ᐅ Floor Plan Revision: Tips and Experiences for Improvement?
Created on: 29 Aug 2025 22:16
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Philip St
Hello,
we had a local construction company prepare a design for our future building project, which we have already revised several times. We would be very grateful for tips or alternative design ideas for the current plan.
We would like an exposed roof truss and would prefer to do without the otherwise very small attic space.
We accepted the steep driveway in order to achieve a better view.
The terrace at the back is currently only accessible through the garden.
Construction is planned for about 8 months from now for various reasons. Two adults, two children (who will then be 13 and 11 years old).
Slightly sloped plot, 670sqm (7,215 sqft).
Development Plan / Restrictions
No development plan / zoning restrictions
Plot size
670sqm (7,215 sqft)
Slope
Yes, visible in the plan
Floor Area Ratio
2 (The builder said otherwise it would look too bulky and we only want two floors)
Number of parking spaces
We need at least two car spaces
Garage large enough for easy entry and exit. Parking in front of the garage must also be possible.
Roof style
Gable roof, staggered shed roof, flexible at this point, preferably with exposed roof truss because the current attic space is very limited
Architectural style
Modern, with lots of wood
Orientation
South
Maximum height / limits
Unknown to me. Neighbor does not accept any setback easement, so we have added greenery on the east side of the patio towards them.
Owners’ Requirements
Number of occupants
Two adults, 40 years old, two children, 11 and 13 years old
Office: Family use or home office?
Office to be usable as a guest room, no home office needed. Still requires a desk and cabinets
Possibly later on the upper floor as the parents’ bedroom, so one child can use the ground floor granny flat. So two separate living units.
Guest bedrooms per year
Very rare visitors
Open or closed architecture
Open, but with retreat options
Conservative or modern construction style
Modern
Open kitchen with cooking island
Seating for 8
Fireplace yes
Balcony currently planned, slightly overhangs the terrace below
Roof terrace on garage
Garage as a large multi-purpose garage with some storage space
Utility garden for ornamental plants, many shrubs, and a hedge at the front for privacy. We would prefer to avoid a shed.
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be
We want to take advantage of the view since the plot was expensive.
We are not fully satisfied with the current design, as I explained in the post.
Steep driveway, path from garage to kitchen, after the stairs you face a wall upstairs and don’t have a direct view out of the windows, roof terrace is isolated, no quick garden access from the upper floor to the north terrace
House Design
Who created the plan:
Construction company from our area, one architect prepared the plan
What do you particularly like? Why?
Good use of space inside and outdoors for a small plot
Enough garden area remains
Bright rooms, sleeping downstairs, living upstairs, large dining area, fireplace in living area, possible two living units later, half-landing stairs
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
680k including exterior works
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 700k excluding land
Preferred heating technology: Air heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details or features
We are completely flexible
Why is the design like it is?
Standard design from the planner? No, it was individually planned, but largely without us and with little discussion about details, no advice
Attached are images and the site plan.
we had a local construction company prepare a design for our future building project, which we have already revised several times. We would be very grateful for tips or alternative design ideas for the current plan.
We would like an exposed roof truss and would prefer to do without the otherwise very small attic space.
We accepted the steep driveway in order to achieve a better view.
The terrace at the back is currently only accessible through the garden.
Construction is planned for about 8 months from now for various reasons. Two adults, two children (who will then be 13 and 11 years old).
Slightly sloped plot, 670sqm (7,215 sqft).
Development Plan / Restrictions
No development plan / zoning restrictions
Plot size
670sqm (7,215 sqft)
Slope
Yes, visible in the plan
Floor Area Ratio
2 (The builder said otherwise it would look too bulky and we only want two floors)
Number of parking spaces
We need at least two car spaces
Garage large enough for easy entry and exit. Parking in front of the garage must also be possible.
Roof style
Gable roof, staggered shed roof, flexible at this point, preferably with exposed roof truss because the current attic space is very limited
Architectural style
Modern, with lots of wood
Orientation
South
Maximum height / limits
Unknown to me. Neighbor does not accept any setback easement, so we have added greenery on the east side of the patio towards them.
Owners’ Requirements
Number of occupants
Two adults, 40 years old, two children, 11 and 13 years old
Office: Family use or home office?
Office to be usable as a guest room, no home office needed. Still requires a desk and cabinets
Possibly later on the upper floor as the parents’ bedroom, so one child can use the ground floor granny flat. So two separate living units.
Guest bedrooms per year
Very rare visitors
Open or closed architecture
Open, but with retreat options
Conservative or modern construction style
Modern
Open kitchen with cooking island
Seating for 8
Fireplace yes
Balcony currently planned, slightly overhangs the terrace below
Roof terrace on garage
Garage as a large multi-purpose garage with some storage space
Utility garden for ornamental plants, many shrubs, and a hedge at the front for privacy. We would prefer to avoid a shed.
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be
We want to take advantage of the view since the plot was expensive.
We are not fully satisfied with the current design, as I explained in the post.
Steep driveway, path from garage to kitchen, after the stairs you face a wall upstairs and don’t have a direct view out of the windows, roof terrace is isolated, no quick garden access from the upper floor to the north terrace
House Design
Who created the plan:
Construction company from our area, one architect prepared the plan
What do you particularly like? Why?
Good use of space inside and outdoors for a small plot
Enough garden area remains
Bright rooms, sleeping downstairs, living upstairs, large dining area, fireplace in living area, possible two living units later, half-landing stairs
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
680k including exterior works
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 700k excluding land
Preferred heating technology: Air heat pump
If you had to give up something, which details or features
We are completely flexible
Why is the design like it is?
Standard design from the planner? No, it was individually planned, but largely without us and with little discussion about details, no advice
Attached are images and the site plan.
P
Philip St30 Aug 2025 13:56The view is exactly as shown in the pictures and will not change. We are just looking for a solution to slightly redesign the plan in order to eliminate the steep driveway, and, of course, any kind of improvements are very helpful.
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hanghaus202330 Aug 2025 14:12haydee schrieb:
Is the view definitely protected from construction? I just want to avoid that the next housing development or an extension massively changes the view. It’s already quite built up. To the southwest, there is a three-story building. Next to it is a two-story building with a garage in front. The view mostly consists of the buildings across the street. 🙄
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Philip St30 Aug 2025 14:17For us, it is a great view and we enjoy it. However, the steep driveway and the mentioned issues are naturally the priority. Therefore, I would be interested in suggestions for changes.
Philip St schrieb:
What would the solution be then? To place the house completely lower, give up the view, and access the garden from the upper floor at the back? That way, the garage driveway is almost level, but then there would be no light at the back of the basement either. That’s how we have it. The basement faces the garden at ground level and the street side is at street level, with the garage also at street level. Above the garage is a balcony from the dining room, which then wraps around the corner of the house to form a terrace leading into the garden, with an additional entrance from a hallway. I personally really like it. We have a nice view from the balcony over the garage and from the dining room (and also from the kitchen if there were no house in the way), while still having direct ground-level access to the garden and from the basement.
The downside is having steps up to the front door (in our case only 8 or 9, since the front door side is higher than the garage side). Our house also has an upper floor and an attic.
However, our house is an older building with different basement requirements than if it were intended as living space. Plus, our site has such a steep slope that a design like this is basically necessary.
Philip St schrieb:
My wife insists on having a connection between the garage and the house,“Better halves” aren’t always wiser. After a dozen years with half a kilometer walk between garage and house (no envy, it's not the same property), I can count on one hand how many times I got wet on that path.I sketched how I would position the buildings. Next to the garage, I left space for trash bins; otherwise, I kept the garage shape the same. I made the house one meter (3 feet) wider on the footprint and left it with the lower-left corner in the same position for easier comparison. Widening it by one and a half meters (5 feet) could actually save a whole meter (3 feet) in footprint while resulting in a height difference of 20 centimeters (8 inches) between the upper and lower eaves on a 20% slope:
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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hanghaus202330 Aug 2025 17:34If you really want to go high up for the view, then maybe like this.
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