything, planning about 730k € for house and garage and ~170k € for additional costs (this includes photovoltaic system, kitchen, paving, etc.—really everything so the house is finished up to the garden fence)
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with underfloor heating, centralized ventilation, possibly 2 air conditioning units additional to floor cooling for living rooms and bedroom
If you have to forego something, which details or extensions
- can you live without: sauna (though reluctantly), large upper hallway—which was created out of necessity to bring natural light into the corridor
- can you not live without: open kitchen-living area, kitchen window seat
Why is the design like it is now?
We specified the L-shape of the kitchen-living area as well as the location of the children’s rooms. Also, the desire for a walk-in closet accessed through the bedroom and the utility room on the upper floor. The rest developed from these requirements.
We like the design overall, except for the points mentioned above. I’m looking forward to your feedback, as I feel I’m starting to lose the forest for the trees (or rather for the wooden façades 😀).
Many, many thanks to everyone, and if anything is unclear, please feel free to ask!
Ground floor plan:
Upper floor plan:
Attic floor plan:
Northwest view:
Northeast view:
Southeast view:
Southwest view:
we (30 & 33) have been working on our house-building project for about half a year now and have been in talks for several weeks with a great local carpentry company that builds timber frame prefabricated houses. We had fairly clear ideas, and from these, the company created the attached floor plan. To make sure we haven’t overlooked anything, I’m putting it in your capable hands to point out any weaknesses.
A big thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time—we’re looking forward to your suggestions and critiques!
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 695 sqm (7,482 sq ft)
Slope: 1 m (3 ft) height difference over the length of the plot
Site coverage ratio: 0.25
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building envelope, setback lines and boundaries: The current design deviates from the building envelope, but this has been agreed with the city and is okay
Edge development: Garage permitted
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of storeys: 2 full storeys allowed
Roof type: Gable / hipped roof
Orientation: see plan
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type:
Rather classical style, gable roof (25%), single-family house
Basement, storeys:
No basement, 2 full storeys plus half upper floor with attic
Number of people, ages:
2 people, 30 & 33, planning for 2 children
Space requirements on ground and upper floors:
170–180 sqm (1,830–1,940 sq ft)
Office: home office, rarely used as a guest room
Number of overnight guests per year: approx. 3
Open or closed layout: open kitchen-living area, otherwise closed rooms
Conservative or modern construction: conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island:
Open L-shaped kitchen-living area with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 4 seats + space for guests
Fireplace: undecided, possibly a smaller storage stove (e.g. Rondolino) for coziness, not yet included in the design
Garage, carport: double garage with additional storage room
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things are preferred or not:
Utility room should be on the upper floor, small sauna in the bathroom if possible, shower also on the ground floor, and office large enough so the bedroom could be relocated there if necessary
Double garage with passage between house and garage to quickly access the rear garden
House design
Designer of the plan:
- Planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
L-shape of the kitchen-living area, exactly how we liked it in a show home
Pantry under the stairs, accessible from the kitchen
Window seat in the kitchen, also seen in the show home and loved it
Children’s rooms with mezzanines, something I would have loved as a child and can now implement
What don’t you like? Why?
Bathroom layout upstairs is not quite right for us yet
Utility room upstairs: the window makes furnishing difficult and is, in my view, impractical in that spot
Entrance door hidden on the garage side, it’s okay but I don’t really like it
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Offer currently being calculated, initial estimate was 3,500–4,000 €/sqm (325–370 USD/sq ft) excluding additional costs
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 900,000 € with everything, planning about 730k € for house and garage and ~170k € for additional costs (this includes photovoltaic system, kitchen, paving, etc.—really everything so the house is finished up to the garden fence)
Preferred heating technology: heat pump with underfloor heating, centralized ventilation, possibly 2 air conditioning units additional to floor cooling for living rooms and bedroom
If you have to forego something, which details or extensions
- can you live without: sauna (though reluctantly), large upper hallway—which was created out of necessity to bring natural light into the corridor
- can you not live without: open kitchen-living area, kitchen window seat
Why is the design like it is now?
We specified the L-shape of the kitchen-living area as well as the location of the children’s rooms. Also, the desire for a walk-in closet accessed through the bedroom and the utility room on the upper floor. The rest developed from these requirements.
We like the design overall, except for the points mentioned above. I’m looking forward to your feedback, as I feel I’m starting to lose the forest for the trees (or rather for the wooden façades 😀).
Many, many thanks to everyone, and if anything is unclear, please feel free to ask!
Ground floor plan:
Upper floor plan:
Attic floor plan:
Northwest view:
Northeast view:
Southeast view:
Southwest view:
C
cbauthaus20 Feb 2026 15:57Thank you for your initial feedback!
I can’t find a way to edit my post right now, so here is the ground floor plan with a north arrow:
The highest point is in the southeast corner, and it slopes down from there in both directions to street level.
Yes, that’s exactly the bench in the kitchen I meant by seating window.
We hadn’t realized or been aware that it’s more difficult to furnish rooms under 3 meters (about 9.8 feet) wide, we will keep this in mind.
The same applies to the garage; we hadn’t noticed it was quite narrow either, thanks for pointing that out!
The utility room is intentionally planned to be this large, as it should also serve as storage for items like rubber boots, crates of water, etc. We will take another look at the size of the open-plan area and kitchen, and whether we can take some space from the office, thanks!
We haven’t specified anything yet; I suspect the drawing shows a crate for drinks and a wall-mounted vacuum cleaner.
The view is okay but not particularly special. The seating window was mostly added because a larger window was needed there anyway to bring enough light into the hallway, and we hope the children might use that corner as an additional play area.
Good point, we hadn’t yet considered the direction of the beams, thanks!
Based on the fairly unanimous feedback, I can already see we need to rethink the kitchen (and the seating window) a bit.
We will also take a closer look at the galleries regarding stairs/ladders, lighting, etc.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Which direction is the slope going?
Could you add a north arrow to the plan?
I can’t find a way to edit my post right now, so here is the ground floor plan with a north arrow:
The highest point is in the southeast corner, and it slopes down from there in both directions to street level.
nordanney schrieb:
Just a quick question: What exactly is a seating window and where can I find it in the kitchen? Is it the window with the low sill and the bench in front of it?
I have a seating window bench myself, which nobody really uses anymore.
Yes, that’s exactly the bench in the kitchen I meant by seating window.
ypg schrieb:
In my opinion, a major weakness is the width of the areas at the bottom of the plan: less than 3 meters (about 9.8 feet) means only 2.80 meters (9.2 feet) are available for the kitchen. Standard cabinets won’t fit either, same for the office and bedroom/dressing room. A cross wall should offer about 310 cm (10.2 feet) of internal space for these rooms to fit standard furniture properly.
We hadn’t realized or been aware that it’s more difficult to furnish rooms under 3 meters (about 9.8 feet) wide, we will keep this in mind.
ypg schrieb:
It’s too narrow by today’s standards.
The same applies to the garage; we hadn’t noticed it was quite narrow either, thanks for pointing that out!
MachsSelbst schrieb:
The kitchen would still benefit from gaining some space from the office. 8 or 9 m² (about 86 or 97 square feet) is enough for an office.
The utility room is too large as well. The open-plan area including the kitchen is actually quite small for this house size at 45 m² (about 484 square feet). That’s where one tends to spend most of their time...
The utility room is intentionally planned to be this large, as it should also serve as storage for items like rubber boots, crates of water, etc. We will take another look at the size of the open-plan area and kitchen, and whether we can take some space from the office, thanks!
familie_s schrieb:
Pantry: What kind of connections are planned there?
We haven’t specified anything yet; I suspect the drawing shows a crate for drinks and a wall-mounted vacuum cleaner.
familie_s schrieb:
How is the view from the seating window? Will anyone really sit there? But I wouldn’t want to give up the window because of the light.
The view is okay but not particularly special. The seating window was mostly added because a larger window was needed there anyway to bring enough light into the hallway, and we hope the children might use that corner as an additional play area.
familie_s schrieb:
Retractable staircase: possibly rotate it 90° and place it over the seating area or in the dressing room. Depending on the ceiling beam direction, that might simplify installation.
Good point, we hadn’t yet considered the direction of the beams, thanks!
Based on the fairly unanimous feedback, I can already see we need to rethink the kitchen (and the seating window) a bit.
We will also take a closer look at the galleries regarding stairs/ladders, lighting, etc.
H
hanghaus202320 Feb 2026 17:39If your details are correct, then the staircase doesn’t make sense.
The garage should be 2 steps lower than the house? Then after the landing, there are 3 more steps down (see image)?
The street has no slope?
What does the development plan say about reference heights?
The garage should be 2 steps lower than the house? Then after the landing, there are 3 more steps down (see image)?
The street has no slope?
What does the development plan say about reference heights?
One additional note about mezzanines. We installed them in all three children’s bedrooms, but significantly larger than yours. They were used as a Lego play area, a drum room, and occasionally for the children’s guests. Good ladders or stairs are necessary, as well as fall protection.
Our children never slept up there; they preferred to sleep downstairs in their rooms with windows to have a view outside while falling asleep.
Please design the access so that a vacuum cleaner can also be brought up there. Unfortunately, cleaning is still necessary from time to time. If the beds are actually planned to be up there, please consider that changing the bedding requires adequate headroom. A sleeping nook looks nice but is often less practical in daily use.
Keep light switches in mind so that the lights upstairs can be turned off from downstairs and vice versa.
Our children never slept up there; they preferred to sleep downstairs in their rooms with windows to have a view outside while falling asleep.
Please design the access so that a vacuum cleaner can also be brought up there. Unfortunately, cleaning is still necessary from time to time. If the beds are actually planned to be up there, please consider that changing the bedding requires adequate headroom. A sleeping nook looks nice but is often less practical in daily use.
Keep light switches in mind so that the lights upstairs can be turned off from downstairs and vice versa.
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