ᐅ Floor Plan – Design of a Single-Family Home with Two Full Stories – Urban Villa
Created on: 12 Nov 2020 06:19
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exto1791
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 550m² (0.14 acres)
Slope: approximately 1 meter (3.3 feet) incline from the street to the back of the property
Floor area ratio: Garage on boundary line, terrace 2.5m (8 feet) from neighbor - otherwise unrestricted, see attached plot plan
Plot coverage ratio: 2 full stories
Building envelope, building line and boundary: very flexible, see attached plot plan
Number of parking spaces: 1 large garage
Number of stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: modern urban villa
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors: with basement and 2 full stories
Number of occupants: 2 persons, mid/late 20s, planning for 2 children
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor: see floor plans
Office: family use or home office? office/home office
Guest bedrooms per year: -
Open or closed layout: -
Conservative or modern construction: 70% conservative - 30% modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen without island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: none
Music / stereo wall: none
Balcony, roof terrace: none
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: ornamental garden
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions
House Design
Planner:
-General contractor (GC): general contractor of a construction company
-Architect: none
-Do-it-yourself: floor plan partially self-designed according to personal preferences
What do you like most? Currently nothing to criticize
What do you dislike? Front canopy not flush with hallway window upstairs - unfortunately not feasible otherwise
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: fixed price $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Personal budget limit for house including fixtures: $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump + controlled mechanical ventilation
If you have to give up something, which details or add-ons
-Can give up: budget reached, no further cutbacks or simplifications needed
-Can’t give up: see above
Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
Standard design from the planner? Compared roughly 100 floor plans and, in coordination with our current GC, created the dream layout ourselves
Which requests were implemented by the architect? all
A mix of many examples from various magazines: yes 🙂
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? very practical and conservatively executed, child-friendly, enough parking/storage space inside, yet modern
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
As I am very active here in the forum and like to help others with topics like floor plans, financing, etc., I would now like to share our project here and hear your opinions. I hope you like it too. Perhaps there is still a serious flaw or something that could be quickly improved, if it appeals to us.
We have invested a lot of time in planning. Since March/April 2020 we have been actively planning—from a prefab home supplier with about 120m² (1,292 sq ft) to a current regional solid builder with 160m² (1,722 sq ft). A lot of effort went into our planning and we hope it pays off during construction and upon completion.
We will sign the contract in the next 2-3 weeks and will release the offer as well as the floor plan and our revised building and service specification to prepare everything for contract signing.
We are building with solid construction through a regional general contractor. Construction start: May 2021.
Plot size: 550m² (0.14 acres)
Slope: approximately 1 meter (3.3 feet) incline from the street to the back of the property
Floor area ratio: Garage on boundary line, terrace 2.5m (8 feet) from neighbor - otherwise unrestricted, see attached plot plan
Plot coverage ratio: 2 full stories
Building envelope, building line and boundary: very flexible, see attached plot plan
Number of parking spaces: 1 large garage
Number of stories: 2 full stories
Roof type: hipped roof
Architectural style: modern urban villa
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa with hipped roof
Basement, floors: with basement and 2 full stories
Number of occupants: 2 persons, mid/late 20s, planning for 2 children
Room requirements on ground floor and upper floor: see floor plans
Office: family use or home office? office/home office
Guest bedrooms per year: -
Open or closed layout: -
Conservative or modern construction: 70% conservative - 30% modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen without island
Number of dining seats: 8
Fireplace: none
Music / stereo wall: none
Balcony, roof terrace: none
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: ornamental garden
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons for choices or exclusions
House Design
Planner:
-General contractor (GC): general contractor of a construction company
-Architect: none
-Do-it-yourself: floor plan partially self-designed according to personal preferences
What do you like most? Currently nothing to criticize
What do you dislike? Front canopy not flush with hallway window upstairs - unfortunately not feasible otherwise
Estimated cost according to architect/planner: fixed price $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Personal budget limit for house including fixtures: $450,000 (excluding land and additional construction costs)
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump + controlled mechanical ventilation
If you have to give up something, which details or add-ons
-Can give up: budget reached, no further cutbacks or simplifications needed
-Can’t give up: see above
Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
Standard design from the planner? Compared roughly 100 floor plans and, in coordination with our current GC, created the dream layout ourselves
Which requests were implemented by the architect? all
A mix of many examples from various magazines: yes 🙂
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes? very practical and conservatively executed, child-friendly, enough parking/storage space inside, yet modern
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
As I am very active here in the forum and like to help others with topics like floor plans, financing, etc., I would now like to share our project here and hear your opinions. I hope you like it too. Perhaps there is still a serious flaw or something that could be quickly improved, if it appeals to us.
We have invested a lot of time in planning. Since March/April 2020 we have been actively planning—from a prefab home supplier with about 120m² (1,292 sq ft) to a current regional solid builder with 160m² (1,722 sq ft). A lot of effort went into our planning and we hope it pays off during construction and upon completion.
We will sign the contract in the next 2-3 weeks and will release the offer as well as the floor plan and our revised building and service specification to prepare everything for contract signing.
We are building with solid construction through a regional general contractor. Construction start: May 2021.
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Alessandro17 Nov 2020 10:08You can still simplify everyday life even with a basement. I also agree that having a basement is great! But I don’t climb through the trunk of my car every time just because it keeps me fit! In my opinion, you’re looking at this far too romantically.
When I ask 10 friends or acquaintances about my floor plan, 9 say it’s great! But when I ask 10 strangers here in the forum, I get much better feedback and honest opinions.
When I ask 10 friends or acquaintances about my floor plan, 9 say it’s great! But when I ask 10 strangers here in the forum, I get much better feedback and honest opinions.
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saralina8717 Nov 2020 11:02To be honest, I don’t quite understand why you brought the floor plan up for discussion here. If it’s perfect for you, then you don’t really need any more opinions on it, right? I can understand feeling personally attacked and upset when you’re so attached to something and others criticize it. That’s exactly why I would never have posted our floor plan here before building.
I’ve said it before: You and your girlfriend seem quite particular in many ways (or at least you currently see yourselves that way). This basement obsession has probably also become a matter of principle by now – so what exactly were you hoping for? Some compliments?
Take a moment to reflect on whether you would have accepted ANY advice here (on a topic you guys weren’t already considering yourselves). You don’t even have to share your answer.
I’ve said it before: You and your girlfriend seem quite particular in many ways (or at least you currently see yourselves that way). This basement obsession has probably also become a matter of principle by now – so what exactly were you hoping for? Some compliments?
Take a moment to reflect on whether you would have accepted ANY advice here (on a topic you guys weren’t already considering yourselves). You don’t even have to share your answer.
I agree with @saralina87. Everything was perfect from the start, and criticism was basically no longer welcome. When some criticism did come up, the original poster increasingly responded annoyed or dismissed everything. That really takes the fun out of the discussion.
What have you decided on now? A door to the kitchen right at the entrance? Otherwise, is everything else staying the same?
I’d like to point out that especially at the beginning, @Alessandro made some great suggestions, even if they weren’t liked – it’s great to see someone actively participating here again!
What have you decided on now? A door to the kitchen right at the entrance? Otherwise, is everything else staying the same?
I’d like to point out that especially at the beginning, @Alessandro made some great suggestions, even if they weren’t liked – it’s great to see someone actively participating here again!
By the way, I am also a basement advocate and enjoy going down there because there is so much space for storage, cool food, a large laundry room, fitness, etc., which I would never want to sacrifice upstairs—especially not with the land prices we have. AND I like walking. Both up and down the stairs and from the kitchen through the entire open-plan living-dining area to the main terrace. I don’t even have a direct route from the front door to the kitchen; I have to maneuver past the guest bathroom and my 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wide wardrobe cabinet. But since there is hardwood flooring everywhere, I take off my shoes right after entering the front door anyway. According to the forum, the front door should actually be next to the terrace because a) the paths from the front door to the kitchen need to be short and b) the kitchen should connect to the terrace :p
Still, I agree with everyone else that you asked for layout feedback here and then rejected every suggestion except the extra kitchen door. That’s your right, but you also need to understand that forum members can sometimes feel a bit disappointed that all their time and suggestions were in vain.
Still, I agree with everyone else that you asked for layout feedback here and then rejected every suggestion except the extra kitchen door. That’s your right, but you also need to understand that forum members can sometimes feel a bit disappointed that all their time and suggestions were in vain.
Not to forget: this is a forum focused on optimization and problem-solving.
The same applies to the kitchen: whether here in this forum (although people tend to avoid giving planning suggestions for kitchens, as the kitchen layout is usually the starting point, which relates back to the overall floor plan), or in the dedicated kitchen forum, the space as it develops and the question of “whether anything can still be improved” is thoroughly examined. Everything is about optimizing spaces, starting with the plot and ending with the bathroom fixtures. Ideally, smaller rooms are taken into account right from the broader planning stages.
The same applies to the kitchen: whether here in this forum (although people tend to avoid giving planning suggestions for kitchens, as the kitchen layout is usually the starting point, which relates back to the overall floor plan), or in the dedicated kitchen forum, the space as it develops and the question of “whether anything can still be improved” is thoroughly examined. Everything is about optimizing spaces, starting with the plot and ending with the bathroom fixtures. Ideally, smaller rooms are taken into account right from the broader planning stages.
Würfel* schrieb:
By the way, I’m also a big supporter of basements and enjoy going down there because it offers so much space for storage, cool food storage, a large laundry room, fitness area, and so on—space I would never want to give up upstairs. Especially not with our land prices. AND I like walking. Both up and down the stairs and from the kitchen through the entire living-dining area to the main terrace. I don’t even have a direct route from the front door to the kitchen; I have to detour past the guest bathroom and my 2m (6.5 feet) wide wardrobe closet. But since there’s hardwood flooring everywhere, I take my shoes off right after entering the front door anyway. According to this forum, the front door would actually need to be next to the terrace because a) the paths from the front door to the kitchen have to be short and b) the kitchen belongs next to the terrace :p
Still, I agree with everyone else that since you asked for floor plan feedback here and rejected every suggestion except the extra kitchen door, that’s your right. But you also have to understand that forum members sometimes get a bit disappointed when all their time and suggestions seem wasted. You hit the nail on the head. I rejected almost all suggestions because they don’t fit our needs. I thanked everyone for their input and clearly explained what our priorities are. But if I have to explain for the fourth time why we want the sink in front of the kitchen window, why we don’t want a pantry, and why we don’t want a shower toilet in the ground floor, then continuing the discussion doesn’t make much sense, right?
That’s exactly the point. The great suggestions and the effort put in weren’t accepted. Well, okay, that’s just how it is 😀 In an anonymous forum, I think you just have to accept that. As I said, I’m still grateful for the time invested. But all of that doesn’t help in the overall discussion 🙂
And @saralina87: What I was hoping for? Pretty much exactly what happened in the first few pages. A little input to reconsider some things more carefully. Just like in almost every thread. That was helpful! Only, as in almost every thread: Starting from page 10, there’s just “noise,” meaning unnecessary arguments. There was a person here who made a few suggestions and immediately accepted that I disagreed with three-quarters of them. So what? What’s the problem? People just want to help.
The question is: Is it helpful to waste pages debating the same things over and over, which fundamentally don’t move us forward? As I’ve mentioned about a hundred times already: We are satisfied with the first few pages and the feedback we received from them.
This will be my last reply on the subject. And again, to you too, @Alessandro, thank you. You put in effort and tried to help us. I really appreciate that about this forum! But please stop insisting over and over when someone chooses not to incorporate suggestions, instead of just saying: “I can’t help more; this will probably fit your needs,” rather than saying “Design failure, because I would do it differently, what you’re doing is completely wrong” 😀
But that’s the thing with forums and anonymity... You just have to deal with it, and @saralina87 is right: I probably shouldn’t have posted the floor plan 😀
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