ᐅ Ideas for Basement Planning

Hello dear forum,

our planning is gradually becoming more concrete. A friend who is an architect took a look at our plot and came up with some new, useful ideas.
In advance: A residential house of 160-170 sqm (1720-1830 sq ft) plus a basement is planned.
Layout concept: Open living area with pantry, master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite shower bathroom, 3 children’s rooms, family bathroom, 2 offices. The technical room will be moved to the basement.

So far, we only have one child, so we don’t need to have our offices in the basement yet. If more children come, these might possibly move to the basement.

Until now, we also wanted to keep the option open to convert a part of the basement into a separate apartment, as long as a) the children’s rooms upstairs are not needed yet and b) the children eventually move out.

Now we are asking ourselves:
How do we plan the basement?

The architect suggested shifting the entrance to the basement level and then placing the master bedroom in the basement. Possibly keeping the option of having a separate apartment down there as well. The difficulty: When the kids are small, there will be a lot of walking, especially at night.
The open living area should definitely be on the ground floor, as our terrace will be accessible from there (I have attached a site plan).

What ideas do you have? How are your houses designed (basement, ground floor, upper floor)? Feel free to attach pictures – I am curious and have difficulty imagining the basement layout.

Thank you very much

Haven't you already started a thread before?

Yes, but with a completely different intention. It was about the general question of whether to have a basement or not, and the costs for supporting a slope. Now the residential basement is confirmed, and I am hoping for tips on how to best design the lower ground floor.

By the way, our development plan allows for 1.5 stories, but the basement can count as an additional full story, which we intend to use. This means the entrance will be on the north side, and the terrace will be on the south and southwest sides.

Thirteen schrieb:

So far, we wanted to keep the option open to possibly convert the basement into a granny flat, as long as a) we don’t need the children’s bedrooms upstairs yet and b) the children eventually move out.

Why plan for something you don’t need right now? Either you design a house with a granny flat or you don’t. But just because the children might move out in 25 years doesn’t mean I would plan my house around that today.

P.S. Having someone living in your house, in your garden, is always a very thoughtful and carefully considered decision.

nordanney schrieb:

Why plan something you don’t actually need right now? Either I plan a house with a granny flat or not. But just because the children might move out in 25 years doesn’t mean I should design the house accordingly today.

P.S. Having someone living in your house or garden is always a decision to consider very carefully.

If we have a granny flat, we would use it for a few years to help with mortgage payments. Later, when the children are grown, they could have their own living space, or it could be rented out again. No one would be living in our garden.

The alternative would be to do without a granny flat entirely and instead add extra living space in the basement, so there would be more room on the ground floor and upper floor. My question here is: Which rooms are most suitable for this?

Office, bedroom, bathroom, guest room, building services

The basement should not encourage wasting square meters. Here, too, as few square meters as necessary matter.