ᐅ Initial Floor Plan Draft – Backyard Development – 1.5 Stories
Created on: 15 Oct 2025 14:31
S
Steiger
Hello everyone,
we would like to present our first floor plan draft and kindly ask for your honest feedback.
The house is designed for 2 adults plus potentially 2 children in the future and will be built on a rural plot of land. We are currently in the design phase and welcome all constructive comments and suggestions for improvement.
The plot is a backyard development, which means there are some restrictions. For example, we are not allowed to exceed a length of 7.0 m (23 feet) and an eave height of 3.7 m (12 feet). In addition, the assigned plots are not yet developed, so we will need to build a road access here.
On the site plan we were allocated plot number 4.
More details are included in the notes..
Building Plan / Restrictions
Homeowner Requirements
House Design
Why the design looks like this
We wanted a home that is family-friendly, functional, and suitable for aging in place, while complying with the building plan.
The basic idea: parents live fully on the ground floor, children live upstairs.
We are still optimizing and would appreciate feedback on:
We look forward to your honest feedback!
What would you improve or arrange differently?
Thank you very much in advance for your time and suggestions.
we would like to present our first floor plan draft and kindly ask for your honest feedback.
The house is designed for 2 adults plus potentially 2 children in the future and will be built on a rural plot of land. We are currently in the design phase and welcome all constructive comments and suggestions for improvement.
The plot is a backyard development, which means there are some restrictions. For example, we are not allowed to exceed a length of 7.0 m (23 feet) and an eave height of 3.7 m (12 feet). In addition, the assigned plots are not yet developed, so we will need to build a road access here.
On the site plan we were allocated plot number 4.
More details are included in the notes..
Building Plan / Restrictions
- Plot size: approximately 27.5 m (90 feet) wide × 41 m (135 feet) deep (~1,100 m² (12,000 sq ft))
- Terrain: flat, no slope
- Site coverage ratio (floor area ratio): 0.4
- Floor space index (floor area ratio): 0.4
- Building envelope / setbacks: 3 m (10 feet) boundary setback, house positioned on the right side, garage may be built on the boundary
- Number of floors: 1.5 stories (maximum ridge height 7 m (23 feet), eave height approx. 3.7 m (12 feet))
- Roof type: gable roof, minimum 25° pitch
- Architectural style: modern country house style
- Orientation: south is at the top of the plan
- Maximum heights: 7 m (23 feet) ridge, 3.7 m (12 feet) eave
- Additional requirements: the plot must be accessed via a new road. The style must blend with the neighborhood.
Homeowner Requirements
- Building type: single-family home, 1.5 stories, no basement
- Occupants: 2 adults, later 2 children
- Ground floor needs: parents’ area fully on the ground floor (bedroom, dressing room, bathroom), living/dining/kitchen area (living area preferably separate), utility room with access to the garage, guest toilet
- Upper floor needs: 2 children’s bedrooms, 1 office, 1 bathroom, storage room
- Office: for home office and flexible use
- Guest accommodation: rare (max. 2–3 times per year)
- Architecture: open, welcoming, with clear sightlines
- Construction method: rather conservative-modern (no flat roof, but light materials, clean lines)
- Kitchen: open kitchen with island
- Dining area: spacious, table for 6–8 people
- Fireplace: optional, mainly for design/coziness, probably no
- Music/stereo: no specific plans yet
- Balcony/roof terrace: no
- Garage/carport: double garage, direct access to utility room, cars might be parked under a covered entrance to keep the garage space free since there will be no attic
- Garden: usable garden area, south-facing terrace → I would like to plan a conservatory here for the future or optionally build it right away. Since we will have a south-facing garden with farmland behind, a conservatory is desired as a separated area to be used all year round.
- Special features:
- Smart home planned
- Parents’ area deliberately on the ground floor
- Conservatory desired either in the future or built-in from the start
House Design
- Designed by: architect
- What we particularly like:
- South orientation with bright rooms
- Functional floor plan and parents’ area
- What we don’t like (yet):
- Children’s bathroom upstairs might be too large
- Bedroom too small
- Pantry/storage room has a door to the utility room; maybe reduce utility room size to enlarge pantry
- Children’s bedroom closets block windows and might reduce lighting
- Driveway to garage is not ideal. The garage may need to be moved further back
- Price estimate from architect: not available yet
- Personal price limit (house + fittings): around 500,000 € (approximately), completely self-built, land already purchased
- Heating system: ground source heat pump with borehole, underfloor heating, technical room probably in the garage equipment room
Why the design looks like this
We wanted a home that is family-friendly, functional, and suitable for aging in place, while complying with the building plan.
The basic idea: parents live fully on the ground floor, children live upstairs.
We are still optimizing and would appreciate feedback on:
- Room layout on the ground floor (hallway, sleeping area)
- Living/dining/kitchen area: solution with an adjacent conservatory. Living area preferably separate, so children or adults can use different paths when guests visit.
- Garage size
- Children’s bathroom: size and whether the storage room could be bigger and the bathroom smaller. Possibly separate the toilet from the children’s bathroom?
We look forward to your honest feedback!
What would you improve or arrange differently?
Thank you very much in advance for your time and suggestions.
wiltshire schrieb:
Well, a bit more is possible. How social are you, and what does ideal socializing at home and in the garden look like? What hobbies do you have, what limitations are there, what makes a good day, what annoys you, how do you want to spend time together, what do you need to relax, how similar or different are the daily routines, and how do these change over the seasons... For us, it really is like this: football (soccer) and the gym are the only significant hobbies that regularly occur and therefore influence everyday life somewhat.
Otherwise, socializing is quite important: you want to have enough space to invite friends or family without it feeling cramped. The garden can of course also be a nice place to gather in the summer.
A good day means: physical activity, spending some time outdoors, eating together, and relaxing in the living area in the evening. Basically, quite a classic scenario.
Relaxation means: perhaps clear and tidy rooms. Having an office or separate living room would also provide spaces to withdraw to if you get annoyed. In winter, it’s more about coziness. I don’t think there’s much more to add on this.
Regarding the front yard, you’ve somewhat changed my opinion. Gardening will always require work, which is normal and can be a good balance.
And it is actually nice to arrive at the property with an open yard that has more space and some greenery.
We have now received the second draft. We are still not satisfied because several aspects of the floor plan do not yet suit us. For example, the walk-in closet is much too large, and we would prefer to use that space for the living area. There are a few other things we noticed that could be planned better. Overall, the design still feels too large to us, and we believe the room proportions are not quite right. We have now decided on a carport, but with a large storage room. We like how this is designed in the draft, and the utility room is also acceptable. We could do without the pantry if we can find a different solution for the kitchen, living, and dining areas.
This is currently our main focus. We would prefer not to have the living, dining, and kitchen areas in one straight line, but rather arranged in an L-shape with a defined living space. However, the extension in the first draft was too extreme. Perhaps this could be solved with an interior wall, for example, placing the TV on it?
Maybe one of you has some ideas?
At first glance, we find the top floor quite good at the moment. Possibly, the office and bathroom could be swapped because of the waste chute.
One general question: Do you have any recommendations for a user-friendly architectural software that is easy to use? We believe we need to bring more of our own ideas and drafted floor plans to the architect. He is more of a structural engineer and can take on the role of the builder. This is why we want to continue working with him, but there is still room for improvement in the floor plan design.
This is currently our main focus. We would prefer not to have the living, dining, and kitchen areas in one straight line, but rather arranged in an L-shape with a defined living space. However, the extension in the first draft was too extreme. Perhaps this could be solved with an interior wall, for example, placing the TV on it?
Maybe one of you has some ideas?
At first glance, we find the top floor quite good at the moment. Possibly, the office and bathroom could be swapped because of the waste chute.
One general question: Do you have any recommendations for a user-friendly architectural software that is easy to use? We believe we need to bring more of our own ideas and drafted floor plans to the architect. He is more of a structural engineer and can take on the role of the builder. This is why we want to continue working with him, but there is still room for improvement in the floor plan design.
Steiger schrieb:
A general question: Do you have any tips for a user-friendly architectural software that can be easily operated by oneself? I think we need to contribute more of our own ideas and preliminary floor plans to the architect. He is more of a structural engineer and can take on the role of the builder. This is why we would like to work with him. There is still room for improvement in the floor plan design. The essential tool is the "requirements profile," which belongs to design phase TWO - not THREE! - and should be discussed until it fits. As long as it doesn’t fit at this stage, you shouldn’t proceed (or if you have proceeded anyway, then only re-entering design phase 2 is the correct course of action). A structural engineer is a specialist and easily replaceable. Therefore, there is no reason to prefer an architect who includes this service. Besides, drawing floor plans is a basic exercise that a competent architect could do before breakfast in their first semester. If not, I would definitely not trust them with the more complex aspects of their work on my project. Moreover, a layperson is not a good coach for supervising an architect’s drafting if the architect struggles to interpret client requirements—assuming that is the case. More likely, the issue lies in communication if clients feel misunderstood. For poor understanding between sender and receiver, it’s enough if one of the “antennas” is not precisely aligned. Specialized software is aimed at professionals, primarily because it requires thorough training, experience, and continuous practice. There is software available for novices, usually with online tutorials, but the detailed plans can generally only be imported with limited success, leading to errors during compilation. This would not reduce misunderstandings but at best make them more "digital." A clearer language can be achieved with pencil and set square.
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I think basically we will still need to revise the plans a few more times, which is fine.
We had considered removing the pantry and designing the kitchen in that space, moving the kitchen island and dining area more towards the garden, facing south.
The living area would then be to the left of the dining space. The living area could also be separated, for example, with a TV wall or an ethanol fireplace.
We will reduce the size of the walk-in closet. The block still needs to be revised.
We had considered removing the pantry and designing the kitchen in that space, moving the kitchen island and dining area more towards the garden, facing south.
The living area would then be to the left of the dining space. The living area could also be separated, for example, with a TV wall or an ethanol fireplace.
We will reduce the size of the walk-in closet. The block still needs to be revised.
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