Hello everyone!
After taking some time to consider our architect’s design and adjusting the ground floor to fit our ideas, I would now like to share the floor plan with you. Ideally, construction would start next year, but we are not in a real hurry.
The plans show a second preliminary draft from our architect, including an initial cost estimate. Unfortunately, dimensions are not included yet. The first draft was mainly to illustrate that our dreams cannot be realized within the original budget we had planned.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size => approx. 450-500 m² (The exact size is not yet fixed as we are receiving the plot as a gift from my parents, and we are still unsure about the future boundaries.)
Slope => slight slope from west to east (approx. 1m (3 feet) over the house’s length)
[I]The house has an almost ideal north/south orientation. The entrance, carport, and driveway are therefore located on the north side.[/I]
- There is no development plan.
Homeowner requirements:
Style, roof type, building type => flat roof with roof terrace
Exterior dimensions => [I]11.80m x 7.2m (39 feet x 24 feet) with a bay window of 4.4m x 1.5m (14 feet x 5 feet) (no specification from us)
[/I]
Basement, floors => basement with a granny flat + 2 full floors + roof terrace
Number of people, age => 2 adults in the main living unit + 2 children expected soon + 1 person in the granny flat
Office: family use or home office? => My wife is a teacher and will regularly do some work at home. I will be working from home up to 4 days a week in the future.
Open or closed architecture => open living/kitchen/dining area
Conservative or modern design => modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island => open, yes, but no island (if possible, without overhead cabinets)
Number of dining seats => 6-10 people (table 2.4m x 1.0m (8 feet x 3 feet) + 8-10 chairs)
Fireplace => undecided (my wife wants one, I don’t – leaning towards no)
Music/stereo wall => no
Balcony, roof terrace => roof terrace
Garage, carport => 2x carport
Utility garden, greenhouse => no
House design
Planning by:
- our trusted architect.
What do you like in particular?:
- open kitchen, cube on the roof with covered roof terrace, small utility room on the ground floor for washer and dryer
What do you dislike/what needs improvement?:
Basement – the layout needs optimization for a technical room.
Ground floor – should be mirrored west to east completely; we are also concerned that the living room width of 3.5m (11.5 feet) feels narrow and tunnel-shaped. I want the sofa on the north side and the TV on the south side.
Upper floor – 45° walls in the children’s bathroom
Preferred heating technology:
- gas boiler/solar vs. heat pump (air/water or geothermal) – still completely undecided, the floor plan should be finalized first, then heating load will be calculated.
If you had to do without certain features/extensions …
… what could you do without:
for now, the carport and basement finishing as well as expanding the children’s rooms + bathroom since we don’t have children yet. Otherwise, we would like everything included.
… what can’t you do without:
- open living area on the ground floor, granny flat, roof terrace
Since our architect is on vacation until early December, we are currently on a bit of a break, which we have used to reshape the ground floor according to our ideas.
[I][I]
We are now considering extending the longitudinal side by at least 50cm (preferably 1.0m (3 feet)) to increase the living room width from 3.5m (11.5 feet) to 4.0-4.5m (13-15 feet) (we extended the building by 1m (3 feet)).[/I]
We mirrored the plan from west to east to achieve a greater spatial separation between the living room and the granny flat. Additionally, we planned a niche for a side-by-side refrigerator – unfortunately at the expense of the already small utility room.
Sorry there are no measurements included yet, I will provide them as soon as possible. Please ask if you want specific dimensions.
Now to the architect’s cost estimate:
Site development: 7,000€
Surveying: 2,500€
Main house: 285,000€
Carport: 12,000€
Controlled ventilation system: 10,000€ (requested by us)
Sun protection: 7,500€
Ceiling spotlights: 2,000€ (requested by us)
Landscaping: 2,500€
Paved surfaces: 20,000€
Kitchen: 15,000€
Fireplace: 7,000€ (initially requested by us, now uncertain)
Architect fees approx.: 29,000€[/I]
Specialist experts, structural engineering, fire protection, energy saving regulations approx.: 11,000€
Total: 410,500€
The architect’s calculation assumes building costs of 326€/m³ (including VAT) of gross volume.
The living area currently is approx. 156m² (1,680 sq ft) + 38m² (410 sq ft) granny flat + 30m² (320 sq ft) usable space in the basement.
Calculating only on living area, that equates to around 1,470€/m² (137 USD/sq ft).
Including all costs, it comes to 2,110€/m² (197 USD/sq ft).
Does this seem realistic to you?
What do you think about the design? What would you improve?
I look forward to your suggestions!
Best regards, Mathias
After taking some time to consider our architect’s design and adjusting the ground floor to fit our ideas, I would now like to share the floor plan with you. Ideally, construction would start next year, but we are not in a real hurry.
The plans show a second preliminary draft from our architect, including an initial cost estimate. Unfortunately, dimensions are not included yet. The first draft was mainly to illustrate that our dreams cannot be realized within the original budget we had planned.
Development plan/restrictions
Plot size => approx. 450-500 m² (The exact size is not yet fixed as we are receiving the plot as a gift from my parents, and we are still unsure about the future boundaries.)
Slope => slight slope from west to east (approx. 1m (3 feet) over the house’s length)
[I]The house has an almost ideal north/south orientation. The entrance, carport, and driveway are therefore located on the north side.[/I]
- There is no development plan.
Homeowner requirements:
Style, roof type, building type => flat roof with roof terrace
Exterior dimensions => [I]11.80m x 7.2m (39 feet x 24 feet) with a bay window of 4.4m x 1.5m (14 feet x 5 feet) (no specification from us)
[/I]
Basement, floors => basement with a granny flat + 2 full floors + roof terrace
Number of people, age => 2 adults in the main living unit + 2 children expected soon + 1 person in the granny flat
Office: family use or home office? => My wife is a teacher and will regularly do some work at home. I will be working from home up to 4 days a week in the future.
Open or closed architecture => open living/kitchen/dining area
Conservative or modern design => modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island => open, yes, but no island (if possible, without overhead cabinets)
Number of dining seats => 6-10 people (table 2.4m x 1.0m (8 feet x 3 feet) + 8-10 chairs)
Fireplace => undecided (my wife wants one, I don’t – leaning towards no)
Music/stereo wall => no
Balcony, roof terrace => roof terrace
Garage, carport => 2x carport
Utility garden, greenhouse => no
House design
Planning by:
- our trusted architect.
What do you like in particular?:
- open kitchen, cube on the roof with covered roof terrace, small utility room on the ground floor for washer and dryer
What do you dislike/what needs improvement?:
Basement – the layout needs optimization for a technical room.
Ground floor – should be mirrored west to east completely; we are also concerned that the living room width of 3.5m (11.5 feet) feels narrow and tunnel-shaped. I want the sofa on the north side and the TV on the south side.
Upper floor – 45° walls in the children’s bathroom
Preferred heating technology:
- gas boiler/solar vs. heat pump (air/water or geothermal) – still completely undecided, the floor plan should be finalized first, then heating load will be calculated.
If you had to do without certain features/extensions …
… what could you do without:
for now, the carport and basement finishing as well as expanding the children’s rooms + bathroom since we don’t have children yet. Otherwise, we would like everything included.
… what can’t you do without:
- open living area on the ground floor, granny flat, roof terrace
Since our architect is on vacation until early December, we are currently on a bit of a break, which we have used to reshape the ground floor according to our ideas.
[I][I]
We are now considering extending the longitudinal side by at least 50cm (preferably 1.0m (3 feet)) to increase the living room width from 3.5m (11.5 feet) to 4.0-4.5m (13-15 feet) (we extended the building by 1m (3 feet)).[/I]
We mirrored the plan from west to east to achieve a greater spatial separation between the living room and the granny flat. Additionally, we planned a niche for a side-by-side refrigerator – unfortunately at the expense of the already small utility room.
Sorry there are no measurements included yet, I will provide them as soon as possible. Please ask if you want specific dimensions.
Now to the architect’s cost estimate:
Site development: 7,000€
Surveying: 2,500€
Main house: 285,000€
Carport: 12,000€
Controlled ventilation system: 10,000€ (requested by us)
Sun protection: 7,500€
Ceiling spotlights: 2,000€ (requested by us)
Landscaping: 2,500€
Paved surfaces: 20,000€
Kitchen: 15,000€
Fireplace: 7,000€ (initially requested by us, now uncertain)
Architect fees approx.: 29,000€[/I]
Specialist experts, structural engineering, fire protection, energy saving regulations approx.: 11,000€
Total: 410,500€
The architect’s calculation assumes building costs of 326€/m³ (including VAT) of gross volume.
The living area currently is approx. 156m² (1,680 sq ft) + 38m² (410 sq ft) granny flat + 30m² (320 sq ft) usable space in the basement.
Calculating only on living area, that equates to around 1,470€/m² (137 USD/sq ft).
Including all costs, it comes to 2,110€/m² (197 USD/sq ft).
Does this seem realistic to you?
What do you think about the design? What would you improve?
I look forward to your suggestions!
Best regards, Mathias
I find the kitchen layout highly impractical. The bench seating doesn’t allow any real interaction with those working in the kitchen.
And 10 cm (4 inches) next to a side-by-side refrigerator is usually not enough. Take a look at some drawings of side-by-side refrigerators; typically, you need about 30 cm (12 inches) to open the doors wide enough to fully access the drawers.
Once you have children, constantly having to go through the living room from the garden to the kitchen (for a quick drink, etc.) is not ideal. Also, having the kitchen next to the terrace makes BBQ evenings with friends much more enjoyable.
Regarding the “disturbance” caused by a basement apartment under the living area, I don’t understand that concern. If it’s properly constructed, you shouldn’t notice anything when the apartment is beneath the living room.
Especially with your planned use of the roof terrace, a more private room in the attic would make more sense. A whirlpool requires careful planning (weight), water drainage, and so on.
And 10 cm (4 inches) next to a side-by-side refrigerator is usually not enough. Take a look at some drawings of side-by-side refrigerators; typically, you need about 30 cm (12 inches) to open the doors wide enough to fully access the drawers.
Once you have children, constantly having to go through the living room from the garden to the kitchen (for a quick drink, etc.) is not ideal. Also, having the kitchen next to the terrace makes BBQ evenings with friends much more enjoyable.
Regarding the “disturbance” caused by a basement apartment under the living area, I don’t understand that concern. If it’s properly constructed, you shouldn’t notice anything when the apartment is beneath the living room.
Especially with your planned use of the roof terrace, a more private room in the attic would make more sense. A whirlpool requires careful planning (weight), water drainage, and so on.
30cm (12 inches) really puts me off. Our current freestanding refrigerator stands just 1-2cm (0.4-0.8 inches) away from a wall (the door also opens toward that wall), and I can still open the door fully and remove the drawers. I need to take a closer look at which models would suit us and how their installation requirements are.
The concern about disturbing the granny flat mainly comes from having lived for three years in a rental where we could hear every step from the upstairs neighbor. We are a bit sensitive to this and worry that it might happen again. When my parents had their screed installed, it was done poorly, and their house is extremely noisy because of it.
I need to discuss this with our architect; naturally, we would prefer the kitchen to be on the left, as it would then be closer to the terrace.
Attached, I’ve tried to add dimensions to the plans. For simplicity, after a while I only noted the measurements directly on the relevant walls.
I’m still very interested in your opinions on the cost estimate. I do trust our architect since I know from references that his calculations have always been very accurate in the past, but I would still appreciate some feedback!
Thanks!
The concern about disturbing the granny flat mainly comes from having lived for three years in a rental where we could hear every step from the upstairs neighbor. We are a bit sensitive to this and worry that it might happen again. When my parents had their screed installed, it was done poorly, and their house is extremely noisy because of it.
I need to discuss this with our architect; naturally, we would prefer the kitchen to be on the left, as it would then be closer to the terrace.
Attached, I’ve tried to add dimensions to the plans. For simplicity, after a while I only noted the measurements directly on the relevant walls.
I’m still very interested in your opinions on the cost estimate. I do trust our architect since I know from references that his calculations have always been very accurate in the past, but I would still appreciate some feedback!
Thanks!
First of all, I wish you all the best for your building project.
Is the basement already included in the cost estimate for the project? From my experience with construction companies, they currently tend to charge 10-15% more simply because they can.
The bathroom in the basement would be a bit too small for me. Understandable if it's meant as a student flat, but if you ever want to accommodate a young doctor or a trainee, it should be a bit nicer.
The living room seems a little too long to me, and I find projectors impractical for watching TV.
Is the basement already included in the cost estimate for the project? From my experience with construction companies, they currently tend to charge 10-15% more simply because they can.
The bathroom in the basement would be a bit too small for me. Understandable if it's meant as a student flat, but if you ever want to accommodate a young doctor or a trainee, it should be a bit nicer.
The living room seems a little too long to me, and I find projectors impractical for watching TV.
Thank you
The basement is included in the budget—why is that?
Thanks to you, we are currently really starting to question everything critically.
Yesterday, I think I sparked a little idea with my wife regarding the roof terrace—considering using it as a parents’ area instead of an office upstairs. The main argument was privacy, which could also be enjoyed there in a bathroom with floor-to-ceiling windows. I hope that little idea turns into a fire.
In addition, we are considering placing the living area on the first floor (OG1).
That would give us the following layout:
Ground floor: Cooking, dining, utility room, office
First floor (OG1): Living, children
Second floor (OG2): Parents
If the children’s area is accessed from the living area via a small airlock, the stairwell could be placed in the living area without creating sound insulation issues. Also, it would save space in the stairwell traffic areas because these would then partly be integrated into the living area. A gallery from the living area on the first floor (OG1) to the cooking/dining area on the ground floor could then come back into play, which we had originally excluded due to soundproofing concerns for the children’s rooms.
I find this spatial concept very exciting and have seen something similar at friends’ houses. (By the way, the architect’s initial draft already looked somewhat like this, but back then we thought we would get a basement house for 300,000€ all-inclusive, so everything was quite small and cramped.)
However, my wife can’t really imagine it and would be reluctant to give up the large living/cooking/dining area on the ground floor.
Then it would probably be more like this:
Ground floor: Cooking, dining, living, utility room
First floor (OG1): Children, office
Second floor (OG2): Parents
In the end, we’re back to the beginning—this all has to be digested first, and we will discuss it with the architect at the beginning of December.
Thanks in any case for the critical feedback, especially the idea of walking through the daily routine really made us look at things more critically.
The basement is included in the budget—why is that?
Thanks to you, we are currently really starting to question everything critically.
Yesterday, I think I sparked a little idea with my wife regarding the roof terrace—considering using it as a parents’ area instead of an office upstairs. The main argument was privacy, which could also be enjoyed there in a bathroom with floor-to-ceiling windows. I hope that little idea turns into a fire.
In addition, we are considering placing the living area on the first floor (OG1).
That would give us the following layout:
Ground floor: Cooking, dining, utility room, office
First floor (OG1): Living, children
Second floor (OG2): Parents
If the children’s area is accessed from the living area via a small airlock, the stairwell could be placed in the living area without creating sound insulation issues. Also, it would save space in the stairwell traffic areas because these would then partly be integrated into the living area. A gallery from the living area on the first floor (OG1) to the cooking/dining area on the ground floor could then come back into play, which we had originally excluded due to soundproofing concerns for the children’s rooms.
I find this spatial concept very exciting and have seen something similar at friends’ houses. (By the way, the architect’s initial draft already looked somewhat like this, but back then we thought we would get a basement house for 300,000€ all-inclusive, so everything was quite small and cramped.)
However, my wife can’t really imagine it and would be reluctant to give up the large living/cooking/dining area on the ground floor.
Then it would probably be more like this:
Ground floor: Cooking, dining, living, utility room
First floor (OG1): Children, office
Second floor (OG2): Parents
In the end, we’re back to the beginning—this all has to be digested first, and we will discuss it with the architect at the beginning of December.
Thanks in any case for the critical feedback, especially the idea of walking through the daily routine really made us look at things more critically.
Hello,
What I notice is that the vestibule on the ground floor is very small. It’s enough for two people, but not for a family with children. At some point, there will be a stroller and maybe a jogging stroller/bike trailer, etc. Otherwise, you have to place these items in the actual hallway.
What is the utility room for? Since you also have a basement, why do you want to put noisy appliances like the heating system, washing machine, and dryer on the ground floor? I would remove that room entirely and use the space for the kitchen and a larger guest bathroom.
I like the idea of the roof terrace (why is it only 11 sqm (118 sq ft) in the plans??). It looks stylish, especially the concept with a hot tub and sauna, which could be very nice if the roof terrace is truly private. That kind of setup is more suitable for the phase _before_ children and _for_ children.
Where will guests stay? Currently, you only have the office available for that. Keep in mind that you will then have to clear away absolutely all documents whenever guests are staying there. Also, the guests have a very long way to the guest bathroom. I would at least install a toilet upstairs for convenience.
Children’s bathrooms are currently very popular, but to be honest, I wonder what for. I would rather equip the guest bathroom on the ground floor with a shower, so that later the bathrooms can be shared more efficiently. I would use the space and money differently. But that really comes down to personal preference. I would definitely add a shower, though, possibly by removing the second washbasin or the bathtub. You don’t yet know if the bathroom will be used by boys or girls later on. For boys, a bathtub is probably just a dust collector.
In the basement bathroom, I would try to squeeze in a small window. A toilet without an openable window is really not acceptable… and the space is very tight. Even with an 80cm (31.5 inch) shower tray, you only have 80cm (31.5 inches) left for the toilet niche. That’s not nice… On the other hand, the vestibule for such a granny flat is quite wide at 1.5m (5 feet). Possibly, I would eliminate the vestibule entirely and move the entrance door 20cm (8 inches) south to enlarge the bathroom a bit. With a proper front door, there won’t be drafts anyway.
Best regards,
Andreas
What I notice is that the vestibule on the ground floor is very small. It’s enough for two people, but not for a family with children. At some point, there will be a stroller and maybe a jogging stroller/bike trailer, etc. Otherwise, you have to place these items in the actual hallway.
What is the utility room for? Since you also have a basement, why do you want to put noisy appliances like the heating system, washing machine, and dryer on the ground floor? I would remove that room entirely and use the space for the kitchen and a larger guest bathroom.
I like the idea of the roof terrace (why is it only 11 sqm (118 sq ft) in the plans??). It looks stylish, especially the concept with a hot tub and sauna, which could be very nice if the roof terrace is truly private. That kind of setup is more suitable for the phase _before_ children and _for_ children.
Where will guests stay? Currently, you only have the office available for that. Keep in mind that you will then have to clear away absolutely all documents whenever guests are staying there. Also, the guests have a very long way to the guest bathroom. I would at least install a toilet upstairs for convenience.
Children’s bathrooms are currently very popular, but to be honest, I wonder what for. I would rather equip the guest bathroom on the ground floor with a shower, so that later the bathrooms can be shared more efficiently. I would use the space and money differently. But that really comes down to personal preference. I would definitely add a shower, though, possibly by removing the second washbasin or the bathtub. You don’t yet know if the bathroom will be used by boys or girls later on. For boys, a bathtub is probably just a dust collector.
In the basement bathroom, I would try to squeeze in a small window. A toilet without an openable window is really not acceptable… and the space is very tight. Even with an 80cm (31.5 inch) shower tray, you only have 80cm (31.5 inches) left for the toilet niche. That’s not nice… On the other hand, the vestibule for such a granny flat is quite wide at 1.5m (5 feet). Possibly, I would eliminate the vestibule entirely and move the entrance door 20cm (8 inches) south to enlarge the bathroom a bit. With a proper front door, there won’t be drafts anyway.
Best regards,
Andreas
matte1987 schrieb:
I find this room layout very interesting and have seen something similar at friends’ houses.Our neighbors have the utility room, kitchen, dining area, and the two children's bedrooms on the ground floor.
Upstairs is the parents’ area including the living room, which is primarily intended for the parents in the evenings.
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