ᐅ Floor Plan Optimization / Ground Floor Layout for a Semi-Detached House
Created on: 3 Oct 2019 16:53
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duke1085
Hello dear forum,
First of all: I am new here, so please forgive me if any information is missing; I can gladly provide it upon request. We are about to purchase a newly built semi-detached house (construction starting next year) and would appreciate your tips and comments. I have tried to follow the guide, but I think in my case it would go beyond the scope, as I am only interested in a detailed optimization of the ground floor rather than a complete redesign of the floor plan.
In my opinion, the relevant information is as follows:
Client Requirements
Style, roof design, building type – Modern, pitched roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors – No basement / 2 floors
Number of occupants, age – 2 x 35 years + eventually 1–2 children
Open or closed architecture – open
Conservative or modern construction – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – An eat-in kitchen with a U-shaped kitchen or kitchen island
Number of dining seats – 4–6
Fireplace – no
Music/stereo wall – Yes, at least 2 m (6 feet 6 inches) wide
Balcony, roof terrace – Balcony may still be planned
Garage, carport – Yes
Utility garden, greenhouse – Garden as per floor plan
House Design
Designed by:
- Planner from a building company
What do you dislike? Why? Living room too small, layout difficult due to current furniture
What is the key/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
The house will be built on a relatively small plot (210 m² (2260 sq.ft)). Therefore, the external dimensions are quite limited. Our main priority was a relatively large living/dining/kitchen area. However, this area is only about 41 m² (441 sq.ft) total here. We are quite satisfied with the layout of the other floors, so I have largely left those aside as mentioned above.
The following furniture should fit here:
A U-shaped kitchen or kitchen island (we currently have an island kitchen with the following dimensions:
Back kitchen wall 3 m (10 feet) wide / peninsula 2.10 m x 1.17 m (6 feet 10 inches x 3 feet 10 inches)
A dining table 2 m x 1 m (6 feet 6 inches x 3 feet 3 inches)
An L-shaped sofa 3 m x 1.90 m (10 feet x 6 feet 3 inches) on the longest side
A lowboard for TV / audio system about 2 m (6 feet 6 inches) wide
The following changes were considered:
Remove the partition wall between kitchen and living area
Replace 2 doors to kitchen and living room with one large glass door centered (1.60 m (5 feet 3 inches) wide)
Replace two 2 m (6 feet 6 inches) terrace doors with one large 5 m (16 feet 5 inches) sliding glass door
Increase clear ceiling height on the ground floor from 2.61 m to 2.70 m (8 feet 7 inches to 8 feet 10 inches)
Move washer/dryer to a storage room on the first floor
What do you think about the idea of integrating the staircase into the living room?
How would you integrate the kitchen into the space?
What options do you see to make the room appear larger, at least visually?
I’m aware that the possibilities are probably quite limited here but still look forward to your suggestions.
Best regards!
First of all: I am new here, so please forgive me if any information is missing; I can gladly provide it upon request. We are about to purchase a newly built semi-detached house (construction starting next year) and would appreciate your tips and comments. I have tried to follow the guide, but I think in my case it would go beyond the scope, as I am only interested in a detailed optimization of the ground floor rather than a complete redesign of the floor plan.
In my opinion, the relevant information is as follows:
Client Requirements
Style, roof design, building type – Modern, pitched roof, semi-detached house
Basement, floors – No basement / 2 floors
Number of occupants, age – 2 x 35 years + eventually 1–2 children
Open or closed architecture – open
Conservative or modern construction – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – An eat-in kitchen with a U-shaped kitchen or kitchen island
Number of dining seats – 4–6
Fireplace – no
Music/stereo wall – Yes, at least 2 m (6 feet 6 inches) wide
Balcony, roof terrace – Balcony may still be planned
Garage, carport – Yes
Utility garden, greenhouse – Garden as per floor plan
House Design
Designed by:
- Planner from a building company
What do you dislike? Why? Living room too small, layout difficult due to current furniture
What is the key/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
The house will be built on a relatively small plot (210 m² (2260 sq.ft)). Therefore, the external dimensions are quite limited. Our main priority was a relatively large living/dining/kitchen area. However, this area is only about 41 m² (441 sq.ft) total here. We are quite satisfied with the layout of the other floors, so I have largely left those aside as mentioned above.
The following furniture should fit here:
A U-shaped kitchen or kitchen island (we currently have an island kitchen with the following dimensions:
Back kitchen wall 3 m (10 feet) wide / peninsula 2.10 m x 1.17 m (6 feet 10 inches x 3 feet 10 inches)
A dining table 2 m x 1 m (6 feet 6 inches x 3 feet 3 inches)
An L-shaped sofa 3 m x 1.90 m (10 feet x 6 feet 3 inches) on the longest side
A lowboard for TV / audio system about 2 m (6 feet 6 inches) wide
The following changes were considered:
Remove the partition wall between kitchen and living area
Replace 2 doors to kitchen and living room with one large glass door centered (1.60 m (5 feet 3 inches) wide)
Replace two 2 m (6 feet 6 inches) terrace doors with one large 5 m (16 feet 5 inches) sliding glass door
Increase clear ceiling height on the ground floor from 2.61 m to 2.70 m (8 feet 7 inches to 8 feet 10 inches)
Move washer/dryer to a storage room on the first floor
What do you think about the idea of integrating the staircase into the living room?
How would you integrate the kitchen into the space?
What options do you see to make the room appear larger, at least visually?
I’m aware that the possibilities are probably quite limited here but still look forward to your suggestions.
Best regards!
duke1085 schrieb:
Would you recommend a different staircase design? Purely in terms of square meters, a half-turn staircase would use less space. But then the entire layout would need to be redesigned from scratch, as it is somewhat wider but not as elongated as the current one. The advantage would be that the utility room gains a lot of space... However, there would be losses in the kitchen-living area, which might mean the dining table wouldn’t fit as well, hence my comment about "redesigning."
I also find the corner behind the sofa quite problematic. It seems rather wasted in the current furnished plan.
Are you able to easily make such changes? How much time do you have left?
Considering this is a three-story house, there is a lot of potential for improvement here, and I’d wait for a few more replies. If you are kind and patient, you can basically get floor plans here for free.
Edit: See?
danixf schrieb:
Can you easily make such changes? How much time do you still have?I believe quite a few changes are possible. Actually, we should have made a decision by now. But I think we should still be able to reserve until early next week.
duke1085 schrieb:
I would discuss the design with the developer first.Talk to us first before bothering him 100 times. Otherwise, he’ll become resistant.duke1085 schrieb:
Only the kitchen windows would be located directly by the carport or across from the neighbor’s garage.Yes, a site plan plus any applicable regulations regarding access or parking spaces would be helpful. What about the neighbor—do you already know them? Is the same general contractor building their house?kaho674 schrieb:
Talk to us first before bothering 100 times. Otherwise, he’ll just become resistant.
Yes, a site plan plus any regulations regarding access or parking spaces would be helpful.
What about the neighbor, do you already know them? Is the same general contractor building there? Yes, it is the same developer; so far, we don’t know any of the other buyers.
Attached is the site plan or overhead view. It’s the house at the very top...
Basically, it would be optimal if the kitchen were where you have currently planned the staircase, hallway, and WC.
But due to the garage/carport, unfortunately, the entrance cannot be placed on the other side.
Wow, that’s what I call a bad offer. Honestly, I wouldn’t buy that. It would have to be located right in the city center to be worth it. If I may summarize:
The west side is blocked by the neighboring half of the building, the south side by a garage and another neighbor, the garden and terrace face the street to the northeast (it couldn’t be worse), and the plot is tiny.
This will be a dark cave. No sunlight, neither inside the house nor in the garden – and on top of that, you’ll have to breathe in traffic fumes from the street and be watched by passers-by while on the terrace. Plus, you’ll be living right next to a stranger.
What does the general contractor want for the land? At least is it really cheap?
If you buy it, you should consider what to do with the car beforehand. I would try to keep the south side clear – no carport or garage, just a parking space. The southern neighbor will probably build their garage there, so to what extent you’d still get light through the southeast corner would need to be tested with a sun simulator. But for that, the southern neighbor would have to finish before you. You should also consider a more open design concept, for example bringing additional light through the stairwell from the upper floor or something similar.
Honestly, I’d tell the general contractor to go take a hike and keep looking.
The west side is blocked by the neighboring half of the building, the south side by a garage and another neighbor, the garden and terrace face the street to the northeast (it couldn’t be worse), and the plot is tiny.
This will be a dark cave. No sunlight, neither inside the house nor in the garden – and on top of that, you’ll have to breathe in traffic fumes from the street and be watched by passers-by while on the terrace. Plus, you’ll be living right next to a stranger.
What does the general contractor want for the land? At least is it really cheap?
If you buy it, you should consider what to do with the car beforehand. I would try to keep the south side clear – no carport or garage, just a parking space. The southern neighbor will probably build their garage there, so to what extent you’d still get light through the southeast corner would need to be tested with a sun simulator. But for that, the southern neighbor would have to finish before you. You should also consider a more open design concept, for example bringing additional light through the stairwell from the upper floor or something similar.
Honestly, I’d tell the general contractor to go take a hike and keep looking.
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