Hi hello,
my husband, our two sons, and I currently live in a 100-year-old house. We live together with his grandmother and her caregiver. As soon as the grandmother passes away (she will soon be 99 years old), we plan to demolish the old, very large house and build a single-family home (pictures 1, 2, 3). (The furniture shown in the pictures will of course not be arranged exactly like that.)
We live in a location that’s perfect for us, in a small town on the beautiful main street. We have a corner plot with a large garden facing south (picture 4). This means that on the north side you are close to the action, while the garden remains peaceful.
The new house must be aligned flush with both streets, and the building style is closed. (Picture 5 shows the plot with the current house.) This means the garage (which in our case will actually be a carport, contrary to the drawing) must border the neighboring property.
We spent a long time working on the floor plan. Apart from some small changes, like moving some doors, the house will likely be built as planned because it meets our requirements 🙂 The house will have just under 180 sqm (about 1937 sq ft). We are building it for our family of four. Our youngest just turned one. Still, I am concerned about what will happen in 20–25 years when both children have moved out and the house becomes too big for just two people. So I am looking for a way to downsize if that is ever desired.
The staircase must remain in the center because I don’t want to have to walk through the entrance area to get to the living area. This is also an important wish of my husband. Upstairs, we plan a nice reading area in the hallway, which will then serve as living space and not just as a passage. We have something similar now, but smaller. Both floors should be connected by the staircase. What I want to avoid later is dividing the house into living space downstairs and renting out the upper floor completely, because I don’t want to hear strangers walking around over us (though the utility room and bathroom are less of an issue for me), and also because there is our garden and I do not want the tenants to overlook it. That’s why I have been thinking about the following layout for the future.
(Picture 6) The half-landing staircase would become two straight staircases. The door to the utility room would be raised a bit and would be the tenant’s entrance.
I am thinking more of renting this out as office or commercial space, since all the windows face north. The layout is not ideal for a one-room apartment. However, we will only be able to decide what makes sense when the time comes, as we cannot plan that far ahead. (Currently, rooms on the ground floor at this location are rented out as a massage practice by my husband’s grandmother for about three years; before that there was a video rental store for about 10 years.) The important thing is to have two completely separate units with distinct areas with as little effort as possible!
What do you think? Does anyone have other ideas?
Who has suggestions for the laundry chute (which I don’t like where it is now)?
I am happy to consider proposals, except that I do not want to separate the south side upstairs from our living area, especially since that’s where our bedroom will be.
Thank you in advance
my husband, our two sons, and I currently live in a 100-year-old house. We live together with his grandmother and her caregiver. As soon as the grandmother passes away (she will soon be 99 years old), we plan to demolish the old, very large house and build a single-family home (pictures 1, 2, 3). (The furniture shown in the pictures will of course not be arranged exactly like that.)
We live in a location that’s perfect for us, in a small town on the beautiful main street. We have a corner plot with a large garden facing south (picture 4). This means that on the north side you are close to the action, while the garden remains peaceful.
The new house must be aligned flush with both streets, and the building style is closed. (Picture 5 shows the plot with the current house.) This means the garage (which in our case will actually be a carport, contrary to the drawing) must border the neighboring property.
We spent a long time working on the floor plan. Apart from some small changes, like moving some doors, the house will likely be built as planned because it meets our requirements 🙂 The house will have just under 180 sqm (about 1937 sq ft). We are building it for our family of four. Our youngest just turned one. Still, I am concerned about what will happen in 20–25 years when both children have moved out and the house becomes too big for just two people. So I am looking for a way to downsize if that is ever desired.
The staircase must remain in the center because I don’t want to have to walk through the entrance area to get to the living area. This is also an important wish of my husband. Upstairs, we plan a nice reading area in the hallway, which will then serve as living space and not just as a passage. We have something similar now, but smaller. Both floors should be connected by the staircase. What I want to avoid later is dividing the house into living space downstairs and renting out the upper floor completely, because I don’t want to hear strangers walking around over us (though the utility room and bathroom are less of an issue for me), and also because there is our garden and I do not want the tenants to overlook it. That’s why I have been thinking about the following layout for the future.
(Picture 6) The half-landing staircase would become two straight staircases. The door to the utility room would be raised a bit and would be the tenant’s entrance.
I am thinking more of renting this out as office or commercial space, since all the windows face north. The layout is not ideal for a one-room apartment. However, we will only be able to decide what makes sense when the time comes, as we cannot plan that far ahead. (Currently, rooms on the ground floor at this location are rented out as a massage practice by my husband’s grandmother for about three years; before that there was a video rental store for about 10 years.) The important thing is to have two completely separate units with distinct areas with as little effort as possible!
What do you think? Does anyone have other ideas?
Who has suggestions for the laundry chute (which I don’t like where it is now)?
I am happy to consider proposals, except that I do not want to separate the south side upstairs from our living area, especially since that’s where our bedroom will be.
Thank you in advance
Tell me, would you want the bedroom upstairs later but no toilet or bathroom? If so, you need to start thinking now about where the new bathroom will go upstairs. These will be expensive and stressful changes later on (is it financially worthwhile?). Honestly, I don’t see these happening in practice 🙂
@ypg
Thanks, I agree. I’m considering that preferences for the bedroom and bathroom probably change with age. Right now, the bedroom (which is very minimalist for us to unwind, we basically just “sleep” there) and the bathroom are not very important to us. The bathtub is planned only for the kids. Neither my husband nor I have taken a bath in probably over 20 years. We simply don’t like it. That’s why our new bathroom will be a simple, standard bathroom, and apart from wood-look tiles, we won’t include anything special there.
The house is 180 sqm (about 1,937 sq ft), and I hardly know anyone who says that’s a perfect size for two people. On the contrary: everything needs to be kept clean and in good condition. We ourselves saw what it was like at grandma’s with many empty rooms (she used to have holiday guests). Not exactly pleasant.
Yes, the guest room will have a bed and a large wardrobe, maybe also a dresser. That’s all it will fit. But we don’t need 10 sqm (about 108 sq ft) just as storage space. And as I said, we regularly have guests who are important to us, and we want to offer them a nice room to stay in.
We will soon start detailed planning of the living room. Then we’ll look closely at where everything will go, including measurements.
9.45 m (31 feet) length is not very generous, but we had the choice between longer and narrower or shorter and wider. We decided on the latter since we both prefer it. We definitely don’t want it to be larger overall. The plan was originally for 160 sqm (about 1,722 sq ft).
I understand your concerns about the bedroom. How and where would you arrange the bedroom?
Thanks, I agree. I’m considering that preferences for the bedroom and bathroom probably change with age. Right now, the bedroom (which is very minimalist for us to unwind, we basically just “sleep” there) and the bathroom are not very important to us. The bathtub is planned only for the kids. Neither my husband nor I have taken a bath in probably over 20 years. We simply don’t like it. That’s why our new bathroom will be a simple, standard bathroom, and apart from wood-look tiles, we won’t include anything special there.
The house is 180 sqm (about 1,937 sq ft), and I hardly know anyone who says that’s a perfect size for two people. On the contrary: everything needs to be kept clean and in good condition. We ourselves saw what it was like at grandma’s with many empty rooms (she used to have holiday guests). Not exactly pleasant.
Yes, the guest room will have a bed and a large wardrobe, maybe also a dresser. That’s all it will fit. But we don’t need 10 sqm (about 108 sq ft) just as storage space. And as I said, we regularly have guests who are important to us, and we want to offer them a nice room to stay in.
We will soon start detailed planning of the living room. Then we’ll look closely at where everything will go, including measurements.
9.45 m (31 feet) length is not very generous, but we had the choice between longer and narrower or shorter and wider. We decided on the latter since we both prefer it. We definitely don’t want it to be larger overall. The plan was originally for 160 sqm (about 1,722 sq ft).
I understand your concerns about the bedroom. How and where would you arrange the bedroom?
@Ysop
Hmm... thanks for your input. Indeed, it’s a problematic issue. At the moment, I don’t really mind whether the bathroom is upstairs or downstairs, especially since in our current house everything is kind of all over the place. But later on, it definitely isn’t practical to have the bedroom and bathroom on different levels.
Whether the project will actually be carried out is, like so many things, uncertain, that’s true. But having a rough plan for a future separation still doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Especially since I’m also thinking a bit about our children. It’s easier to rent out an office space and a 140 sqm (1507 sq ft) house than an entire 180 sqm (1937 sq ft) house. At least where we live. Before someone rents such a large house, they might as well buy it. But hmm... well... what will happen later, and what the children will want, is also uncertain, of course.
Hmm... thanks for your input. Indeed, it’s a problematic issue. At the moment, I don’t really mind whether the bathroom is upstairs or downstairs, especially since in our current house everything is kind of all over the place. But later on, it definitely isn’t practical to have the bedroom and bathroom on different levels.
Whether the project will actually be carried out is, like so many things, uncertain, that’s true. But having a rough plan for a future separation still doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Especially since I’m also thinking a bit about our children. It’s easier to rent out an office space and a 140 sqm (1507 sq ft) house than an entire 180 sqm (1937 sq ft) house. At least where we live. Before someone rents such a large house, they might as well buy it. But hmm... well... what will happen later, and what the children will want, is also uncertain, of course.
Buffycat schrieb:
The house is 180 sqm (1,938 sq ft), and I hardly know anyone who would say it’s a perfect size for two people. On the contrary: everything needs to be kept clean and in good condition. I believe you misunderstood me, at least in this part.
I’m recommending building a bit smaller. My example refers to frequently planned 160 sqm (1,722 sq ft), which is necessary if you add children's rooms larger than 12 sqm (129 sq ft) together with a home office to the usual living area.
There are also people who manage with 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft). Others live on 109 sqm (1,173 sq ft) and are not less happy.
You have a large utility room (okay, that’s always useful for pantry, tools, freezer, and laundry), but it’s above average in size. The children’s rooms aren’t small either, then there is the gallery with almost 17 sqm (183 sq ft) and a second guest room (“second,” because many, for exactly the reasons that trouble you, combine guest and office rooms since otherwise it just becomes too much living space).
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not suggesting a 120 sqm (1,292 sq ft) house if you can afford 150 sqm (1,615 sq ft), but I just wanted to show how you might approach living space a bit more systematically—this saves you from a complicated house build that will need a complete and expensive renovation in 20 years, with the consequence that you’ll have to tolerate strangers on your property and less comfort as you age.
Buffycat schrieb:
We ourselves have seen at grandma’s place how many empty rooms looked (she used to have holiday guests). Not exactly pleasant. That’s why I wouldn’t build many rooms but rather design them efficiently and thoughtfully.
Buffycat schrieb:
We planned the bathtub only for the children. That’s okay, that’s a reasonable thought. But what if in 20 years you need medical baths? Or your needs simply change?
I don’t base it on the bathtub itself but rather on spatial comfort. Between required space and age-appropriate barrier-free features with grab bars on walls, there is simply the need for free space. Finally, when the children have left home and back and hips start to feel it, you’ll be grateful to enjoy the space you built.
Buffycat schrieb:
Currently, the bedroom (which is very minimalist for us to unwind, we only “sleep” there) and the bathroom play a minor role for us. That’s why you can still plan them to be functional and attractive. For example, we iron there too, so it should be pleasant even during daylight.
Buffycat schrieb:
I understand your concerns about the bedroom. How and where would you arrange the bedroom? How old are you?
If you’re around 30, you could still live in this house for a good 40 to 45 years.
You could plan the house a little smaller; for example, the gallery probably only exists because there was too much room.
You could build the children’s rooms with a lightweight partition wall and later turn them into a hobby room. Don’t forget grandchildren, who would surely appreciate a small area too. And suddenly you have a house without empty space and without strangers needing access.
If the budget allows, build your house as it fits your current needs.
You will enjoy another 20 years without children in the house and have space for new hobbies.
And what comes after that: just shrug it off!
You can always reassess later.
We rebuilt at age 45 without kids: 135 sqm (1,453 sq ft). And what can I say: after 30 years, thanks to the pandemic, the sewing machine came out, and the space is now too small. A place for a caravan had to be made, and now there’s a lack of space for SUP boards and so on. My husband brought in a spinning bike, so space had to be created for that too, and in general 😀
Vacuuming 20 sqm (215 sq ft) is easier than 10 sqm (108 sq ft).
If you don’t need the rental income, I would never do it. 180 m² (1,940 sq ft) can definitely be comfortably used by two people. ypg has already covered most points. Not only grandchildren, but also children appreciate having a place to stay if they happen to live in another city or even another country. Many couples start snoring as they get older and then are thankful for separate bedrooms. And wellness in a nice bathroom, ideally with a sauna, is also something most older people enjoy. Without children, you have much more time for things like that. Sometimes a virus comes along that suddenly requires two home offices instead of one and a room for exercise, which you used to do at the gym or elsewhere.
I would also divide the floor plan differently. I would either place only a small technical room downstairs and include the utility room there, or move the office to the upper floor. You probably don’t use the gallery much. You could turn it into a guest room (for example, with a sofa bed) and use it as a reading room the rest of the time. It could have double doors that are always open. The guest room would then become the office.
Downstairs, you would have more space to arrange the kitchen, dining, and living areas.
Downstairs, you would have more space to arrange the kitchen, dining, and living areas.
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