ᐅ Floor Plans for a Two-Family House

Hello Kaho,

Thank you very much for your effort! Your proposal is quite close to the version we have been working on in parallel. (By the way, down there is almost exactly south.)

My parents slightly preferred the other version, so we had the architect develop it. They especially liked the living room layout with the angled southwest glass facade.

I must admit, I am not yet 100% convinced. Your concept introduces some quite different options that we will definitely consider. Great ideas, thank you!

I’m still curious about what fundamentally argues against angled walls. Is it purely a matter of taste, or are there objective reasons as well? The situation in the second floor (upper floor) is similar. There, we discussed an angled solution as well as a rectangular version:

Also a half-angled version:

However, the architect decided on the fully angled wall, which I would have actually chosen last among the three options.

By the way, my parents do not need a bathtub in the ground floor bathroom but want to accommodate a washing machine and dryer instead. For potential future rental, however, the retrofitting of a bathtub should be possible. Something like this (corner bathtub) could work:

Though I almost like your solution better.

Best regards,
Jim

Jim888 schrieb:

Too small, can it be bigger?

Jim888 schrieb:
My parents slightly preferred the other option, so we had the architect develop it. They especially liked the living room layout with the angled southwest-facing glass front.

It’s really a question of priorities. After tripping over my shoes for the hundredth time, constantly dodging the vacuum cleaner, and barely being able to get past the winter coats in the doorway, the glass wall eventually stops mattering to me. I think you can add something like that once everything else has its place and there’s still room left over. But of course, it’s totally subjective. If the dream is an angled glass wall, I’d build it that way. Who knows if the chance will come again for your parents.
Maybe you could achieve a similar effect with a conservatory or sunroom? (Ouch, those keep getting more expensive ) Your parents should be living on the ground floor, right?

Jim888 schrieb:

I’m also curious what fundamentally speaks against angled walls. Is it just a matter of taste, or are there objective reasons as well?

No idea. Possibly just a matter of taste. To me, sloped or angled walls are always a compromise because of limited space. Especially regarding the doors. With angled walls, it’s harder to push furniture all the way into the corner. Doors often hit something or block pathways. Usable floor space also tends to be smaller, and all that stuff has to go somewhere. You can’t put everything in the basement.

Oops, it got somehow reduced. New attempt...

Building on your approach, we could create a small pantry in the northern part of the kitchen and move the kitchen downward. The entrance area would then actually be quite large. There would probably still be space for a cleaning closet there as well. Alternatively, the pantry could be converted into a guest toilet (possibly later, with access then, of course, from the wardrobe). Something like this:

Since we plan to rent out the ground-floor apartment later, my considerations aren't just about personal taste but also about what is generally preferred and what most people can do without. (Large entrance area? Bathtub? Pantry? Utility room on the same floor instead of the basement? Guest toilet?)

As long as only my parents live on the ground floor, the entrance area is less critical. First, their current one is similarly small and doesn’t bother them. Second, we can still add a wardrobe in the stairwell, which we could, for example, use together as a coat storage area for many guests (e.g., relatives visiting together)…

Jim888 schrieb:
Oops, it’s somehow been downsized. Here’s a new try...

So, the entrance area feels too narrow to me. Also, I find the washing machine in the bathroom annoying. Overall, the bathroom is quite small and hardly a relaxing oasis. The kitchen is small too, but at least it has a comfortable layout.

Jim888 schrieb:

Here, the entrance area is nice and spacious, but the kitchen is again a tight corridor. Personally, I’d prefer a generous utility room. Yes, I know you have space in the basement for mops and such, right? But nobody likes going up and down all the time for every broom, especially when you have to use a "public" staircase.

Jim888 schrieb:

Since we want to rent out the ground floor apartment later, my concerns are not just personal taste but also a sense of what most people would want and what the majority might do without. (Large entrance area? Bathtub? Pantry? Utility room on the same floor instead of basement? Guest toilet?)

So, my ranking would be:
1. Large entrance area
2. Utility room on the same floor
3. Guest toilet
4. Bathtub
5. Pantry
Maybe do a poll and see what others think.

Jim888 schrieb:

As long as only my parents live on the ground floor, the entrance area is less critical. First, their current one is similarly small and they don’t mind. Second, we could add a wardrobe in the stairwell that we could all use together when there are many guests (e.g., extended family)...

Hmm, sure. But redesigning later is awkward and very difficult. It’s better to find the best solution now.

One more thing I thought of: since you have a continuous stairwell, if you shift the furniture and windows a bit at the very top, you could relatively easily extend a chimney all the way through. That way, you could even install a nice fireplace downstairs and upstairs. That would be a nice-to-have feature, especially for the upper floor.

Have fun with the architect!

I am also wondering whether the door confusion on the first floor could be reduced by placing the door at the bottom, in front of the stairs. Something like this:

This way, at least one door and several wall sections could be removed, gaining space, air, and light. However, the sound insulation of the wall next to the stairs would need to be considered.