ᐅ Single-family house floor plan, approximately 150 sqm, with east-facing garden
Created on: 9 Jan 2020 21:17
O
OWLer
Hello everyone,
after reading many threads here about how well-intentioned floor plans are expertly dissected, I’m now stepping out from the shadows. We plan to build this year and have already purchased the plot. We are currently in discussions with two providers. Provider 1 never really impressed us with their designs and plans very large houses without offering much living space. I’m bringing Provider 2 into the discussion here because, apart from the points mentioned below, we still like their design.
We hope the collective forum expertise will point out some pitfalls and maybe even help solve our hallway dilemma.
Sorry for the rough sketches of the measurements.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 610 sqm (648 with purchased noise barrier)
Slope: approx. 70cm (28 inches) over 19m (62 feet), sloping from north to south
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3m (10 feet) from the street, 3m (10 feet) to neighbors north/south, building envelope 10m (33 feet) east-west
Edge development
Number of parking spaces
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: gable roof ≤45°
Architectural style
Orientation: ridge running north-south
Maximum heights / limits: max. ridge height 10.5m (34 feet), eaves max. 6.0m (20 feet)
Other requirements: On the east side, a noise barrier is built along half of the plot, with forest behind it. Due to the noise barrier, the garden is practically not visible from outside.
Clients’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: rather classic
Basement, number of floors: basement, 1.5 floors
Number of residents, age: currently 2 (ages 33 and 27 – planning 2 children)
Space requirements on ground floor: shower WC, open living space (kitchen, dining, living), study; upper floor: 2 kids’ rooms, bathroom, master bedroom (walk-in closet)
Office: home office (teaching profession)
Overnight guests per year: approx. 15
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative and brick-faced
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: preferably yes, budget permitting
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport / budget permitting
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons for why or why not something is desired
House Design
Designer: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
We really like the upper floor. Room sizes fit well. We can’t really assess the master bedroom on the south side yet. The kids’ rooms seem the right size and have a good layout in my opinion.
A guest room was not a requirement – apparently there was space on the upper floor. We are not unhappy about that.
The living-dining area really appeals to me. Kitchen opening to the terrace. My wife likes the pantry options with access to the garden, basement, and carport.
What don’t you like? Why?
What we don’t like is the narrow corridors. I imagine 1.2m (4 feet) and 1m (3 feet) very cramped. Between the carport and along the stairs, this wouldn’t bother me so much, but the entrance definitely should be wider.
The master bedroom on the south side does not convince me much.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: >440k€
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: approx. 440k€
Preferred heating system: gas heating required by the plot purchase contract.
If you had to give up something, which details / features could you do without:
I could do without the pantry and use that space for the WC instead. My wife, however, sees this differently.
Which features can you not give up:
The study on the ground floor is a must due to my teaching profession. The idea is to be able to drop things off in the study after returning from school, close the door, and have some downtime without needing to go upstairs or downstairs.
The basement is also essential. Many friends and acquaintances who have built in recent years do so mostly without basements. It takes iron discipline to keep utility rooms “tidy.” We manage that in our rental now but want to move away from that. We don’t want to become hoarders but want more space to spread out. Also, I want to be able to store all my tools in the basement and comfortably repair my bicycles.
Why was the design made the way it is?
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
Large windows on the ground floor facing the garden, as it is not directly visible.
A bay window on the street side is mandatory for the look. The planned flat-roof bay will definitely be changed to a pitched roof. The plaster on the bay will be replaced by brick cladding. We find the bay window to the garden quite nice. Not a must-have, but it was part of the planning basis we provided and, in my opinion, positively impacts the kids’ rooms.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
How do you evaluate the usability of the pantry—does it work as well as we imagine it? What other ways, besides widening the house, do you see to widen the corridors? Does the indicated wardrobe area fit?
In principle, I would like to build it this way if only the narrow corridors weren’t an issue. Making the house 25-50cm (10-20 inches) wider is not technically feasible and probably financially difficult.
after reading many threads here about how well-intentioned floor plans are expertly dissected, I’m now stepping out from the shadows. We plan to build this year and have already purchased the plot. We are currently in discussions with two providers. Provider 1 never really impressed us with their designs and plans very large houses without offering much living space. I’m bringing Provider 2 into the discussion here because, apart from the points mentioned below, we still like their design.
We hope the collective forum expertise will point out some pitfalls and maybe even help solve our hallway dilemma.
Sorry for the rough sketches of the measurements.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 610 sqm (648 with purchased noise barrier)
Slope: approx. 70cm (28 inches) over 19m (62 feet), sloping from north to south
Site coverage ratio: 0.4
Floor area ratio: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3m (10 feet) from the street, 3m (10 feet) to neighbors north/south, building envelope 10m (33 feet) east-west
Edge development
Number of parking spaces
Number of stories: 2
Roof type: gable roof ≤45°
Architectural style
Orientation: ridge running north-south
Maximum heights / limits: max. ridge height 10.5m (34 feet), eaves max. 6.0m (20 feet)
Other requirements: On the east side, a noise barrier is built along half of the plot, with forest behind it. Due to the noise barrier, the garden is practically not visible from outside.
Clients’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: rather classic
Basement, number of floors: basement, 1.5 floors
Number of residents, age: currently 2 (ages 33 and 27 – planning 2 children)
Space requirements on ground floor: shower WC, open living space (kitchen, dining, living), study; upper floor: 2 kids’ rooms, bathroom, master bedroom (walk-in closet)
Office: home office (teaching profession)
Overnight guests per year: approx. 15
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative and brick-faced
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: preferably yes, budget permitting
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport / budget permitting
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Further wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons for why or why not something is desired
House Design
Designer: planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?
We really like the upper floor. Room sizes fit well. We can’t really assess the master bedroom on the south side yet. The kids’ rooms seem the right size and have a good layout in my opinion.
A guest room was not a requirement – apparently there was space on the upper floor. We are not unhappy about that.
The living-dining area really appeals to me. Kitchen opening to the terrace. My wife likes the pantry options with access to the garden, basement, and carport.
What don’t you like? Why?
What we don’t like is the narrow corridors. I imagine 1.2m (4 feet) and 1m (3 feet) very cramped. Between the carport and along the stairs, this wouldn’t bother me so much, but the entrance definitely should be wider.
The master bedroom on the south side does not convince me much.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: >440k€
Personal price limit for the house, including fittings: approx. 440k€
Preferred heating system: gas heating required by the plot purchase contract.
If you had to give up something, which details / features could you do without:
I could do without the pantry and use that space for the WC instead. My wife, however, sees this differently.
Which features can you not give up:
The study on the ground floor is a must due to my teaching profession. The idea is to be able to drop things off in the study after returning from school, close the door, and have some downtime without needing to go upstairs or downstairs.
The basement is also essential. Many friends and acquaintances who have built in recent years do so mostly without basements. It takes iron discipline to keep utility rooms “tidy.” We manage that in our rental now but want to move away from that. We don’t want to become hoarders but want more space to spread out. Also, I want to be able to store all my tools in the basement and comfortably repair my bicycles.
Why was the design made the way it is?
Standard design from the planner?
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?
Large windows on the ground floor facing the garden, as it is not directly visible.
A bay window on the street side is mandatory for the look. The planned flat-roof bay will definitely be changed to a pitched roof. The plaster on the bay will be replaced by brick cladding. We find the bay window to the garden quite nice. Not a must-have, but it was part of the planning basis we provided and, in my opinion, positively impacts the kids’ rooms.
A mix of many examples from various magazines...
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
How do you evaluate the usability of the pantry—does it work as well as we imagine it? What other ways, besides widening the house, do you see to widen the corridors? Does the indicated wardrobe area fit?
In principle, I would like to build it this way if only the narrow corridors weren’t an issue. Making the house 25-50cm (10-20 inches) wider is not technically feasible and probably financially difficult.
hausnrplus25 schrieb:
Didn’t you know the prices beforehand?Yes, we did. However, when we were finally asked to choose which facing brick to use, we went with the slim format. This alone requires 36% more bricks and increases the installation costs. If we had chosen the standard format, we would have stayed within budget.
Also, for example, we decided to install significantly more built-in spotlights in the ceiling than we initially planned.
One thing led to another.
Ah, building a house is truly… stressful.
After the almost final discussions with the kitchen studio, we wanted the countertop to extend into the window sill. The builder adjusted this accordingly and lowered the rough opening of the kitchen window. However, the information that all exterior windows should still line up perfectly got lost in communication.
The result would have been that the corner window looked noticeably different from the others—both in size and position. We checked this onsite and decided to add another row of bricks so everything aligns again. The kitchen will then simply have a standard-depth countertop. It’s really interesting what can happen during construction.
Then we could finally get a feel for the interior layout, and what can I say – we have way too many windows and too few exterior walls. We will now have this corrected by bricking up one window. That particular window had been a point of discussion anyway – it was recently added back into the design just before finalizing, but now it’s being removed again.
That way, we can place a nice display cabinet or hang a picture on the wall. Otherwise, this would have been barely possible in the combined kitchen/dining area.
Is (warning: distortion due to wide-angle):
Paint skills should:
Now we just hope this decision turns out to be the right one. At this stage, closing off is definitely easier than reopening. The general contractor is still checking as a precaution whether they have the 150 extra facing bricks on site, and I have informed the energy consultant about the change as well.
After the almost final discussions with the kitchen studio, we wanted the countertop to extend into the window sill. The builder adjusted this accordingly and lowered the rough opening of the kitchen window. However, the information that all exterior windows should still line up perfectly got lost in communication.
The result would have been that the corner window looked noticeably different from the others—both in size and position. We checked this onsite and decided to add another row of bricks so everything aligns again. The kitchen will then simply have a standard-depth countertop. It’s really interesting what can happen during construction.
Then we could finally get a feel for the interior layout, and what can I say – we have way too many windows and too few exterior walls. We will now have this corrected by bricking up one window. That particular window had been a point of discussion anyway – it was recently added back into the design just before finalizing, but now it’s being removed again.
That way, we can place a nice display cabinet or hang a picture on the wall. Otherwise, this would have been barely possible in the combined kitchen/dining area.
Is (warning: distortion due to wide-angle):
Paint skills should:
Now we just hope this decision turns out to be the right one. At this stage, closing off is definitely easier than reopening. The general contractor is still checking as a precaution whether they have the 150 extra facing bricks on site, and I have informed the energy consultant about the change as well.
OWLer schrieb:
We could place a nice display cabinet there or hang a picture on the wall.The forest is actually the most beautiful "picture" you can imagine! So, I wouldn’t wall that space up but rather place a slim display cabinet between the two windows. Our floor plan is quite similar, except we even have floor-to-ceiling windows on the side. I really like it when I sit at the table and can look out into the garden instead of at a wall. And someone will always end up sitting with their back to the living room/sofa.
I think it’s good that the kitchen window is going back to a higher position. From the outside, it always looks untidy when you can see everything sitting on the countertop. Opening the window is also easier this way.
Würfel* schrieb:
The forest is the most beautiful "view" you can imagine! So I wouldn’t want to block it off with a wall.Thank you for your comment. The forest will remain, but the view will be obstructed by new construction.
In the long term, the view will either be the neighbor’s kitchen or carport. Then, we will only be able to see the forest a bit beyond the noise barrier through our three floor-to-ceiling windows facing east.
Hello everyone,
I need some critical collective intelligence again.
This week, we had the appointment with the window installer and site manager to discuss the usual what, how, where, and how much. In the kitchen, the faucet is located in front of the window, and so far it is not foldable. Contrary to the original plan, we will not be getting roller shutters but rather venetian blinds (raffstores) on the three kitchen windows.
On site, we decided to go with fixed glazing on the two corner windows. Partly for aesthetic reasons, so the central mullion is removed, and partly for practical reasons, so we don’t have to worry about the faucet.
Is this a bad idea?
Cleaning the windows from the outside is possible, and the venetian blinds can also be cleaned well this way.
We have a controlled residential ventilation system with exhaust in the kitchen and will be installing a recirculating range hood (KMDA by Miele) in the kitchen. Cross-ventilation will no longer be possible; the maximum ventilation will be through the upper window and the sliding door to the garden.
On site, the fixed glazing felt right, but afterward, I wonder if I might have overlooked something?
I need some critical collective intelligence again.
This week, we had the appointment with the window installer and site manager to discuss the usual what, how, where, and how much. In the kitchen, the faucet is located in front of the window, and so far it is not foldable. Contrary to the original plan, we will not be getting roller shutters but rather venetian blinds (raffstores) on the three kitchen windows.
On site, we decided to go with fixed glazing on the two corner windows. Partly for aesthetic reasons, so the central mullion is removed, and partly for practical reasons, so we don’t have to worry about the faucet.
Is this a bad idea?
Cleaning the windows from the outside is possible, and the venetian blinds can also be cleaned well this way.
We have a controlled residential ventilation system with exhaust in the kitchen and will be installing a recirculating range hood (KMDA by Miele) in the kitchen. Cross-ventilation will no longer be possible; the maximum ventilation will be through the upper window and the sliding door to the garden.
On site, the fixed glazing felt right, but afterward, I wonder if I might have overlooked something?
Similar topics