ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home / Bungalow – 155 sqm
Created on: 16 Oct 2022 21:50
F
Frennie
Hello everyone,
We have been planning our own home for about a year now and have gone through many iterations (from basement to two-story, etc.). In the end, we want to build a bungalow and would appreciate some critical feedback and suggestions. So far, we have created the floor plan ourselves, but we will hand it over to the building company afterward. Thank you!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size – 1,056 sqm (0.26 acres)
Slope – 2 m (6.6 ft) drop over 35 m (115 ft)
Site coverage ratio – 0.4 (according to §17 Federal Land Utilization Ordinance WR)
Floor area ratio – 1.2 (according to §17 Federal Land Utilization Ordinance WR)
Building setback line and boundaries – 4 m (13 ft) from property line
Adjacent development – NW, N, NE
Number of parking spaces – 2
Number of floors – 1
Roof style – gable or hipped roof with two small dormers + triangular windows facing SW
Architectural style – bungalow, because the plot is large enough, children within sight and hearing range, barrier-free possible
Orientation – SW (like neighboring houses)
Maximum heights / restrictions – 9 m (30 ft) height / 4 m (13 ft) to neighboring properties
Other specifications – roof pitch 25-40°
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof form, building type – timber frame construction, bungalow with exposed roof beams in living and bedrooms (except entrance area + technical room, possibly to create storage space)
Basement, floors – no basement
Number of people, ages – 33, 29, <1 planned, planned
Space requirements on ground floor / upper floor // rooms
Office use: family or home office? – both, current home office not necessary but possibly in future
Guests per year – 6
Open or closed architecture – closed
Traditional or modern style – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – kitchen island and separable kitchen with sliding door
Number of dining seats – 6-8
Fireplace – no
Music / stereo wall – no
Balcony, roof terrace – covered terrace between dormers
Garage, carport – garage (not prefab – timber frame with gable roof as additional storage area) with adjacent shed/workshop
Kitchen garden, greenhouse – kitchen garden
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why something should or should not be included
- Living area should not exceed 155 sqm (1,668 sq ft) (cost factor)
House Design
Who created the plan – do-it-yourself – floor plan DIY
What do you like in particular? Why? – separation of living and sleeping areas, covered terrace and entrance, small dormers and high ceilings due to exposed roof beams
What do you dislike? Why? – possibly the office is too small? Technical/utility room large enough
Personal price limit including equipment: 500,000 €
Preferred heating system: photovoltaics + battery with air-to-water heat pump + underfloor heating
If you have to give up certain features / expansions
-can you do without: actually all rooms should be as planned
-can’t do without: -
Why is the design as it is now? For example
After many iterations with a draftsman from a construction company and different styles (single-family house with two floors, with or without basement), we tried to fit all our wishes ourselves into one floor plan.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? – That’s the question for you 😉
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Critical feedback, thoughts, and suggestions regarding major issues, feasibility, and practicality.
Best regards
Frennie
We have been planning our own home for about a year now and have gone through many iterations (from basement to two-story, etc.). In the end, we want to build a bungalow and would appreciate some critical feedback and suggestions. So far, we have created the floor plan ourselves, but we will hand it over to the building company afterward. Thank you!
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size – 1,056 sqm (0.26 acres)
Slope – 2 m (6.6 ft) drop over 35 m (115 ft)
Site coverage ratio – 0.4 (according to §17 Federal Land Utilization Ordinance WR)
Floor area ratio – 1.2 (according to §17 Federal Land Utilization Ordinance WR)
Building setback line and boundaries – 4 m (13 ft) from property line
Adjacent development – NW, N, NE
Number of parking spaces – 2
Number of floors – 1
Roof style – gable or hipped roof with two small dormers + triangular windows facing SW
Architectural style – bungalow, because the plot is large enough, children within sight and hearing range, barrier-free possible
Orientation – SW (like neighboring houses)
Maximum heights / restrictions – 9 m (30 ft) height / 4 m (13 ft) to neighboring properties
Other specifications – roof pitch 25-40°
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof form, building type – timber frame construction, bungalow with exposed roof beams in living and bedrooms (except entrance area + technical room, possibly to create storage space)
Basement, floors – no basement
Number of people, ages – 33, 29, <1 planned, planned
Space requirements on ground floor / upper floor // rooms
- Entrance area, shower/WC, bathroom, living-dining area, central kitchen, pantry, master bedroom, child 1, child 2, child 3, office, technical room, covered entrance, covered terrace
- Separated sleeping area accessed through hallway
- Central kitchen with island and access to terrace and roof windows, kitchen separable from living area with sliding door
- Children’s rooms all roughly equal in size (with possibility for bunk beds thanks to exposed roof beams)
- Technical and utility room: air-to-water heat pump, photovoltaics, battery storage, washing machine, and all other necessary connections/distribution (well away from main living areas)
- Office: soundproofed area
Office use: family or home office? – both, current home office not necessary but possibly in future
Guests per year – 6
Open or closed architecture – closed
Traditional or modern style – modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island – kitchen island and separable kitchen with sliding door
Number of dining seats – 6-8
Fireplace – no
Music / stereo wall – no
Balcony, roof terrace – covered terrace between dormers
Garage, carport – garage (not prefab – timber frame with gable roof as additional storage area) with adjacent shed/workshop
Kitchen garden, greenhouse – kitchen garden
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why something should or should not be included
- Living area should not exceed 155 sqm (1,668 sq ft) (cost factor)
House Design
Who created the plan – do-it-yourself – floor plan DIY
What do you like in particular? Why? – separation of living and sleeping areas, covered terrace and entrance, small dormers and high ceilings due to exposed roof beams
What do you dislike? Why? – possibly the office is too small? Technical/utility room large enough
Personal price limit including equipment: 500,000 €
Preferred heating system: photovoltaics + battery with air-to-water heat pump + underfloor heating
If you have to give up certain features / expansions
-can you do without: actually all rooms should be as planned
-can’t do without: -
Why is the design as it is now? For example
After many iterations with a draftsman from a construction company and different styles (single-family house with two floors, with or without basement), we tried to fit all our wishes ourselves into one floor plan.
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad? – That’s the question for you 😉
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Critical feedback, thoughts, and suggestions regarding major issues, feasibility, and practicality.
Best regards
Frennie
M
Myrna_Loy17 Oct 2022 20:11Frennie schrieb:
A bedroom with a width of 3.30 m (11 feet) should be sufficient. We currently have a 1.80 m (6 feet) wide bed, leaving about 0.75 m (2.5 feet) of space on each side.
Most people with more than one child quickly move up to 2 m (6.5 feet) wide beds. 🙂 Or even family beds. Babies often sleep in the parents’ room, wardrobes need to be accommodated, and so on.
Do you know families with three children? Ask them what their ideal house looks like or show them your design.
150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) for 5 people plus a home office is hardly feasible in a practical way.
And as a person without children, you can live very minimally. As parents, you want two things: sleep and storage. 😉
And about the dining table with kids: Two high chairs like Trip Traps at the table, and you can forget the most beautiful standard dining room layout.
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
The budget will be tight for what you want. Half a year ago, a 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft) bungalow of a relative in Baden-Württemberg was expected to cost 600,000. They then put the project on hold for the time being. The high construction costs were one of the reasons why we abandoned our initial plans for a two-story single-family home with a basement (140 sqm / 1,507 sq ft living space). We had an offer of 750,000 € – excluding additional construction costs and exterior work. The cut KfW subsidy and rising interest rates quickly made things worse. That’s why we considered scaling back to the essentials and making better use of the plot size. According to the zoning plan, we would have to maintain a knee wall of 50 cm (20 inches) with a two-story design, which we do not like and which would also severely limit the usable space upstairs.
K a t j a schrieb:
I would first (again) be interested in the design of the outdoor area. Where and how much needs to be filled in? 2 m (6.5 ft) over 35 m (115 ft) sounds moderate at first, but with a bungalow of that size it will be tricky again. kbt09 schrieb:
Is there a site plan with elevation points? Of course, that’s also an important issue! There is no site plan. According to Bayernatlas, the north-south slope over the area where the house is finally supposed to stand is 1.20 m (4 ft). Naively, I had thought this wouldn’t have a significant impact and might be manageable with earthworks.
kati1337 schrieb:
I think it looks nice, but I also see the problem that storage will be tight with five people in a bungalow. Where do you want to store things that many people usually keep in the attic? Suitcases, Christmas decorations, tree stands, ski boots— you name it. General storage space.
The utility room should also serve as the laundry room in this layout, meaning all cleaning and laundry supplies must fit there alongside the building services. Unless you and your three kids live very minimally, this will get tight.
Furthermore, I agree with the previously mentioned criticisms. The floor plan is convoluted, and the lack of a hallway turns rooms into passageways. Not ideal. Also, the budget might be tight at 500k all in. Does that include the plot, or is the 500k just for the house?
My tip: write down everything that matters to you, each individual point, and hand it (without your own planning!) to a good architect. You’ll be surprised. 🙂
Edit: Also provide accurate dimensions. For example, from the pictures, I can imagine the kids’ rooms are too narrow and elongated. It will be a struggle to furnish them. - We had planned storage space above the entrance area and technical room as an attic/ crawl space and above the garage.
- The land is already owned, but not yet serviced.
- The current plan was done DIY using RoomSketcher. Is there a way to quickly show dimensions here? Or does anyone have tips on which program allows this quickly and easily? 😉
Frennie schrieb:
The idea behind this is that the cooking/dining area serves as a central room where a large part of everyday life takes place. It’s clear that the kitchen or the busy dining area is meant to be the central family meeting point. But the kitchen is too small for that, the family is planned too large, and the door to the hallway is poorly positioned next to the kitchen worktop.
Frennie schrieb:
If you want to avoid having the kitchen as a through-room, then the alternative would be a narrow, windowless and rather long hallway to reach all other rooms. No, absolutely not. It may turn out that way for you, but not for me. Floor plans are not just black and white. You only need to plan a corner too much, move a wall, and suddenly a floor plan works completely differently—either very well or very badly. By the way, a windowless hallway can work if it’s straight and narrow, even during a power outage. The awkward windowless hallway you have does not.
Frennie schrieb:
In case mornings get hectic with five people, so that there is an alternative space. But the alternative would also have to be relatively central and/or easy to reach. People don’t like to run to the other end of the house just because there is an alternative space. By the time they reach the bathroom, it’s often too late. I’m just imagining a 13-year-old with a full bladder who can’t get into the bathroom because their sister is bathing, and you have guests. Believe me, that teenager won’t squeeze past you politely. They’ll probably just pee out the window—I’ll bet on it. And then they’ll do it every day because it’s fun.
Frennie schrieb:
Please explain in more detail what exactly is meant by that. Many dimensions don’t work or are smaller than the standard.
Take the dining table with eight seats, for example: the table would need to be about 3 meters (more precisely 2.80 meters (9 feet 2 inches)) long. Since you also have to plan walking space around the room, you need at least an extra meter behind one row of chairs in addition to the functional dimensions. So for the dining table alone, you need at least a 5 x 4 meters (16 x 13 feet) space. At a minimum! On top of that, you need a kitchen where you don’t have to constantly pass in front of the stove (which poses a danger for children or for anyone who is moving quickly, whether hurried or normal), meaning a kitchen that functions properly as a kitchen and not as a substitute hallway. In principle, this can be implemented very well. But even a layperson has to think about a bit… a room is not just four walls and a door.
Frennie schrieb:
Feel free to suggest an alternative. No, a design grows and takes time, so it can’t be done in one day. And I don’t have time for that. I have work, which naturally comes first. Besides, I don’t see a bungalow either—it’s comparatively too expensive.
M
Myrna_Loy17 Oct 2022 20:52The bathroom layout doesn’t work like this either. There is barely 50cm (20 inches) between the shower and the bathtub. A walk-in shower should be at least 120cm (47 inches) long, preferably 140cm (55 inches).
And storage in the attic space won’t really help you much with three children in everyday life.
I’m afraid that if you really want to have three children and stay within 150 square meters (1,615 square feet), you will need an architect or a skilled general contractor. This is not a DIY project. Let go of "your" design and bring in the professionals.
And storage in the attic space won’t really help you much with three children in everyday life.
I’m afraid that if you really want to have three children and stay within 150 square meters (1,615 square feet), you will need an architect or a skilled general contractor. This is not a DIY project. Let go of "your" design and bring in the professionals.
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
Attached is a floor plan for a bungalow with four bedrooms – but it measures 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft). 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) might actually be a bit tight, so it’s understandable that 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft) works better, although the right half already comes quite close to our design. Unfortunately, our budget doesn’t allow for more at the moment. Maybe there will be a new KfW subsidy again in 2023.
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
I’m afraid that if you really want three kids and want to keep it around 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft), you’ll need an architect or a skilled general contractor. This isn’t a DIY project. Let go of “your” design and bring in the professionals. Realistically, that sums up the situation quite well.
11ant schrieb:
Please show the size and access to the plot on the cadastral map, as it’s not clearly visible on the aerial photo. It seems you are planning the rooms and their layout on the floor plan somewhat differently than the images of the design examples suggest. Try planning more conceptually rather than specifically, so intention and successful results might align better. Due to the apparent omission of a hallway, the kitchen is basically located in the middle of the actual entrance area. Please share the floor plans of the discarded design stages. There isn’t a real development of the floor plan for the bungalow since the latest plans were still for the two-story single-family house.
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