ᐅ Single-family home floor plan: urban villa with separate apartment – what do you think?

Created on: 16 Jan 2014 15:43
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davegoldmann
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davegoldmann
16 Jan 2014 15:43
Hello everyone,

here you can find the floor plans and elevations of our single-family house with a granny flat. I look forward to your feedback and ideas.

Note: Images are no longer available
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davegoldmann
16 Jan 2014 20:40
Hello bau bau,

Yes, the granny flat is intended for grandma. The access to the granny flat is next to the garage; you go down the stairs to the landing. We also arrive at the same landing when going from the main apartment on the ground floor to the basement. That’s why there is an additional door to separate the living units. Looking forward to your feedback.
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davegoldmann
18 Jan 2014 12:46
Hello bau bau,

thank you very much for your detailed post. I will address your points according to your numbering.

1) We deliberately planned the entrance through the house so she can easily enter even in winter. A stairlift can be installed. At the moment, she is still very fit. Climbing the stairs should help her stay that way 🙂. Later on, we will add the stairlift.

2) The slope on the east side allows for a lot of windows there. On the south side, there are already two windows; maybe we will add a third floor-to-ceiling one next to them. She also gets sunlight through the south-facing windows around midday. In winter, that might be until 2 pm (14:00), but the sun sets about two hours later anyway. She gets east/south sun. No west sun, but on the ground floor, that isn’t really possible anyway, due to the garage and neighboring buildings. I don't see how we could get more light and sun in there. The granny flat has plenty of windows.

3) Storage space is a good point; there might be room next to the kitchen, there’s wall space there. The washing machine is planned for her bathroom but could also be used together in the utility room.

4) The sliding door between cooking and dining will probably not be easy to implement—where exactly should it slide to? The pantry will be removed because the kitchen is too small. I need the space for additional kitchen cabinets.

7) I am considering the vestibule/entrance area. We’ll see.

8) The garage cannot be wider because the property boundary is on the left side and on the right side there must be space for access to the granny flat. We will have to manage with 3 meters (10 feet).

9) The staircase will get a window on the upper floor. It should provide some light from the ground floor to the attic. Otherwise, we will have to rely on artificial lighting.

10) I would like a west-facing window in the bathroom as well, but I’m not sure where the sauna would go then. The idea of the window by the bathtub is nice. The shower is too small for me; it should be a bit wider. We’ll see if the architect can come up with something. Ideally, I would like a T-shaped layout with hidden toilet and shower, but then I don’t know where to put the sauna.

11) We love having many windows, preferably floor-to-ceiling. But the slope behind is true—it might seem a bit uncomfortable.

12) Yes, 2 by 3 windows would look better. That was probably an attempt to get as much light in as possible.

13) Probably roller shutters.

14) Yes, from late afternoon and evening no sun reaches the living room anymore. But due to the neighboring buildings, the sun sets behind the houses anyway. In winter, sunlight reaches the living room until about 2 pm (14:00). Two hours later, it goes down anyway. We need the area behind the garage as a substitute for an extra basement storage room. The basement space is already fully allocated. One free room will be used as a party room. Maybe the garage will be windowless for burglary protection. We will ask if it is possible to add a window there.
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davegoldmann
22 Jan 2014 12:56
4) We visited the architect yesterday. He came up with the idea to move the toilet and the cloakroom slightly forward to create more space in the kitchen. The pantry will be sized at 75cm x 130cm (30 inches x 51 inches) with a sliding door on the left kitchen wall. This makes the kitchen a bit longer and provides more room for kitchen units. The kitchen door will be shifted slightly so that we can place the refrigerator behind the kitchen door and in front of the pantry. I hope you understand what I mean :-).

10) We are not very familiar with saunas and don't know which one to choose. For the bathroom, we will slightly move the door to the left so that the sauna fits behind it, measuring 180cm x 150cm (71 inches x 59 inches). Above the sauna, there will be a toilet and bidet in front of the central window. This will make them somewhat hidden. The sinks will be placed along the wall parallel to the staircase. The shower will stay where it is but will be extended along the west side to allow side access. You enter the shower passing the sinks and then turn right into it. The bathtub will be placed on the north wall, directly to the right of the shower. There will naturally be a west-facing window as well. I think the idea is quite good. What do you think?

In the bedroom, we are combining two windows into one, so they are continuous as on the ground floor. This will give us a nice panoramic view.
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bau-bau
22 Jan 2014 15:41
Do you have the updated plans for the modified rooms ready? It’s best to have both the old and the new plan, so I can check more easily. 🙂
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davegoldmann
22 Jan 2014 16:10
No, unfortunately not yet, it will only be available next week.