ᐅ Floor plan design for our single-family home Single-family home in Schleswig-Holstein
Created on: 21 Aug 2018 17:54
O
opalau
Hello everyone,
After successfully finding and purchasing a plot in Schleswig-Holstein a few months ago, we are currently planning our single-family house. On one hand, we are evaluating general contractors for potential collaboration, and on the other hand, we are refining the floor plan.
Originally, a basement was planned (see cross-section), but we cannot avoid a waterproof concrete shell (“white tank”) as recommended by the soil survey for the foundation. Furthermore, the requirements of the energy saving ordinance make basements more expensive. The narrow plot (15m (49 feet)) also complicates slope construction. All these factors have led us to plan without a basement, instead allocating more space above ground.
We’re now fairly satisfied with the preliminary result but aren’t attached to it—at least I hope not... Overall, we planned generously, but I’m still a bit surprised that the ground floor area is about 230 sq m (2,475 sq ft). I’m also somewhat worried that we might have a biased tunnel vision as amateurs, which is why I’m sharing this here.
Please excuse the duplicate floor plans. I find the interior visualization in Sweet Home 3D so poor that I can’t use it for interior design. Hence the separate versions. I hope that’s not too confusing.
At this point, many thanks to the forum; just from reading along, we’ve already learned a lot, which is fantastic!
Size of plot: 1150 sq m (15m x approx. 77m (49 feet x approx. 253 feet))
Slope: No
Land use parameters (floor area ratio, plot ratio, etc.): §34
Restrictions: Eave height 5.5m (18 feet), ridge height 8.14m (27 feet) (pre-application regarding volume)
Owner’s requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Simple, gable roof
Basement, floors: No basement, 2 full stories
Number and age of people: 32, 39, 3, 0
Space requirements on ground floor: Cooking/eating/living, pantry, study, utility room, guest WC, entrance area, hallway
Space requirements on upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, children’s shower bath, master bedroom, dressing room, master bath, storage room, utility room, hallway
Office: Home office, hobby (used often)
Overnight guests per year: 0
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern construction: Probably modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: No
Music/stereo wall: No (What is a stereo wall anyway? )
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Double carport with shed as boundary structure
House design
Who created the design: Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Generously sized rooms
- Good separation between master and children’s areas
- Children’s rooms face the private garden
- Master bedroom faces sunrise
- High knee wall on upper floor
- Adequate storage space
What do you dislike? Why?
- Master bath above study
- Storage room on upper floor on south side (but a neighbor is only 6m (20 feet) away here)
- Is the entrance area cramped?
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: 500,000 EUR plus additional construction costs, landscaping, carport
Preferred heating technology: Gas
If you had to do without something, which details/upgrades could you skip: No individual room as such, more a reduction of overall generosity, possibly consolidating the many storage areas (pantry, utility room, HAR, storage closet).
Why did the design turn out this way? Many iterations, balancing wishes, conversations with general contractors, visits to model parks, etc.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters? Is the floor plan basically reasonable? Have we missed anything crucial due to tunnel vision?
After successfully finding and purchasing a plot in Schleswig-Holstein a few months ago, we are currently planning our single-family house. On one hand, we are evaluating general contractors for potential collaboration, and on the other hand, we are refining the floor plan.
Originally, a basement was planned (see cross-section), but we cannot avoid a waterproof concrete shell (“white tank”) as recommended by the soil survey for the foundation. Furthermore, the requirements of the energy saving ordinance make basements more expensive. The narrow plot (15m (49 feet)) also complicates slope construction. All these factors have led us to plan without a basement, instead allocating more space above ground.
We’re now fairly satisfied with the preliminary result but aren’t attached to it—at least I hope not... Overall, we planned generously, but I’m still a bit surprised that the ground floor area is about 230 sq m (2,475 sq ft). I’m also somewhat worried that we might have a biased tunnel vision as amateurs, which is why I’m sharing this here.
Please excuse the duplicate floor plans. I find the interior visualization in Sweet Home 3D so poor that I can’t use it for interior design. Hence the separate versions. I hope that’s not too confusing.
At this point, many thanks to the forum; just from reading along, we’ve already learned a lot, which is fantastic!
Size of plot: 1150 sq m (15m x approx. 77m (49 feet x approx. 253 feet))
Slope: No
Land use parameters (floor area ratio, plot ratio, etc.): §34
Restrictions: Eave height 5.5m (18 feet), ridge height 8.14m (27 feet) (pre-application regarding volume)
Owner’s requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Simple, gable roof
Basement, floors: No basement, 2 full stories
Number and age of people: 32, 39, 3, 0
Space requirements on ground floor: Cooking/eating/living, pantry, study, utility room, guest WC, entrance area, hallway
Space requirements on upper floor: 2 children’s bedrooms, children’s shower bath, master bedroom, dressing room, master bath, storage room, utility room, hallway
Office: Home office, hobby (used often)
Overnight guests per year: 0
Open or closed architecture: Open
Traditional or modern construction: Probably modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open with kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: No
Music/stereo wall: No (What is a stereo wall anyway? )
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Double carport with shed as boundary structure
House design
Who created the design: Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?
- Generously sized rooms
- Good separation between master and children’s areas
- Children’s rooms face the private garden
- Master bedroom faces sunrise
- High knee wall on upper floor
- Adequate storage space
What do you dislike? Why?
- Master bath above study
- Storage room on upper floor on south side (but a neighbor is only 6m (20 feet) away here)
- Is the entrance area cramped?
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: 500,000 EUR plus additional construction costs, landscaping, carport
Preferred heating technology: Gas
If you had to do without something, which details/upgrades could you skip: No individual room as such, more a reduction of overall generosity, possibly consolidating the many storage areas (pantry, utility room, HAR, storage closet).
Why did the design turn out this way? Many iterations, balancing wishes, conversations with general contractors, visits to model parks, etc.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters? Is the floor plan basically reasonable? Have we missed anything crucial due to tunnel vision?
kaho674 schrieb:
When you’re standing and working in the kitchen, you face the pantry door. That’s annoying. I can see the pantry from the stove as well, without any lasting issues.
opalau schrieb:
Or we could reconsider the U-shape, Or we could think about placing the kitchen beneath the kids’ bathroom / laundry room, open as a U-shape towards the top of the plan, and have the dining area where the seating area is now; the utility room, as mentioned, under the master bathroom, which in my opinion is unproblematic being tucked behind the guest toilet. The pantry would only be under the stairs, with a second part on the other side of the hallway, in the bottom part of the current kitchen area on the plan.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
Or we could consider placing the kitchen below the children’s bathroom / utility room, arranged in a U-shape open towards the top of the plan, with the dining area where the seating area is now; the utility room, as mentioned, below the master bathroom, which in my opinion is unproblematic since it’s tucked behind the guest WC. The pantry would be only under the stairs, with a second part on the opposite side of the hallway, in the lower section of the current kitchen area.That sounds interesting at first glance. I will decode and test this later when everyone here is asleep.
Thank you for your initial post, the drawings are enjoyable to look at.
I already have an idea of where and how I would reduce about 1.5 meters (5 feet) in length.
Why is that? I believe the overall feel of some rooms improves if they have a “different shape.”
It’s not uncomfortable because of the pantry door; the proportions are too narrow to use it as a passage.
I generally don’t mind that, but the room must be spacious enough so that the pathway is secondary to the room itself.
That’s unfortunately hidden. I definitely wouldn’t do that with a landing staircase. There are stairs, and then there are houses where the stairs must be seen as a focal point.
Upstairs, I would place both children’s bedrooms on the south side.
Also, regarding the length of the house, I would ensure that the water pipes are grouped closer together.
Furthermore, some walls could probably be omitted—like those around the stairs, entrance hall/corridor, pantry... You could save unnecessary square meters by freeing up the stairs and relocating the pantry door. This would also create a different sightline toward the dining area.
I would position the staircase opposite the entrance, creating a slight symmetry with the hallway that opens into the living space.
I would also shorten the living room. That’s the one change I would make to the house; I find the proportions of the living room are not very pleasing.
I already have an idea of where and how I would reduce about 1.5 meters (5 feet) in length.
Why is that? I believe the overall feel of some rooms improves if they have a “different shape.”
opalau schrieb:
Regarding the kitchen: Uncomfortable because of access to the living/dining area? It’s probably a matter of habit, as I know it, for example, from earlier
It’s not uncomfortable because of the pantry door; the proportions are too narrow to use it as a passage.
I generally don’t mind that, but the room must be spacious enough so that the pathway is secondary to the room itself.
opalau schrieb:
The stair depth is indeed tight. You definitely need about 20cm (8 inches) more if you want to avoid steepness or a too narrow landing. The current location can accommodate that.
That’s unfortunately hidden. I definitely wouldn’t do that with a landing staircase. There are stairs, and then there are houses where the stairs must be seen as a focal point.
opalau schrieb:
Storage room
Upstairs, I would place both children’s bedrooms on the south side.
Also, regarding the length of the house, I would ensure that the water pipes are grouped closer together.
Furthermore, some walls could probably be omitted—like those around the stairs, entrance hall/corridor, pantry... You could save unnecessary square meters by freeing up the stairs and relocating the pantry door. This would also create a different sightline toward the dining area.
I would position the staircase opposite the entrance, creating a slight symmetry with the hallway that opens into the living space.
I would also shorten the living room. That’s the one change I would make to the house; I find the proportions of the living room are not very pleasing.
ypg schrieb:
Thanks for your initial post, the drawings are fun.Thank you, I appreciate that. I just find it easier when things are also visually appealing.
ypg schrieb:
It’s not uncomfortable because of the pantry door; it’s too narrow in terms of proportions to be used as a passage. I’m generally fine with that, but the room needs to have enough space so that the path is subordinate to the room itself.That gets us closer to the point, I’ll have to think about that…
ypg schrieb:
Unfortunately, it hides away. I definitely wouldn’t do that with a half-landing staircase. There are stairs, and there are houses where the stairs need to be the focal point.At least right now it’s relatively central when you enter, even though it shares the sightline with the guest toilet door. However, we also don’t want it in the living area; we want it connected to the hallway to allow a discreet upstairs access for the future…
Still, I’m reconsidering the idea of making the staircase a showpiece.
ypg schrieb:
Upstairs, I would place both children’s bedrooms on the south side.We have thought about that for some time already. The disadvantage of the south side for us is that the neighbor lives only about 6m (about 20 feet) away—more like 5.5m (18 feet) because of older setback regulations in Schleswig-Holstein—and instead of a view, it’s more of a direct line of sight into our rooms. So the idea is to give both children’s rooms the “wide view” towards the garden instead.
ypg schrieb:
And regarding the length of the house, I would make sure to bundle the water pipes closer together.Are you looking at that from a perspective other than cost? Basically, aside from extreme cases, I’d prefer not to let something like that dictate the room layout.
ypg schrieb:
Also, you could probably do without some walls, like around the staircase, hallway, pantry… you could reduce unnecessary square meters, open up the staircase, and relocate the pantry door. That would also create a different line of sight toward the dining area.I had that idea already and will try it out. However, from the hallway you’d then have a much more open view into the living room, which actually gains coziness from being a bit around the corner.
ypg schrieb:
I would place the staircase opposite the entrance, creating some symmetry with the hallway that transitions into the living area.That’s also worth trying, thanks!
ypg schrieb:
I would also shorten the living room… that’s one of the layouts I would use for the house; I find the proportions of the living room not that nice.You’d have to explain that sentence to me. How do you understand “layout” here, and in what way would you choose it for the house?
kaho674 schrieb:
Comfort does not automatically arise just because a room is around a corner. At least here, I find it quite uncomfortable. I would definitely keep experimenting a bit. Some suggestions have already been made.Absolutely, I’m already working on it.
However, I’m still not entirely sure what causes this feeling of discomfort. Whether it’s simply a matter of personal taste or if I’m overlooking something.
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