ᐅ Floor Plan Design for a Single-Family Home, 9.60m x 10.40m

Hello everyone,

My husband and I have now purchased our plot and are currently working on a possible floor plan for our little house. Here are the details so far:

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 500m² (6000 ft²)
Slope: yes, approx. 2.5m (8 feet) across the length of the plot
Site occupancy index (floor space ratio): 0.4
Floor area ratio:
Building envelope, building line and boundary
Number of parking spaces: 1.5 (carport + driveway)
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: gable roof
Maximum heights / limits: eaves height of gable roof 6m (20 feet), building height 8m (26 feet)
Other requirements

Client Requirements
Basement, floors: basement yes, plus 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 2 people, 34/37 years old + dog (later 1 child, option for a 2nd child’s room on the upper floor, otherwise planned as an office)
Space requirement on ground floor and upper floor: total approx. 160m² (1700 ft²) excluding basement
Office: family use or home office? home office
Guest stays per year: 2 people, approx. 4 weeks per year
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: should be nice
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: would actually like one, but we haven’t found a suitable spot yet
Music / stereo wall –
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, driveway on the west edge of the plot; carport will be on the west side of the house
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why certain things should or should not be included:

• The basement on the north side should be completely above ground. The office and guest room will be built conventionally.
• Currently a bit problematic (due to staircase design): in the basement the north side is the “good” side, on the ground floor it’s the south side.
• Entrance to the house on the west side

House design
Who designed the plan: my husband
What do you like most? Why? Ground floor: nicely open and airy, with views of the garden and terrace
What do you not like? Why? Hallway on the upper floor possibly too small and cramped? Office in the basement relatively narrow.
Price estimate according to the architect/planner: -
Personal budget limit for the house, including fittings: 450,000€ (turnkey)
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump + photovoltaic

If you have to give up anything, which details / extensions
- can you give up: fireplace
- cannot give up: exit from basement to garden, open living/dining area

Why did the design turn out the way it did? For example:
The design has been revised multiple times by us. The dimensions (especially the width) we now have are nearly the maximum allowed because of distance regulations in combination with the overall height of the house.

• Ground floor: south side is used, many windows, living and dining area with a view of the garden
• Upper floor: children’s rooms and office on the south side, bedroom northeast
• Basement: additional office and guest room in the exposed north side of the house; housekeeping/utility and gym rooms are planned on the south side

What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?

Do you find the house comfortable to live in? Or does it feel too cramped upstairs because of the small hallway? Any improvement suggestions from experienced builders here?

Many thanks in advance for your feedback

Best regards,
Rennratte

The site plan is almost unreadable – the elevation points are illegible. I also can’t see any reason for the exterior dimensions.

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I'll just throw in the classic here: 450k is quite ambitious for this project.

I’m also having trouble with the plot (photo/screenshot), but especially with the house, which, as @saralina87 mentioned, might cost a bit more than 450k.

There are several things I don’t like. The house could be more open and airy, but instead, it seems like all the interesting features and possibilities are minimized by putting a catalog home on the plot.

It starts with the staircase, which turns opposite to the slope. The kitchen has more of a townhouse layout and is hard to find from the entrance, facing away from the terrace. Upstairs, the narrow corridor is quite cramped. You can definitely get much more value out of 160 sqm (1722 sq ft) on the ground and upper floors. You also still have the basement level...

Does it really have to be a blocky urban villa?

11ant schrieb:

Almost nothing is legible on the site plan – the elevation points are unreadable. I also can’t make out any reason for the external dimensions.

Sorry, I didn’t consider the elevation points very important at first, but I have now uploaded a clearer version of the file.

Regarding the external dimensions:

At the northern edge of the building plot, the property is 16.50m (54 feet) wide. Since we want the garden on the south side, we plan to position the house completely towards the north within the building area. The driveway including the carport will be located to the west of the house. The width for the carport will be about 3.5m (11.5 feet).

The spacing calculation was done according to the regional building regulations BW §5. However, we have been told several times that ultimately the actual ground surface before construction will be used to calculate the setback distances.

In the attached image, the red numbers indicate the elevations relative to the current ground level, and the black numbers refer to the planned ground level (after excavation and filling).

In the worst case:
(7.10 + 8.50) / 2 = 7.8m (25.6 feet)
2m (6.6 feet) x 0.25 = 50cm (20 inches)
(0.5 + 7.8m) * 0.4 = 3.32m (11 feet) setback

House width: 9.60m (31.5 feet)
Distance to the east side: 3.32m (11 feet)
-> This leaves a maximum width of 3.58m (11.75 feet) for the carport on the 16.50m (54 feet) wide plot.

Of course, this will need to be planned more precisely with the general contractor. It definitely won’t be exact down to the last centimeter.

ypg schrieb:

I’m also struggling with the plot (photo/screenshot), but with the house, which, as @saralina87 said, might cost a bit more than 450k.
There are several things I don’t like. The house could be more spacious and open, but instead, it tries to minimize all the interesting features and possibilities by sticking to a catalogue design.
It starts with the staircase, which turns opposite to the slope. The kitchen feels like a row house layout and is hard to find from the entrance, plus it faces away from the terrace. Upstairs, the narrow hallway is quite tight. From 160sqm (1,722 sq ft) on the ground and upper floors, you could get much more value. You also have the basement level...
Does it really have to be a block-like urban villa?

Hi,

Thanks for your feedback.

The 450k is planned for the house only, excluding the plot and additional construction costs. We will probably do the painting ourselves. For the basement, we’ll only have plastering done professionally, while laying the floor and painting will be done by us as well. In your opinion, what would be a more realistic price?

Staircase: What do you mean by “opposite”? The staircase runs parallel to the slope. The plot slopes from south to north. You enter the basement from the south going north, and the upper floor is accessed from the north going south. How should the staircase be arranged and why? I haven’t really thought about this yet.

Kitchen: By “row house layout” do you mean a narrow, corridor-like kitchen? Because the kitchen is 3.2m (10.5 feet) wide, so it’s not exactly narrow. Would it look better if it was less deep?

Hallway: I agree with you on that... that was also the point I mentioned in my original post.

Do you have any ideas or guidelines? Any floor plans you think would work better? Feel free to just sketch something roughly and we’ll try to develop it from there.

Thanks!
Cheers
Rennratte