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
So far, I haven’t come up with anything truly convincing, so this is just a modest attempt. The figure of the Boanlkramer cannot be fully understood without some basic knowledge of the concept of God as perceived by the Bavarian-speaking peoples. Interpreting him simply as another name for the Grim Reaper wouldn’t do him justice. When God calls one of His own, it is the Boanlkramer’s task (Boan = bones) to announce this to the individual and invite them to be taken along. Similar to a court officer who calls a witness from the waiting area into the courtroom, the Boanlkramer acts purely as an executive servant, and delivering the divine summons is unpleasant for him. He has no discretion, but his reliability has two vulnerabilities (namely card playing and cherry brandy). If it is destined for someone, the Boanlkramer will certainly come—though regarding the predictability of his arrival, he is on the same level as his colleagues at DHL and the like ;-)
Starting construction under the condition of a death is therefore a calculation made without the host, hence my comment. Very elderly people tend to live longer—unfortunately especially those who are already eagerly waiting for the Boanlkramer with packed suitcases.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Starting construction under the condition of a death is therefore a calculation made without the host, hence my comment. Very elderly people tend to live longer—unfortunately especially those who are already eagerly waiting for the Boanlkramer with packed suitcases.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Schimi17917 Dec 2020 07:09Thanks for sharing. The house is planned this way because it meets our requirements.
@Ypg My concern during the planning was the potential alternative option in the distant future. There is hardly any room to adjust the width, but the interior is different. There is definitely some flexibility there despite the building permit.
The building permit is valid for 3 years and can be extended for another 2 years. We accept the risk that Grandma might live for another five years because the probability seems very low to us. Having plenty of time to plan everything calmly is a huge advantage. Bad moods and even crises during the preparation phase often arise from time pressure and stress. That’s why we keep putting the house project aside occasionally and revisit certain points whenever we feel like dealing with it. While Grandma is still alive, we can also save up a significant amount, which is a great benefit.
The year 2020 was basically “gifted” to us for planning. I was on parental leave, and my husband was home due to the pandemic.
The house fulfills nearly all our wishes (the room layout is naturally influenced by the cardinal directions and cannot be freely chosen), and the draftsman did a really good job. I honestly don’t see anything crazy about it. Well, the staircase topic... I only know people who oppose placing the stairs this way but don’t have the same layout themselves, meaning they don’t speak from personal experience. I prefer to trust those who know what they are talking about. When our first son was born, we traveled through Asia with him at 10 months old, carrying backpacks for nearly 4 months. (Before that, we had backpacked through almost all Southeast Asian countries.) Some people around us screamed, “For God’s sake, the baby!” (Having never been to Asia themselves.) Those who had actually traveled there encouraged us. And sure enough, it turned out to be one of the best trips of our lives!
@Ypg My concern during the planning was the potential alternative option in the distant future. There is hardly any room to adjust the width, but the interior is different. There is definitely some flexibility there despite the building permit.
The building permit is valid for 3 years and can be extended for another 2 years. We accept the risk that Grandma might live for another five years because the probability seems very low to us. Having plenty of time to plan everything calmly is a huge advantage. Bad moods and even crises during the preparation phase often arise from time pressure and stress. That’s why we keep putting the house project aside occasionally and revisit certain points whenever we feel like dealing with it. While Grandma is still alive, we can also save up a significant amount, which is a great benefit.
The year 2020 was basically “gifted” to us for planning. I was on parental leave, and my husband was home due to the pandemic.
The house fulfills nearly all our wishes (the room layout is naturally influenced by the cardinal directions and cannot be freely chosen), and the draftsman did a really good job. I honestly don’t see anything crazy about it. Well, the staircase topic... I only know people who oppose placing the stairs this way but don’t have the same layout themselves, meaning they don’t speak from personal experience. I prefer to trust those who know what they are talking about. When our first son was born, we traveled through Asia with him at 10 months old, carrying backpacks for nearly 4 months. (Before that, we had backpacked through almost all Southeast Asian countries.) Some people around us screamed, “For God’s sake, the baby!” (Having never been to Asia themselves.) Those who had actually traveled there encouraged us. And sure enough, it turned out to be one of the best trips of our lives!
@ hampshire
Thank you for your response and your effort. I agree with you that if you want to do it "properly," you definitely need different conditions. And yes, our floor plan doesn’t fit that. I think the way I initially considered it in the first post makes the most sense. I’m just keeping it in mind, and because of the many unknowns, I can’t really "plan" much more on this topic.
Thank you for your response and your effort. I agree with you that if you want to do it "properly," you definitely need different conditions. And yes, our floor plan doesn’t fit that. I think the way I initially considered it in the first post makes the most sense. I’m just keeping it in mind, and because of the many unknowns, I can’t really "plan" much more on this topic.