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
Buffycat schrieb:
because it meets our requirements. When reading this, it just feels like the renovation has a very high priority, without considering that you yourselves still want to live in it.
P
pagoni20207 Dec 2020 14:55Sorry, but I get the feeling that criticism, valuable experiences, or even alternative ideas are generally not seen as opportunities, but rather as attacks. Time and again we are told that, in the end, of course, you were right about everything, no matter how strange, whether it was the trips (what would the infant have said about malaria or similar?), the stairs, or elsewhere... YOUR idea was always the right one and you showed all the "shouters".... well then.
In your environment, people probably "shout" at you more often, as you write... I would urgently consider changing that environment or... oops... no.
Your conclusion from this thread and the sincere efforts of several participants here is now this...
...how could it have been any different 😀
...and even two of them.
And yes, we all know here that everyone should and may build as they wish, absolutely!
Nope, just freedom in your mind and some willingness to learn... Countless people before you have successfully and wonderfully implemented such projects, sometimes with fewer resources. Or do you really think your life situation is unique?
Architects and interior designers are exactly there for that, and they could implement it well too – if they were allowed to be "right" sometimes, or if others’ experience were taken seriously and considered openly. But being "right" seems to be more of a nuisance...
That is exactly what you clearly DO NOT want to know; you seem to be looking more for compliments! But your published building plan doesn’t fit that... although I forgot...
Sorry.
That is well-known here; precisely for that reason, you carefully fill out the initial questionnaire, into which others here put a lot of effort, so the members consulted can better imagine each individual situation. Inflating or shrinking the living room furniture only later to actual dimensions and finally reporting that the building permit / planning permission has long been granted... ufff.
So why then the initial question:
The apparent lack of responses to your thread may also be because people want proper advance information from the original poster if they are to spend their time on it. Slipshod and therefore incorrect furniture dimensions, "concealment" of the already granted building permit / planning permission etc., paired with occasionally dismissive language, understandably demotivate people from engaging more closely and offering help... although...
...how could it have been any different.
I forgot...
Shouting again...?
Honestly, I find your thread exhausting and truly useless. It is full of self-praise and arrogance despite a series of openly displayed flaws in the thought process; people who really made an effort for you and whose knowledge and experience one could genuinely learn from are rather dismissed... if one wanted. For a young person and an absolute construction novice, quite remarkable...
From the start, I felt uncomfortable with your choice of words and also the already apparent approach to the topic of the fortunately still living "grandmother," whose property this was throughout her life. Since we ourselves had even a non-family grandmother living in the house until she sadly died at 102, and later our own parents also lived there, your mindset and somewhat brash choice of words upset me thinking about the whole situation as you openly and clearly describe it. During her lifetime, grandma’s house is already mentally and officially signed off for demolition, the excavators are impatient, and the risk of grandma living longer is heroically accepted. Not even a few quotation marks for the word "risk" are spared due to frantic building planning stress... well, life is tough, grandma...
Maybe that's why people "shout" in your environment, whose empathy surely doesn’t stop at their wallets. I shudder reading what you (as a son-in-law) state so matter-of-factly while grandma is still alive.
Imagine having grandchildren and their partners living in your own 100-year-old house, who have been calmly planning your passing for years and even heroically taking on the "dangers and risks" that you might break the longevity record.
The advantage is not THAT grandma is alive, but "despite" her being alive—that the money increases during this difficult time... oh dear.
Then immediately followed by...
...what luck for your "risk"...
The house is planned that way and that’s how it will be. EVERYONE gets the house and the living room they deserve...
So... happy house building 😀
Maybe I’m alone with this opinion, but a forum lives on the diversity of opinions, and I don’t want any descendants to already own an approved building plan for demolition and the construction of a possible "alien" during my lifetime and publicly talk about the "risk" of my long life. As the OP notes, the permit can be extended... there was just no time to wait, grandma... time is running out...
You shouldn’t be bothered by such a response since your own words apparently don’t bother you either; let’s see...
In your environment, people probably "shout" at you more often, as you write... I would urgently consider changing that environment or... oops... no.
Your conclusion from this thread and the sincere efforts of several participants here is now this...
Buffycat schrieb:
I think, just as I considered it right from the start in the first post, it makes the most sense.
...how could it have been any different 😀
Buffycat schrieb:
The draftsman has truly done his job well.
...and even two of them.
And yes, we all know here that everyone should and may build as they wish, absolutely!
Buffycat schrieb:
If you want to do it "properly," you definitely need different conditions.
Nope, just freedom in your mind and some willingness to learn... Countless people before you have successfully and wonderfully implemented such projects, sometimes with fewer resources. Or do you really think your life situation is unique?
Architects and interior designers are exactly there for that, and they could implement it well too – if they were allowed to be "right" sometimes, or if others’ experience were taken seriously and considered openly. But being "right" seems to be more of a nuisance...
Buffycat schrieb:
What do you think? Who has other ideas?
That is exactly what you clearly DO NOT want to know; you seem to be looking more for compliments! But your published building plan doesn’t fit that... although I forgot...
Buffycat schrieb:
The draftsman has truly done his job well.
Sorry.
Buffycat schrieb:
However, you always have to keep in mind that the house has to suit the occupant and no one else.
That is well-known here; precisely for that reason, you carefully fill out the initial questionnaire, into which others here put a lot of effort, so the members consulted can better imagine each individual situation. Inflating or shrinking the living room furniture only later to actual dimensions and finally reporting that the building permit / planning permission has long been granted... ufff.
So why then the initial question:
Buffycat schrieb:
What do you think? Who has other ideas?
The apparent lack of responses to your thread may also be because people want proper advance information from the original poster if they are to spend their time on it. Slipshod and therefore incorrect furniture dimensions, "concealment" of the already granted building permit / planning permission etc., paired with occasionally dismissive language, understandably demotivate people from engaging more closely and offering help... although...
Buffycat schrieb:
I think, just as I considered it right from the start in the first post, it makes the most sense.
...how could it have been any different.
Buffycat schrieb:
The draftsman has truly done his job well.
I forgot...
Buffycat schrieb:
How could anyone? many shout.
Shouting again...?
Honestly, I find your thread exhausting and truly useless. It is full of self-praise and arrogance despite a series of openly displayed flaws in the thought process; people who really made an effort for you and whose knowledge and experience one could genuinely learn from are rather dismissed... if one wanted. For a young person and an absolute construction novice, quite remarkable...
From the start, I felt uncomfortable with your choice of words and also the already apparent approach to the topic of the fortunately still living "grandmother," whose property this was throughout her life. Since we ourselves had even a non-family grandmother living in the house until she sadly died at 102, and later our own parents also lived there, your mindset and somewhat brash choice of words upset me thinking about the whole situation as you openly and clearly describe it. During her lifetime, grandma’s house is already mentally and officially signed off for demolition, the excavators are impatient, and the risk of grandma living longer is heroically accepted. Not even a few quotation marks for the word "risk" are spared due to frantic building planning stress... well, life is tough, grandma...
Buffycat schrieb:
We accept the risk that grandma might live another five years.
Maybe that's why people "shout" in your environment, whose empathy surely doesn’t stop at their wallets. I shudder reading what you (as a son-in-law) state so matter-of-factly while grandma is still alive.
Imagine having grandchildren and their partners living in your own 100-year-old house, who have been calmly planning your passing for years and even heroically taking on the "dangers and risks" that you might break the longevity record.
Buffycat schrieb:
While grandma is still alive, we can save properly, which is also a considerable advantage.
The advantage is not THAT grandma is alive, but "despite" her being alive—that the money increases during this difficult time... oh dear.
Then immediately followed by...
Buffycat schrieb:
We accept the risk that grandma might live another five years because the probability seems extremely low to us.
...what luck for your "risk"...
The house is planned that way and that’s how it will be. EVERYONE gets the house and the living room they deserve...
So... happy house building 😀
Maybe I’m alone with this opinion, but a forum lives on the diversity of opinions, and I don’t want any descendants to already own an approved building plan for demolition and the construction of a possible "alien" during my lifetime and publicly talk about the "risk" of my long life. As the OP notes, the permit can be extended... there was just no time to wait, grandma... time is running out...
You shouldn’t be bothered by such a response since your own words apparently don’t bother you either; let’s see...
B
Bertram1007 Dec 2020 17:04Buffycat schrieb:
@pagoni 2020
Very presumptive words when you don’t know the condition in which grandma “lives.”Well, you’re talking about the risk that grandma may live longer. Of course, one can hope someone passes quickly to shorten their suffering. But you are only discussing this in the context and for the sake of a house building plan that suits you. It doesn’t really matter now to bring up grandma’s condition as an argument.@ pagoni2020
Did you understand that my questions are not related to the current floor plan at all, but rather to the possible alternative (picture 6) in the very distant future? That’s why there’s no need to fill out the questionnaire or provide any measurements. Honestly, I don’t think you do.
Why on earth are you reading a thread that is useless and actually frustrating for you, and then taking the trouble to write such a comprehensive response? Especially when you consider me resistant to advice?
Would you want your descendants to start planning before you’re even gone? Like, “As long as I’m alive, everything goes my way”? People can be so different. Grandma explicitly wanted it when we bought the house, while she was still mentally capable of understanding the situation. The huge house was not just a joy for her. Yes, that can happen.
Building planning stress for us? Not at all! As mentioned before, we see as an advantage having plenty of time.
Yes, my mistake was not putting the word “risk” in quotation marks. True, it sounds hard-edged. But read the whole sentence. It says the probability seems extremely low to us. That certainly wouldn’t be the case if she were happily sitting here in the armchair.
Regarding shouting: it was meant as a metaphor for being upset. Yes, in my family and circle of friends, (unfortunately currently not) there are frequent and loud discussions, especially when it comes to important issues like building a house or distant travels. No, I am not often shouted at. There is lively exchange.
After your overall assessment of me, do you really think I’m here to receive praise from complete strangers?
By the way, I don’t care how many people read this; just one person giving me valuable advice is more than enough. And yes, some valuable advice was given to me.
It has become clear to me that words on the internet can come across very differently than they are actually intended. I may write in a matter-of-fact way (my time is limited) or even without emotion, but in fact, I am anything but that.
Did you understand that my questions are not related to the current floor plan at all, but rather to the possible alternative (picture 6) in the very distant future? That’s why there’s no need to fill out the questionnaire or provide any measurements. Honestly, I don’t think you do.
Why on earth are you reading a thread that is useless and actually frustrating for you, and then taking the trouble to write such a comprehensive response? Especially when you consider me resistant to advice?
Would you want your descendants to start planning before you’re even gone? Like, “As long as I’m alive, everything goes my way”? People can be so different. Grandma explicitly wanted it when we bought the house, while she was still mentally capable of understanding the situation. The huge house was not just a joy for her. Yes, that can happen.
Building planning stress for us? Not at all! As mentioned before, we see as an advantage having plenty of time.
Yes, my mistake was not putting the word “risk” in quotation marks. True, it sounds hard-edged. But read the whole sentence. It says the probability seems extremely low to us. That certainly wouldn’t be the case if she were happily sitting here in the armchair.
Regarding shouting: it was meant as a metaphor for being upset. Yes, in my family and circle of friends, (unfortunately currently not) there are frequent and loud discussions, especially when it comes to important issues like building a house or distant travels. No, I am not often shouted at. There is lively exchange.
After your overall assessment of me, do you really think I’m here to receive praise from complete strangers?
By the way, I don’t care how many people read this; just one person giving me valuable advice is more than enough. And yes, some valuable advice was given to me.
It has become clear to me that words on the internet can come across very differently than they are actually intended. I may write in a matter-of-fact way (my time is limited) or even without emotion, but in fact, I am anything but that.
W
WilderSueden7 Dec 2020 20:42When it comes to floor plan design, I might be a beginner. But over the past few weeks, I have realized that there is no such thing as planning just one area. You really have to think on the scale of the entire house. Otherwise, you end up with things that don’t fit together.