ᐅ General Criticism Regarding Architecture, Layout, and Exterior Appearance
Created on: 29 Nov 2018 13:55
C
Christian K.C
Christian K.29 Nov 2018 13:55House Design
Who designed it: Architect
What we like: Layout, lots of natural light, practical despite design focus, space-saving (more garden area)
What we dislike: Some of the exterior appearance, many stairs
Why does the design look the way it does?
We generally like the Bauhaus style but not monotonous buildings. Since we don’t have enough space for a nice Bauhaus-style house, we preferred a city villa or a modern pitched roof. However, we then saw designs with a setback floor, which we liked.
Advantages of the setback floor: Bedrooms and bathrooms separated (from the children, etc.), nice views, smaller building footprint, easier installation of photovoltaic systems
Disadvantages of the setback floor: Many stairs (especially challenging later in life), no roof space for storage
What do you think are its main strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths: Orientation—for example, stairs located on the north side, bright staircase avoiding a dark space, bathrooms with morning light, corner windows providing more evening light
Weaknesses: Front exterior facade
Our "problem"
The architect incorporated our requirements (number of rooms, storage for existing furniture, etc.), and the original design looked prettier, but—for example—we didn’t want floor-to-ceiling windows in the children’s rooms. The height of the window sills visually isn’t ideal but works better for room use.
Our problem is that we are uncertain about the design because it is quite unusual. Also, considering a possible future sale: While we probably won’t sell, it could happen in an emergency. Then the question is whether the unique design might deter many buyers.
If we had chosen a city villa or pitched roof, we probably wouldn’t have these concerns and might have less garden space but more storage.
Maybe we also hesitate because we only have this one option and feel somewhat pressured to accept it. It could be that if we saw another design with a city villa or pitched roof, we might still choose this design because we would then have alternatives and a better basis for comparison. Do you understand what I mean?
What is the main fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters or less?
1. Could there be issues with the architecture if we want to sell the house?
2. Do you have any general comments on the design?
P.S. The facade color will be gray and not the brown tone shown in the drawings.
Who designed it: Architect
What we like: Layout, lots of natural light, practical despite design focus, space-saving (more garden area)
What we dislike: Some of the exterior appearance, many stairs
Why does the design look the way it does?
We generally like the Bauhaus style but not monotonous buildings. Since we don’t have enough space for a nice Bauhaus-style house, we preferred a city villa or a modern pitched roof. However, we then saw designs with a setback floor, which we liked.
Advantages of the setback floor: Bedrooms and bathrooms separated (from the children, etc.), nice views, smaller building footprint, easier installation of photovoltaic systems
Disadvantages of the setback floor: Many stairs (especially challenging later in life), no roof space for storage
What do you think are its main strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths: Orientation—for example, stairs located on the north side, bright staircase avoiding a dark space, bathrooms with morning light, corner windows providing more evening light
Weaknesses: Front exterior facade
Our "problem"
The architect incorporated our requirements (number of rooms, storage for existing furniture, etc.), and the original design looked prettier, but—for example—we didn’t want floor-to-ceiling windows in the children’s rooms. The height of the window sills visually isn’t ideal but works better for room use.
Our problem is that we are uncertain about the design because it is quite unusual. Also, considering a possible future sale: While we probably won’t sell, it could happen in an emergency. Then the question is whether the unique design might deter many buyers.
If we had chosen a city villa or pitched roof, we probably wouldn’t have these concerns and might have less garden space but more storage.
Maybe we also hesitate because we only have this one option and feel somewhat pressured to accept it. It could be that if we saw another design with a city villa or pitched roof, we might still choose this design because we would then have alternatives and a better basis for comparison. Do you understand what I mean?
What is the main fundamental question about the floor plan in 130 characters or less?
1. Could there be issues with the architecture if we want to sell the house?
2. Do you have any general comments on the design?
P.S. The facade color will be gray and not the brown tone shown in the drawings.
I think it’s cool.
However, I’m wondering how the car gets into the garage – isn’t there an extra wall in the way?
You have 26sqm (280 sq ft) for the bedroom. Very comfortable – I would consider adding a separate walk-in closet. The advantage is that you can get up separately without disturbing each other.
For the roof terrace, I would consider placing an outdoor sauna there *sigh*
Children’s room: Windows with a standard sill height seem quite plain to me, and since windows are only planned on the front side, that feels somewhat insufficient. If you don’t want floor-to-ceiling windows, have you thought about window seats?
Swap child 1’s room with the office. Poor child 1 otherwise won’t get any sunlight.
Overall, the "children’s floor" is the only area I would possibly revise.
Right now, the office and bathroom with shower are on the sunny side, and even the storage room gets good sunlight, but both children’s rooms in the northwest are relatively dark. That might still be optimizable.
However, I’m wondering how the car gets into the garage – isn’t there an extra wall in the way?
You have 26sqm (280 sq ft) for the bedroom. Very comfortable – I would consider adding a separate walk-in closet. The advantage is that you can get up separately without disturbing each other.
For the roof terrace, I would consider placing an outdoor sauna there *sigh*
Children’s room: Windows with a standard sill height seem quite plain to me, and since windows are only planned on the front side, that feels somewhat insufficient. If you don’t want floor-to-ceiling windows, have you thought about window seats?
Swap child 1’s room with the office. Poor child 1 otherwise won’t get any sunlight.
Overall, the "children’s floor" is the only area I would possibly revise.
Right now, the office and bathroom with shower are on the sunny side, and even the storage room gets good sunlight, but both children’s rooms in the northwest are relatively dark. That might still be optimizable.
I think it’s cool. But would I buy it? I’m not sure.
I don’t really like the view from the garden. The white rectangle looks too bulky to me. However, I do like the other views.
A staircase in the living area with three children has been discussed here several times. Those with experience mostly advise against it because it tends to be too noisy between floors.
Personally, I also don’t like when the bathroom door opens directly from the bedroom. There’s a good chance your partner will have to endure stomach noises in the dark or early morning. Not ideal.
That small storage room between child 2 and 3 is supposed to provide sound insulation. I actually think that’s pointless.
The laundry area in the children’s bathroom is, in my opinion, only a so-so solution. It’s too tight for me. But the storage room as an alternative is even smaller. Hmm.
A utility room without a window is not acceptable.
Other than that, I think it’s great.
I don’t really like the view from the garden. The white rectangle looks too bulky to me. However, I do like the other views.
A staircase in the living area with three children has been discussed here several times. Those with experience mostly advise against it because it tends to be too noisy between floors.
Personally, I also don’t like when the bathroom door opens directly from the bedroom. There’s a good chance your partner will have to endure stomach noises in the dark or early morning. Not ideal.
That small storage room between child 2 and 3 is supposed to provide sound insulation. I actually think that’s pointless.
The laundry area in the children’s bathroom is, in my opinion, only a so-so solution. It’s too tight for me. But the storage room as an alternative is even smaller. Hmm.
A utility room without a window is not acceptable.
Other than that, I think it’s great.
Overall, it’s a nice floor plan. In this case, I would definitely install a solid door between the living room and the staircase, since with the front door (or glass door) open, the mail carrier or delivery person can look directly onto your sofa, or the teenage kids might bother you. That would make me feel uncomfortable. However, this can probably be added later if the view isn’t blocked now.
Intuitively, I would swap the tall kitchen cabinets with the sink area.
From my point of view, the stepped upper floor is too tall. It doesn’t match the other proportions. The house itself isn’t large... if the floor area ratio allows, I would skip the stepped upper floor and add some space on the ground floor instead.
Intuitively, I would swap the tall kitchen cabinets with the sink area.
From my point of view, the stepped upper floor is too tall. It doesn’t match the other proportions. The house itself isn’t large... if the floor area ratio allows, I would skip the stepped upper floor and add some space on the ground floor instead.
C
Christian K.29 Nov 2018 15:30Climbee schrieb:
I think it’s cool.
...
Otherwise, I think it’s great. Thank you
Climbee schrieb:
I’m just wondering how the car gets into the garage – isn’t there an extra wall in the way? It’s a carport, not a garage. We could even extend the carport so that two cars can park one behind the other, and two cars would be in front of the house. But we want to build a garden shed for bikes and so on behind the carport.
Climbee schrieb:
You have 26 square meters (280 square feet) for the bedroom. Very generous – I’d consider adding a walk-in closet. The advantage is that you can get up separately more easily.
For the roof terrace, I’d consider an outdoor sauna *sigh* The drawings show red lines where our closets could be placed, creating a storage room behind them. But we still need to see if we want or need that. We’re not really fans of walk-in closets. Yes, a walk-in closet is nice, but the "real" walk-in closets are usually slightly bigger and so is the bedroom. We prefer one large room. In catalogs and such, beds and closets are also always shown in large rooms. Prefer one big room instead of two smaller ones. You also get more oxygen at night, etc.
An outdoor sauna has been added to the wish list.
Climbee schrieb:
For the kids’ rooms: windows with a standard sill height seem quite plain, and since there are only windows facing forward, that seems insufficient. If they’re not floor-to-ceiling, have you considered window seats?
Swap child 1 and the office. Poor child 1 would otherwise get no sun at all.
Overall, the "kids’ floor" is the only area I might still want to tweak.
Now the office and shower bathroom have the good side of the building, and the storage room also gets good sun, but both kids’ rooms are in the northwest and are rather dark. That could probably be optimized. We have a window seat on the ground floor in the middle. The kids' windows upstairs are a bit of a tricky subject. I don’t really like them either, but my wife doesn’t want floor-to-ceiling windows, and she also doesn’t like covering the lower part for privacy. Hmm...
Regarding child 1: that room will be a study/guest room and, if needed, the third child’s room. You never know how many there will be. The office faces the street, so the kids’ rooms look out onto the garden and get sun from noon onwards. I would be surprised if they ever get up earlier.
Climbee schrieb:
The staircase in the living area with three children has been discussed here multiple times. Those with experience mostly reject it because it’s too noisy for the upper floors.
Personally, I also don’t like when the bathroom door opens directly from the bedroom. The partner might have to endure stomach sounds at night or early morning half-asleep. Not ideal.
This tiny storage room between child 2 and 3 is supposed to act as sound insulation. I think that’s nonsense.
I find the laundry placement in the kids’ bathroom only semi-ideal. It’s too cramped for me. But the storage room as an alternative is even tighter. Hmm.
A technical room without a window is absolutely not acceptable. Yes, the staircase has always been an issue. We wanted to minimize noise reaching the upper floors. That’s not easy. With a stepped floor level, it’s even harder since the staircase location is awkward. The sound shouldn’t carry well, and if it does, I want to treat the stairs with sound-absorbing materials, e.g., stone walls and such that break the sound.
Climbee schrieb:
This tiny storage room between child 2 and 3 is supposed to act as sound insulation. I think that’s nonsense.
Laundry in the kids’ bathroom is semi-ideal. It’s too cramped. But the storage room as an alternative is even smaller. Hmm.
A technical room without a window is absolutely not acceptable. No, the kids’ rooms were actually bigger originally, but we find 15 square meters (160 square feet) sufficient and keep a storage room as well. We don’t have a basement, so we need storage space.
The laundry should be on the upper floor since it originates and is used there. I think it’s nonsense to carry dirty laundry down the stairs only to bring it back up again later.
Climbee schrieb:
A technical room without a window is absolutely not acceptable. That decision is up to the construction manager. He has already marked it with a question mark.
ypg schrieb:
Overall, a nice floor plan. I would definitely add a closed door between the living room and the staircase. When the front door (or glass door) is open, the postman or delivery person can look directly onto your sofa or the kids/teenagers might annoy you. That would make me uncomfortable. However, that can probably be added later if it’s not accepted now. Thanks again.
I’d have to check again, but from the interior view, you cannot actually see the sofa directly from the front door. You have to take a few steps inside before you see it. That is intentionally designed to create more space and sight lines. The architect extended the wall near the staircase, turning the hallway into a narrow corridor. That’s why we decided against it. However, installing a sliding door later remains an option. It’s good to see what you all notice...
ypg schrieb:
Intuitively, I would swap the tall cabinets with the sink area in the kitchen. That would increase the walking distance to the storage room. The tall cabinets hold the fridge, oven, etc. But we will discuss that. We never looked at it in detail since the kitchen layout is not finalized yet. That was just a suggestion from the architect to show that everything fits.
ypg schrieb:
And regarding the appearance: to me, the stepped top floor is too tall. It doesn’t match the other proportions. The house itself is not very big... If the floor area ratio allows it, I would do without the stepped floor and instead add some space on the ground floor. Yes, we have considered that too. Currently, the ground floor ceiling height is 2.8 meters (9 ft 2 in) clear and the upper floors 2.6 meters (8 ft 6 in). I would reduce the top floor height to 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in). Our cabinets are 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in). So maximum 2.45 meters (8 ft) would be possible.
Expanding the ground floor would cost garden space and most likely require reworking the entire floor plan. That’s difficult...
haydee schrieb:
I could imagine the living area might lack storage and space.
Sofa for five people
TV, DVD collection, stereo system, sideboard or cabinet with games, crafts, sheet music, etc. Hmm, we have storage under the staircase (the purple line marks a door). In front, there will be one or two steps with space to store things, sit down, or display decorations.
The middle window is a window seat, and that area will initially be a kids’ corner. But yes, sheet music and such will be tricky. Hmm...
Near the entrance there is space for floor-to-ceiling cabinets and opposite there is space for a mirror. We hadn’t thought about a games cabinet since they currently are not in the living room. But the TV wall would be suitable. The TV will hang on the wall, and underneath there will be space for games, etc. Our DVD collection is small. We often go to the cinema or stream instead.
Thanks for the suggestions. It helps us refine the plan.
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