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:
The draftsman really did a good job. I honestly don’t see what’s insane about it. Well, you’re (again) right 😉
A draftsman only creates the drawings, an architect contributes their knowledge and education.
However, I was referring to an architect who must have at least added their stamp.
… insane, because I see a 2D design at the initial stage that is completely unbalanced. I don’t think the stair redesign is worthwhile, in the end no one will say: it was worth it — whether for the house itself or for renting it out. The design has flaws now (because the planner either didn’t care about many things or simply didn’t think them through). Later, there will be little comfort. And why would anyone want to rent 140 sqm (1506 sq ft) with just a 5 sqm (54 sq ft) shower-only bathroom?
And yes, it feels like everything has to be planned mainly against a boring social environment (even if they can argue loudly) — I have to smile because we design so many galleries, also fully glazed, central staircases etc. here, and you commend your “ideas” here, but in my opinion they are only executed amateurishly.
And that’s why I find it crazy that an architect agreed to this. But why should he care? He won’t have to manage the renovation or present this planning.
It’s a pity that no discussion came about.
I think it’s good that you’re already thinking about the situation 20 years from now. We did the same, and I find it a great relief to at least have the option to rent out parts of the upper floor. Friends of ours planned it that way as well. In general, the conversion shouldn’t be too complicated, and changing the staircase sounds complex and expensive. Isn’t there a simpler solution? An external staircase or perhaps a shared entrance area. Also important and not to be underestimated are soundproofing and, if necessary, electrical installations.
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