Soon I will realize that the living room is 12 sqm (129 sq ft), the stair rise is too high, and the upper floor is messed up.
Please upload the general contractor’s plan. If they drew these points like this, watch out!
The plot seems to be very nicely located.
Edit: I also find the kitchen with 3 doors, which divide the counters into 4 sections, somewhat fragmented. The access to the open-plan living area is slowed down by the island.
Please upload the general contractor’s plan. If they drew these points like this, watch out!
The plot seems to be very nicely located.
Edit: I also find the kitchen with 3 doors, which divide the counters into 4 sections, somewhat fragmented. The access to the open-plan living area is slowed down by the island.
@ypg
Thanks in advance for the first reply.
- What do you mean by "WZ 12 sqm (129 sq ft)"?
- The stair rise was generated automatically by my software and is not drawn by the general contractor (GC). I will receive the final version from the GC next year; the staircase and the resulting changes to the upper floor are based on a sketch from the GC in the first version. If there isn’t enough space for a landing staircase, we agreed that the first stair step will be shifted into the hallway.
- What exactly do you find wrong with the upper floor that makes it "messed up"?
- It’s not yet decided if there will be a third door in the kitchen (which would open outward). My thought was that this door could save me from an awkward corner solution in the kitchen. But we still need to schedule an appointment with the kitchen fitter to see what is recommended.
Thanks in advance for the first reply.
- What do you mean by "WZ 12 sqm (129 sq ft)"?
- The stair rise was generated automatically by my software and is not drawn by the general contractor (GC). I will receive the final version from the GC next year; the staircase and the resulting changes to the upper floor are based on a sketch from the GC in the first version. If there isn’t enough space for a landing staircase, we agreed that the first stair step will be shifted into the hallway.
- What exactly do you find wrong with the upper floor that makes it "messed up"?
- It’s not yet decided if there will be a third door in the kitchen (which would open outward). My thought was that this door could save me from an awkward corner solution in the kitchen. But we still need to schedule an appointment with the kitchen fitter to see what is recommended.
Your living room is only about 12 sqm (130 sq ft). That’s hardly enough space. To me, it feels too cramped, especially since it’s hard to find sofas under 3 meters (10 feet) long or, as a family, you probably don’t want one smaller anyway.
The kitchen only has countertop space, which also functions as walkways. There isn’t really any room to move there. With more than three people, you could easily get in each other’s way.
The hallway or access to child 2’s room is terrible. The headwall in the bedroom is only 3 meters (10 feet) wide, which is too short—there’s hardly any space to move around with a 2-meter (6.5-foot) bed.
Leaving a step protruding from a narrow hallway will be a tripping hazard. That might look funny on TV, but in real life, tripping hazards and beds with only 50 cm (20 inches) of clearance aren’t really amusing. Also, the one-meter (3-foot) space around the kitchen island doesn’t feel like a kitchen atmosphere to me—it’s more like a maze.
One more thing I noticed: the technical installations should be inside the thermal envelope, which doesn’t seem to be the case with your design.
Regards
The kitchen only has countertop space, which also functions as walkways. There isn’t really any room to move there. With more than three people, you could easily get in each other’s way.
The hallway or access to child 2’s room is terrible. The headwall in the bedroom is only 3 meters (10 feet) wide, which is too short—there’s hardly any space to move around with a 2-meter (6.5-foot) bed.
Leaving a step protruding from a narrow hallway will be a tripping hazard. That might look funny on TV, but in real life, tripping hazards and beds with only 50 cm (20 inches) of clearance aren’t really amusing. Also, the one-meter (3-foot) space around the kitchen island doesn’t feel like a kitchen atmosphere to me—it’s more like a maze.
One more thing I noticed: the technical installations should be inside the thermal envelope, which doesn’t seem to be the case with your design.
Regards
@ypg:
-Okay, now I get the 12 m² (130 sq ft). Well, you could argue where the mental dividing line between the living and dining area is, but to me the fireplace definitely still belongs to the living room, which would bring us to about 16 m² (170 sq ft). On the south side, there is space for a sofa that's theoretically 3.7 m (12 ft) wide. That should be enough, right?
(We were also considering whether it makes sense to completely remove the door from the living room to the terrace and instead access the outside through the dining area. Could that be practical?)
-The kitchen, as mentioned, will still be designed by the kitchen planner; so far it’s just a rough suggestion from us.
-The heating system was initially planned inside the house in the first version but is now supposed to be relocated to the garage. The general contractor did mention that it will need to be enclosed there.
-Yes, the access to Child 2’s room really isn’t a highlight of the house. The general contractor first drew a right-angled solution, meaning the hallway initially led into Child 1’s room, then a door from the west side into Child 2’s room. We didn’t like that at all, so the idea of the “slanted” walls came from us. From the hallway side, it looks quite good visually, but from Child 2’s perspective, not so much... If anyone has an idea for a better layout without increasing Child 2’s room to over 20 m² (215 sq ft), please share!
-The 3 m (10 ft) headwall in the bedroom might be a tight fit, so we may need to rethink that.
-Okay, now I get the 12 m² (130 sq ft). Well, you could argue where the mental dividing line between the living and dining area is, but to me the fireplace definitely still belongs to the living room, which would bring us to about 16 m² (170 sq ft). On the south side, there is space for a sofa that's theoretically 3.7 m (12 ft) wide. That should be enough, right?
(We were also considering whether it makes sense to completely remove the door from the living room to the terrace and instead access the outside through the dining area. Could that be practical?)
-The kitchen, as mentioned, will still be designed by the kitchen planner; so far it’s just a rough suggestion from us.
-The heating system was initially planned inside the house in the first version but is now supposed to be relocated to the garage. The general contractor did mention that it will need to be enclosed there.
-Yes, the access to Child 2’s room really isn’t a highlight of the house. The general contractor first drew a right-angled solution, meaning the hallway initially led into Child 1’s room, then a door from the west side into Child 2’s room. We didn’t like that at all, so the idea of the “slanted” walls came from us. From the hallway side, it looks quite good visually, but from Child 2’s perspective, not so much... If anyone has an idea for a better layout without increasing Child 2’s room to over 20 m² (215 sq ft), please share!
-The 3 m (10 ft) headwall in the bedroom might be a tight fit, so we may need to rethink that.
J
j.bautsch21 Dec 2016 09:48So your staircase might technically comply with the standards (I haven’t checked), but it is definitely not comfortable or easy to use. I recommend testing several staircases (for example, in model homes or even a staircase showroom). I also think the step in the hallway is a very bad idea (quite dangerous).
The bedroom issue could be solved by sacrificing a bit of wardrobe space and placing the bed against the exterior wall, giving the wardrobe just 3 meters (10 feet).
The size of the living room is really a matter of personal taste (I don’t need a ballroom either).
Here is a suggestion: swap the kitchen and living area. The fireplace would of course need to be relocated as well. I would completely do without the pantry—what exactly do you expect from it?
But what am I saying, since the staircase doesn’t fit, many things will probably change anyway.
The bedroom issue could be solved by sacrificing a bit of wardrobe space and placing the bed against the exterior wall, giving the wardrobe just 3 meters (10 feet).
The size of the living room is really a matter of personal taste (I don’t need a ballroom either).
Here is a suggestion: swap the kitchen and living area. The fireplace would of course need to be relocated as well. I would completely do without the pantry—what exactly do you expect from it?
But what am I saying, since the staircase doesn’t fit, many things will probably change anyway.
@j.bautsch
- Yes, we probably need to test a few staircases in real life. Currently, a staircase measuring 18x26cm (7x10 inches) would fit. Personally, I don’t consider extending a stair tread by 10cm (4 inches) here dangerous, since it’s not in the middle of the hallway where a sudden step could surprise you, but at the end by the wall. Basically, it would mean the hallway is 1.50m (5 feet) wide instead of 1.6m (5.25 feet). (We saw something similar like this at friends’ place.)
- A pantry seems to be a matter of preference here, but for us it’s essential. Everything we currently store in the cooler pantry (fruit, vegetables, beverage crates, etc.) could never fit entirely in a kitchen. I would also prefer to keep the second freezer with all the meat supplies in the pantry rather than in the kitchen. Therefore, swapping the kitchen and living room is tricky since the pantry should be on the north side.
- Bedroom: We have an existing 4m (13 feet) wide, new, and quite expensive custom-built wardrobe that we want to keep using. It could be divided into two parts of 2x2m (6.5x6.5 feet), but I’m not sure if that would help?
- Yes, we probably need to test a few staircases in real life. Currently, a staircase measuring 18x26cm (7x10 inches) would fit. Personally, I don’t consider extending a stair tread by 10cm (4 inches) here dangerous, since it’s not in the middle of the hallway where a sudden step could surprise you, but at the end by the wall. Basically, it would mean the hallway is 1.50m (5 feet) wide instead of 1.6m (5.25 feet). (We saw something similar like this at friends’ place.)
- A pantry seems to be a matter of preference here, but for us it’s essential. Everything we currently store in the cooler pantry (fruit, vegetables, beverage crates, etc.) could never fit entirely in a kitchen. I would also prefer to keep the second freezer with all the meat supplies in the pantry rather than in the kitchen. Therefore, swapping the kitchen and living room is tricky since the pantry should be on the north side.
- Bedroom: We have an existing 4m (13 feet) wide, new, and quite expensive custom-built wardrobe that we want to keep using. It could be divided into two parts of 2x2m (6.5x6.5 feet), but I’m not sure if that would help?
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