ᐅ Ground floor approximately 100 sqm, upper floor adaptable for expansion (planned bathroom, 2 children's bedrooms, 1 storage room)

Created on: 28 Mar 2018 10:32
P
pffreestyler
Hello,

Development plan / restrictions
Plot size: 879 sqm (9,458 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site occupancy index: 0.3
Floor area ratio: 0.45
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 5 m (16 ft) to the street, 3 m (10 ft) each to the orchard area and neighbors
Edge development /
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable roof
Construction style: solid / masonry
Maximum heights / limits: ridge height 9.0 m (30 ft), eaves height 6.0 m (20 ft)
Other requirements

Homeowners’ requirements: living room facing south, small office (initially used as a nursery), walk-in shower on ground floor, utility room on the driveway side
Style, roof type, building type
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 stories
Number of residents, age: 2 – under 30
Office use: family use rather than home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 2-3
Open or closed architecture: closed
Traditional or modern style: rather traditional
Open kitchen, kitchen island: no
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport planned later on the east side
Kitchen garden, greenhouse: no

House design
Designer: general contractor
What do you like most? Why? living room facing south, the number of rooms as desired
What do you dislike? Why? the office window 1 should be moved from south to west (otherwise the wall looks too bare); driveway and access to be on the east, not the west
Price estimate by architect/planner: available after Easter; currently mainly focused on the floor plan
Personal price limit including fixtures: expected around €1,700 per sqm (sq ft conversion not added per instruction)
Preferred heating: gas

If you have to give up, which details/features?
-can give up: bathtub
-cannot give up:

Why is the design as it is now?
The floor plan is based on a very similar layout seen during a house viewing and is our favorite among all viewings and catalog research. We only adapted it slightly to our needs (removed guest WC and enlarged living room, rotated office).

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
The floor plan basically fits us, but I would appreciate your opinion to see if any improvements are possible. Note: as mentioned, we want to move the office window to the west so the wall doesn’t look so bare. Driveway on the east, not west. Therefore, the bare wall on the west is where the carport will go up to the utility room door. Alternatively, a window could be added to the living room there and the carport start behind the house. The plot allows this.

My main concern is that we’re not 100% happy with the roof’s east-west orientation; I would prefer a north-south alignment. Do you have ideas on rotating the floor plan 90 degrees while keeping the layout mostly unchanged? Only the kitchen and office could be swapped.

PS: The square meter figures for the hallway may be incorrect; the contractor will finalize after Easter. Correct figures will be approximately: living room 31.79 sqm (342 sq ft), kitchen 15.19 sqm (163 sq ft), utility room 9.87 sqm (106 sq ft), hallway about 19.5 sqm (210 sq ft), office/child room 1 about 8 sqm (86 sq ft), bedroom about 11.8 sqm (127 sq ft), bathroom about 8.5 sqm (91 sq ft)

Plot details: length west: 40 m (131 ft), east: 42 m (138 ft), width: 21.5 m (71 ft)

Best regards
H
haydee
4 Apr 2018 10:05
Actually, all adults whom I don’t mind entering the house without ringing the bell or notifying me beforehand have a key.
C
chand1986
4 Apr 2018 10:16
haydee schrieb:
Actually, all adult individuals whom I don’t mind being in the house unannounced and without ringing the doorbell have a key.

That’s how I know it as well. These are the residents. Plus spare keys, each held by my parents in my case, given with the promise never to drop in without prior notice. Their spare keys are held by me under the same agreement.

The rest can ring the bell for completely spontaneous visits. That hardly ever happens. Usually, a message like, “Hey, we’re biking around your area, are you home? We’d be there in 30 minutes.”

If it works out, there’s coffee or beer or something. If not, I say so. If the message isn’t read in time, no one shows up.

I find this approach very comfortable.
Ibdk144 Apr 2018 11:41
Hmm, I find this discussion quite interesting. In our case, everyone rings the doorbell before entering my house—whether it’s my parents, friends, or my children’s friends. Only the neighbors have keys for emergencies. They would never think of just walking into my living room unannounced. Our front door sometimes “catches” due to the latch, so it can open by itself, but even my boys’ friends always ask at the door first if they can come in.

I sometimes call out to my neighbor/friend from the terrace, and she comes over, and vice versa. But she would never just barge in without checking if it’s a good time for me. Everyone needs some privacy!

Is this really common where you are?
And yes, the main entrance is used by everyone here. I don’t need a second access point.
N
Nordlys
4 Apr 2018 11:44
You don’t have to build it like this. However, it is a proven concept in Schleswig-Holstein. On our side of the street, with odd house numbers, all houses are arranged this way: back door – utility room – kitchen, or hallway if the kitchen is part of the living room. On the even-numbered side, there is one without a back door: it’s a typical Hamburg style.

When entering: we all know the proper etiquette. You open the back door and call out. If there is no response, you leave again.
C
chand1986
4 Apr 2018 11:58
Nordlys schrieb:
When entering: we also know what’s appropriate. You open the back door and call out. If there’s no response, you leave.

Hey Karsten, please don’t take this the wrong way, but that has nothing to do with manners! If the door is open, I assume someone is inside, and if that person doesn’t respond to a call, I would actually get worried and not just leave like that.

Or do people in SH also leave their doors open when they go shopping or to the Elbphilharmonie? Probably not.
C
Curly
4 Apr 2018 12:25
Do you not have any burglars where you live? I would never think of leaving any door open unless I’m taking out the trash. I would also find it odd if friends just dropped by without warning; it’s better to call beforehand.

Best regards,
Sabine