ᐅ Floor Plan: Semi-Detached House 8x12 m – Feedback and Creative Ideas Welcome :)
Created on: 28 Apr 2020 13:37
J
Jucruzlo
Hello everyone,
I’ve also been experimenting a bit with floor plans for our plot.
Background: At the moment, we are in contact with a general contractor (GC) and a prefab home builder. It will probably end up being a combination of an independent architect and a GC (thanks for the tip @ant11). However, it is very difficult to find an architect right now – but of course, I couldn’t just sit still and had to try a little myself. I worked with the app MagicPlan. Although we have already received a floor plan from the prefab builder, it really didn’t suit us at all. So, here we go – thank you in advance to everyone who takes a look :-*
I’m also happy to take any tips on how to find an architect who doesn’t only work on projects over 1 million (dollars/pounds). :-P
A quick note on orientation: The balcony on the upper floor and the living room face southwest. It has to be that way. The rear side borders directly onto open fields.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 410m2 (4,410 sq ft)
Slope: no
Building window: 5m (16 ft) from the street, 12m (39 ft) house length, 8.1m (27 ft) width for the house, and 3m (10 ft) width for the garage. Plot dimensions 11.1m (36 ft) × 37m (121 ft)
Number of parking spaces: -
Number of floors: Max. 2 full floors, no knee walls allowed
Roof type: pitched roof with a 25–45 degree slope
Architectural style: any
Orientation: southwest
Maximum height / limits: ridge height 9m (30 ft), wall height max. 4.70m (15 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: nice :-P
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full floors (slight slopes from 1.80m (5 ft 11 in) due to prescribed wall height)
Number of people, age: 3 people, including a toddler (2 years old) – another child planned
Space requirement ground floor, upper floor: 140–160m2 (1,500–1,720 sq ft)
Office: guest room on ground floor used as office
Guests per year: currently rarely – in older age, space for parents/in-laws desired
Open or closed layout: open floor plan
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony for drying laundry
Garage, carport: garage – carport would also be acceptable if advantages prevail
House design
Designed by: me (trained architect through various apps :-P – just kidding)
What do you like most? Why?
What don’t you like? Why?
Why did the design turn out as it is now?
We wanted an open floor plan because we have a lot of visitors, and I always find it a shame to disappear into the kitchen while everything is happening in the living area. It was also important for us to have a separate parents’ area for complete privacy and a balcony for drying laundry in summer. A guest shower on the ground floor was needed, and it is important to me to do laundry on the upper floor (where the laundry is generated).
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
Note:
The windows are just placed approximately. I also don’t know how to view the exterior – of course, we will position the windows accordingly.
I’ve also been experimenting a bit with floor plans for our plot.
Background: At the moment, we are in contact with a general contractor (GC) and a prefab home builder. It will probably end up being a combination of an independent architect and a GC (thanks for the tip @ant11). However, it is very difficult to find an architect right now – but of course, I couldn’t just sit still and had to try a little myself. I worked with the app MagicPlan. Although we have already received a floor plan from the prefab builder, it really didn’t suit us at all. So, here we go – thank you in advance to everyone who takes a look :-*
I’m also happy to take any tips on how to find an architect who doesn’t only work on projects over 1 million (dollars/pounds). :-P
A quick note on orientation: The balcony on the upper floor and the living room face southwest. It has to be that way. The rear side borders directly onto open fields.
Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 410m2 (4,410 sq ft)
Slope: no
Building window: 5m (16 ft) from the street, 12m (39 ft) house length, 8.1m (27 ft) width for the house, and 3m (10 ft) width for the garage. Plot dimensions 11.1m (36 ft) × 37m (121 ft)
Number of parking spaces: -
Number of floors: Max. 2 full floors, no knee walls allowed
Roof type: pitched roof with a 25–45 degree slope
Architectural style: any
Orientation: southwest
Maximum height / limits: ridge height 9m (30 ft), wall height max. 4.70m (15 ft)
Owners’ requirements
Style, roof type, building type: nice :-P
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full floors (slight slopes from 1.80m (5 ft 11 in) due to prescribed wall height)
Number of people, age: 3 people, including a toddler (2 years old) – another child planned
Space requirement ground floor, upper floor: 140–160m2 (1,500–1,720 sq ft)
Office: guest room on ground floor used as office
Guests per year: currently rarely – in older age, space for parents/in-laws desired
Open or closed layout: open floor plan
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony for drying laundry
Garage, carport: garage – carport would also be acceptable if advantages prevail
House design
Designed by: me (trained architect through various apps :-P – just kidding)
What do you like most? Why?
- Garage access through utility room
- Few hallway areas but still with a wardrobe
- Open living concept and straight staircase (platform stairs couldn’t be depicted)
- Separate bathroom for kids
- Spacious walk-in closet
- Laundry room on upper floor
- Access through bedroom/bath to walk-in closet
What don’t you like? Why?
- No pantry on the ground floor
- Kids’ rooms on the north side
- Having to enter the parents’ walk-in closet first – would prefer two wall closets like houses in America
- Upper floor hallway very narrow and access to kids’ room 1 hardly feasible – on the other hand, I don’t like wasted space and enlarging the hallway would reduce kids’ room sizes. Any solutions?
- I find the garage quite practical but it takes away window area – will the ground floor be too dark, and should we rather go with a carport?
Why did the design turn out as it is now?
We wanted an open floor plan because we have a lot of visitors, and I always find it a shame to disappear into the kitchen while everything is happening in the living area. It was also important for us to have a separate parents’ area for complete privacy and a balcony for drying laundry in summer. A guest shower on the ground floor was needed, and it is important to me to do laundry on the upper floor (where the laundry is generated).
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
- General opinion on the floor plan
- See “what I don’t like” – suggestions for improvements welcome
Note:
The windows are just placed approximately. I also don’t know how to view the exterior – of course, we will position the windows accordingly.
I like the floor plan. Okay, I’m not a big fan of the bathroom layout. Having the toilet so prominently in the way is annoying. I would change that.
What really puts me off, though, is the garage again. It makes the kitchen as dark as night. While the living room light brightens the space overall, whenever you want to do something in the kitchen, you always need artificial lighting. That would be a nightmare for me.
I would try to park the cars in front of the house to be able to open up the left wall of the plan for windows. So, where is the site plan?
What really puts me off, though, is the garage again. It makes the kitchen as dark as night. While the living room light brightens the space overall, whenever you want to do something in the kitchen, you always need artificial lighting. That would be a nightmare for me.
I would try to park the cars in front of the house to be able to open up the left wall of the plan for windows. So, where is the site plan?
Our house is exactly 8 meters (26 feet) wide as well, and we have the living and dining areas side by side with the kitchen behind, but we don’t have a TV-fireplace partition wall. From a spatial perspective, I can say that 8 meters (26 feet) would be sufficient for such a wall. Cable routing in the floor needs to be planned early. You could possibly place a bench against the partition wall, which saves space at the dining table. I really appreciate that someone here prefers not to place the sofa in front of the window, but facing the garden instead.
Having the children’s rooms to the north and the parents’ rooms to the south facing the garden seems suboptimal to me; I would swap those sides. The dressing room would need to be arranged differently then. However, I already like the upstairs floor plan as it is! The balcony would be difficult in that case, but perhaps an exit onto the garage would suffice? Some people actually hang their laundry there. However, I would switch to a carport or parking space and instead create a closed annex or garden shed for storage. Just keep in mind that you can’t store everything in unheated rooms. You also need storage space inside the house, which is currently inadequate. Do you have an attic?
Regarding the guest room downstairs: You don’t want the staircase in the dirt zone, but your parents are supposed to live there and walk barefoot through it to get to the bathroom. It’s very thoughtful of you to want to create a future solution here, but I doubt two people would be happy in that tiny room with the small bathroom right next to the front door, especially if they require care. Who says only one person will be “left”? I still see it as an important room for an office and guest room. However, I would probably eliminate the shower there—for the reasons mentioned above—and keep the children’s bathroom upstairs. Otherwise, they would also have to walk through the dirt zone. Once the children have moved out, a stairlift could be installed, and your parents could then move in.
Having the children’s rooms to the north and the parents’ rooms to the south facing the garden seems suboptimal to me; I would swap those sides. The dressing room would need to be arranged differently then. However, I already like the upstairs floor plan as it is! The balcony would be difficult in that case, but perhaps an exit onto the garage would suffice? Some people actually hang their laundry there. However, I would switch to a carport or parking space and instead create a closed annex or garden shed for storage. Just keep in mind that you can’t store everything in unheated rooms. You also need storage space inside the house, which is currently inadequate. Do you have an attic?
Regarding the guest room downstairs: You don’t want the staircase in the dirt zone, but your parents are supposed to live there and walk barefoot through it to get to the bathroom. It’s very thoughtful of you to want to create a future solution here, but I doubt two people would be happy in that tiny room with the small bathroom right next to the front door, especially if they require care. Who says only one person will be “left”? I still see it as an important room for an office and guest room. However, I would probably eliminate the shower there—for the reasons mentioned above—and keep the children’s bathroom upstairs. Otherwise, they would also have to walk through the dirt zone. Once the children have moved out, a stairlift could be installed, and your parents could then move in.
I would definitely install the shower for the children upstairs. Otherwise, you end up with 20 shampoo bottles and other clutter in the guest bathroom, especially if your children prefer to shower with you because going downstairs is too inconvenient. I would also add a shower on the ground floor or at least prepare for one so it can be installed later without major renovations.
S
saralina8729 Apr 2020 09:11I find it fascinating that none of the usually quite vocal advocates for storage space have criticized the floor plan yet – could it be that a shift in thinking has taken place?
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