Hello,
I would like to discuss our planned floor plans here. Attached are the ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF) plans. The house is designed for 4 people (+dog) and has just over 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) without a basement, featuring a gable roof with knee walls between 1 and 1.25 meters (3.3 and 4.1 ft), depending on how much is ultimately allowed. The main garden faces south, with about 4 meters (13 ft) of space to the west. On the east side, a 9-meter (30 ft) garage is planned (our neighbor is there). We do not need an extra guest room or office. If an additional room is ever needed later, a section on the ground floor can be partitioned off.
[ B ]Ground Floor:[/B]
What I like:
- Decently sized shower bathroom (a shower on the ground floor is necessary, mainly because of the dog). Once the second child arrives, a second comfortable shower bathroom will definitely be practical.
- Kitchen and dining area oriented towards the main garden (south), where we usually spend most of our time
- Small separated area in the living room for a sewing corner with direct access to the living area (we want to be in the same area in the evening, not in separate rooms)
- Lots of natural light
What I am considering:
- Is the staircase size of 1.50 x 2.75 meters (5 x 9 ft) sufficient?
- Is the sewing corner possibly too small? (1.60 x 4 meters / 5.25 x 13 ft)
- Is the area for the coat rack adequate?
[ B ]Upper Floor:[/B]
What I like:
- Children’s rooms with dormer windows both facing south and equally sized
- Bedroom facing north (I hate heat when sleeping)
- Separate laundry room on the upper floor for washing machine and dryer
What I am considering:
- Is the bathroom too small? How could it be furnished efficiently? The utility room + bathroom area can of course still be completely changed. Maybe put the utility room entirely to the north so the washing machine and dryer fit under the sloped ceiling? Access to the utility room could also be arranged through the bathroom instead of from the hallway. What are your ideas?
- I am not quite happy with the bottom left corner as a whole. The storage room could also be removed in favor of a larger, more open hallway with a roof window (Velux) and possibly a dresser along the wall plus an armchair?
I look forward to suggestions, critiques, and discussions. These are, of course, not final plans yet, but the dimensions are accurate and should provide a good basis for discussion.
Best regards
Tego
I would like to discuss our planned floor plans here. Attached are the ground floor (GF) and upper floor (UF) plans. The house is designed for 4 people (+dog) and has just over 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft) without a basement, featuring a gable roof with knee walls between 1 and 1.25 meters (3.3 and 4.1 ft), depending on how much is ultimately allowed. The main garden faces south, with about 4 meters (13 ft) of space to the west. On the east side, a 9-meter (30 ft) garage is planned (our neighbor is there). We do not need an extra guest room or office. If an additional room is ever needed later, a section on the ground floor can be partitioned off.
[ B ]Ground Floor:[/B]
What I like:
- Decently sized shower bathroom (a shower on the ground floor is necessary, mainly because of the dog). Once the second child arrives, a second comfortable shower bathroom will definitely be practical.
- Kitchen and dining area oriented towards the main garden (south), where we usually spend most of our time
- Small separated area in the living room for a sewing corner with direct access to the living area (we want to be in the same area in the evening, not in separate rooms)
- Lots of natural light
What I am considering:
- Is the staircase size of 1.50 x 2.75 meters (5 x 9 ft) sufficient?
- Is the sewing corner possibly too small? (1.60 x 4 meters / 5.25 x 13 ft)
- Is the area for the coat rack adequate?
[ B ]Upper Floor:[/B]
What I like:
- Children’s rooms with dormer windows both facing south and equally sized
- Bedroom facing north (I hate heat when sleeping)
- Separate laundry room on the upper floor for washing machine and dryer
What I am considering:
- Is the bathroom too small? How could it be furnished efficiently? The utility room + bathroom area can of course still be completely changed. Maybe put the utility room entirely to the north so the washing machine and dryer fit under the sloped ceiling? Access to the utility room could also be arranged through the bathroom instead of from the hallway. What are your ideas?
- I am not quite happy with the bottom left corner as a whole. The storage room could also be removed in favor of a larger, more open hallway with a roof window (Velux) and possibly a dresser along the wall plus an armchair?
I look forward to suggestions, critiques, and discussions. These are, of course, not final plans yet, but the dimensions are accurate and should provide a good basis for discussion.
Best regards
Tego
Many thanks to everyone for the responses.
Having the washer and dryer in the utility room (HAR) on the ground floor would theoretically be possible, but the utility room there is probably planned a bit too small for that. We really like the concept of laundry on the upper floor since it avoids annoying trips back and forth, and of course, this means sacrificing a very large bathroom on the upper floor with this layout. That is actually the only issue that still bothers me, but as someone already said here, compromises seem inevitable. However, I do think that the utility room upstairs can definitely be equipped with one or two cabinets to store towels and other bathroom items. It’s large enough—especially if you just place the dryer on top of the washing machine.
If it becomes a problem in 15 years, you could probably combine the rooms during a bathroom renovation.
The building regulations don’t leave us much flexibility 😉 Gable roof with a 45° pitch, knee wall between 1 and 1.25 meters (3.3 and 4.1 feet), maximum eaves height 4.50 meters (14.8 feet)—we’re pushing that limit. Gable dormer on the south side. Whether the exterior finish will be plaster or brick is still under discussion. We lean towards white or yellow plaster with gray framed windows, lots of exterior lighting, and stainless steel fall protection at the floor-to-ceiling windows (yes, quite standard… but it suits our taste and is reasonably priced).
Good point, a skylight should definitely have a place in the upper floor stairwell. Maybe an additional one above the bathtub?
Thank you very much! The floor plan emerged from a four-week iterative process between the company’s (very experienced) salesperson and me. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but I can imagine he had support from an architect.
I haven’t really thought about the lighting in the upstairs hallway yet. A skylight would certainly be good in the stairwell—do you mean that by clerestory window?
Regarding the stairs, I agree—we are also leaning towards an open design. The problem is our dog currently doesn’t go up open stairs, but I strongly believe we can teach him over time. We really like steel stringer staircases, but that will definitely be a cost consideration...
I completely agree with you. However, I see many “standard” floor plans that I don’t like at all in terms of spatial concept and detailed solutions. We also talked to two freelance architects locally well regarded in our area, and they provided drafts that all looked “standard” to me.
But it probably also depends on us—we simply like standard and communicated that accordingly. We have always been clear that we don’t want bay windows (just reduce light and not our taste), no conservatories (a conservatory facing west or even south—not for me, I’m from the north, I don’t like heat 😉), no awkwardly shaped rooms, no 45° angled walls, but rather clean lines because we simply prefer it that way.
daniels87 schrieb:
I really like it too. Nice floor plan.
And as a compromise, would moving the washer and dryer to the utility room (HAR) be an option? Then the bathroom would be nicely spacious.
Having the washer and dryer in the utility room (HAR) on the ground floor would theoretically be possible, but the utility room there is probably planned a bit too small for that. We really like the concept of laundry on the upper floor since it avoids annoying trips back and forth, and of course, this means sacrificing a very large bathroom on the upper floor with this layout. That is actually the only issue that still bothers me, but as someone already said here, compromises seem inevitable. However, I do think that the utility room upstairs can definitely be equipped with one or two cabinets to store towels and other bathroom items. It’s large enough—especially if you just place the dryer on top of the washing machine.
If it becomes a problem in 15 years, you could probably combine the rooms during a bathroom renovation.
ypg schrieb:
What kind of house will this be? What type of roof will it have?
The building regulations don’t leave us much flexibility 😉 Gable roof with a 45° pitch, knee wall between 1 and 1.25 meters (3.3 and 4.1 feet), maximum eaves height 4.50 meters (14.8 feet)—we’re pushing that limit. Gable dormer on the south side. Whether the exterior finish will be plaster or brick is still under discussion. We lean towards white or yellow plaster with gray framed windows, lots of exterior lighting, and stainless steel fall protection at the floor-to-ceiling windows (yes, quite standard… but it suits our taste and is reasonably priced).
daniels87 schrieb:
If the storage room remains, maybe a skylight in the hallway?
Good point, a skylight should definitely have a place in the upper floor stairwell. Maybe an additional one above the bathtub?
Jochen104 schrieb:
I really like it too. Haven’t seen such a nice floor plan in a long time.
Was it designed by an architect?
Have you thought about the lighting conditions in the upstairs hallway? Maybe a clerestory window could bring some light into the darker areas.
Also, I would lean towards an open staircase, as in my opinion that lets more light into the upper floor than a closed one.
Thank you very much! The floor plan emerged from a four-week iterative process between the company’s (very experienced) salesperson and me. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but I can imagine he had support from an architect.
I haven’t really thought about the lighting in the upstairs hallway yet. A skylight would certainly be good in the stairwell—do you mean that by clerestory window?
Regarding the stairs, I agree—we are also leaning towards an open design. The problem is our dog currently doesn’t go up open stairs, but I strongly believe we can teach him over time. We really like steel stringer staircases, but that will definitely be a cost consideration...
BeHaElJa schrieb:
Your praise is much appreciated—and I don’t want to question the really good floor plan—but isn’t the layout relatively standard?
I completely agree with you. However, I see many “standard” floor plans that I don’t like at all in terms of spatial concept and detailed solutions. We also talked to two freelance architects locally well regarded in our area, and they provided drafts that all looked “standard” to me.
But it probably also depends on us—we simply like standard and communicated that accordingly. We have always been clear that we don’t want bay windows (just reduce light and not our taste), no conservatories (a conservatory facing west or even south—not for me, I’m from the north, I don’t like heat 😉), no awkwardly shaped rooms, no 45° angled walls, but rather clean lines because we simply prefer it that way.
BeHaElJa schrieb:
but the floor plan itself is fairly standard, isn’t it?And what’s wrong with that?Tego12 schrieb:
I haven’t really thought about the lighting conditions in the hallway upstairs yet. A roof window would certainly be good in the staircase area, is that what you mean by a skylight? There are different options. But I would make sure you also have natural daylight in the hallway.
BeHaElJa schrieb:
Your praise is deserved – and without questioning the really good floor plan – but the layout itself is rather standard, isn't it?The difference between good and bad lies in the details!
Even something like omitting a washing machine space on the upper floor almost makes it poor, as the utility room would be too small.
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