ᐅ Optimizing the Floor Plan for a New Single-Family Home Build
Created on: 22 Aug 2020 20:42
H
hausvoraus
Hello everyone,
I would appreciate feedback on the following floor plan. I’m completely new to the forum but have read comments on various other designs here. Before receiving feedback suggesting a complete redesign, I prefer to put this unfinished draft up for discussion.
What is still unfinished: window positions and sizes, furniture arrangement in the living room, separation between the utility room and the adjacent pantry, acoustic optimization of the home office.
Development plan/restrictions: driveway on the left, not allowed on the same side as the house
Plot size: 650 sqm (about 7,000 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.35
Floor space ratio: unknown
Building envelope, setback line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft)
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of stories: 2–3
Roof type: no hip roofs allowed
Architectural style: no preference
Orientation: fixed due to road location
Maximum height/limits: 11 m (36 ft) for 3 floors
Other requirements: open building style
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof, building type: Bauhaus, flat roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 stories
Number of occupants, ages: 5 people, including 3 children aged 2 to 8 years
Room requirements on ground and upper floors: not defined, based on required rooms
Office: separate room needed for a home office
Overnight guests per year: at least 2, sometimes several weeks at a time
Open or closed architecture: closed, for acoustic reasons
Traditional or modern construction: modern, minimalist, efficient
Open kitchen, island: island desired, open kitchen preferred
Number of dining seats: usually 5, more when hosting guests
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: no, but a good idea
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport directly adjacent
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden accessible from the terrace, which should be accessible from the living room
Other wishes/considerations/daily routine, including reasons why some things should or shouldn’t be:
- Ground floor should be as age-appropriate as possible (older guests, so guest room and shower on ground floor)
- Morning sun should shine into the bedroom for natural waking
- Terrace not southwest-facing to avoid overheating
- Home office should be located to minimize disturbances to others when starting early or working late
- The home office needs good acoustic separation from the rest of the house for calls (children should not be overheard; the “worker” ideally not heard outside the room)
- Children’s rooms can be relatively small, as bunk beds with space underneath are planned
- There should be enough space in front of the TV in the living room for children to join in activities (dancing, etc.)
- Quietness is important due to current noisy and stressful living conditions (loud street, poor door seals, noisy children)
- The layout should be efficient and functional: short distances, easy to clean, robot vacuum should be able to reach most areas
- Smart home requirements and space needs for equipment are still unclear
- The house should be bright but able to be quickly darkened in the evening (blinds or similar)
- An electric piano must fit somewhere (probably upstairs, in a gallery above the front door)
House design
Origin of the design: based on a standard plan with many DIY modifications
What you like: it seems quite efficient already
What you dislike: possibly too little storage (no basement, so likely need a shed somewhere)
Price estimate from architect/planner: not yet known
Personal budget including equipment: approx. 450,000
Preferred heating system: district heating, as this is standard there
If you had to give up certain details/features:
- Can be omitted: kitchen island, kitchen does not have to be open, one of the children’s rooms if necessary (another would have to be larger)
- Cannot give up: separation of guest and home office, must be two separate rooms
Why is the design the way it is now?
We reviewed many standard plans and then used one as a base for various modifications through many iterations.
What do you think is especially good or bad about it? /
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters or less?
What can be improved and why? Unfiltered feedback is very welcome.
Thank you very much
I would appreciate feedback on the following floor plan. I’m completely new to the forum but have read comments on various other designs here. Before receiving feedback suggesting a complete redesign, I prefer to put this unfinished draft up for discussion.
What is still unfinished: window positions and sizes, furniture arrangement in the living room, separation between the utility room and the adjacent pantry, acoustic optimization of the home office.
Development plan/restrictions: driveway on the left, not allowed on the same side as the house
Plot size: 650 sqm (about 7,000 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: 0.35
Floor space ratio: unknown
Building envelope, setback line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft)
Edge development:
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of stories: 2–3
Roof type: no hip roofs allowed
Architectural style: no preference
Orientation: fixed due to road location
Maximum height/limits: 11 m (36 ft) for 3 floors
Other requirements: open building style
Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof, building type: Bauhaus, flat roof
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 stories
Number of occupants, ages: 5 people, including 3 children aged 2 to 8 years
Room requirements on ground and upper floors: not defined, based on required rooms
Office: separate room needed for a home office
Overnight guests per year: at least 2, sometimes several weeks at a time
Open or closed architecture: closed, for acoustic reasons
Traditional or modern construction: modern, minimalist, efficient
Open kitchen, island: island desired, open kitchen preferred
Number of dining seats: usually 5, more when hosting guests
Fireplace: no
Music/sound system wall: no, but a good idea
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: carport directly adjacent
Utility garden, greenhouse: small garden accessible from the terrace, which should be accessible from the living room
Other wishes/considerations/daily routine, including reasons why some things should or shouldn’t be:
- Ground floor should be as age-appropriate as possible (older guests, so guest room and shower on ground floor)
- Morning sun should shine into the bedroom for natural waking
- Terrace not southwest-facing to avoid overheating
- Home office should be located to minimize disturbances to others when starting early or working late
- The home office needs good acoustic separation from the rest of the house for calls (children should not be overheard; the “worker” ideally not heard outside the room)
- Children’s rooms can be relatively small, as bunk beds with space underneath are planned
- There should be enough space in front of the TV in the living room for children to join in activities (dancing, etc.)
- Quietness is important due to current noisy and stressful living conditions (loud street, poor door seals, noisy children)
- The layout should be efficient and functional: short distances, easy to clean, robot vacuum should be able to reach most areas
- Smart home requirements and space needs for equipment are still unclear
- The house should be bright but able to be quickly darkened in the evening (blinds or similar)
- An electric piano must fit somewhere (probably upstairs, in a gallery above the front door)
House design
Origin of the design: based on a standard plan with many DIY modifications
What you like: it seems quite efficient already
What you dislike: possibly too little storage (no basement, so likely need a shed somewhere)
Price estimate from architect/planner: not yet known
Personal budget including equipment: approx. 450,000
Preferred heating system: district heating, as this is standard there
If you had to give up certain details/features:
- Can be omitted: kitchen island, kitchen does not have to be open, one of the children’s rooms if necessary (another would have to be larger)
- Cannot give up: separation of guest and home office, must be two separate rooms
Why is the design the way it is now?
We reviewed many standard plans and then used one as a base for various modifications through many iterations.
What do you think is especially good or bad about it? /
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters or less?
What can be improved and why? Unfiltered feedback is very welcome.
Thank you very much
hausvoraus schrieb:
So, we are completely redesigning (the staircase is no longer in the way),Glop glop.hausvoraus schrieb:
without using an existing floor plan as a basis.Glop.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
hausvoraus28 Aug 2020 13:40Attached is the newly planned floor plan, this time designed without a template and spread over 3 stories. Changes include:
All doors are 88 cm (35 inches) wide, except those marked as 76 cm (30 inches). Remaining features include:
What do you think?
- Slightly smaller entrance hall
- Staircase no longer obstructing space
- Kitchen island is bigger/deeper (although changed to a “peninsula”)
- Children’s rooms better shaped
- Stair dimensions are now known and indicated
- 3rd floor with office, storage room, and a “creative room” with a sink
All doors are 88 cm (35 inches) wide, except those marked as 76 cm (30 inches). Remaining features include:
- Bauhaus style with flat roof
- External wall thickness 36.5 cm (14.4 inches) and internal walls 17.5 cm (6.9 inches) (based on structural calculations, some interior walls will likely be about 24 cm (9.4 inches))
- Wet rooms stacked above each other
- Furniture in the living area not optimally drawn in (but that doesn’t matter at this stage)
What do you think?
hausvoraus schrieb:
What do you think now? Please explain how the new plan was developed.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
hausvoraus28 Aug 2020 14:1011ant schrieb:
Explain the development of the new plan.The requirements were the same as before (3 children’s rooms, 1 study, 1 guest room, etc.) plus the input from the forum. But this time, instead of starting from an existing floor plan as a base, we started from scratch (while keeping some “best practices” from the previous draft in mind). We researched the staircase thoroughly (what riser height is still acceptable for the intended age, etc.). In the end, we reduced the floor plan as much as possible to save on construction costs.The staircase and the first floor have improved.
However, the ground floor feels as if all wishes were squeezed in at any cost.
For five people, the sofa area is very small and cramped into a corner.
You could swap the kitchen and TV area. Access to the pantry through the kitchen, then you would also have more wardrobe space in the hallway.
However, the ground floor feels as if all wishes were squeezed in at any cost.
For five people, the sofa area is very small and cramped into a corner.
You could swap the kitchen and TV area. Access to the pantry through the kitchen, then you would also have more wardrobe space in the hallway.
H
hampshire28 Aug 2020 14:12With a gable roof, the following options would arise:
Avoiding symmetry on the exterior gives you the flexibility to place the kitchen window wherever the optimal kitchen layout allows.
Symmetry on the front of the house either leads to a window that is too small in the guest room or one that is too large in the guest WC. Again, it is better to think from the inside out.
It seems the sofa is only for TV watching. This area is not very sociable. No problem if life takes place at the dining table. We don’t have a couch area for guests either; guests either sit at the dining table or “lounge” on the terrace.
A TV unit protruding beyond the wall will become a “point of contention.” This can be solved with a folding swivel arm but remains impractical for everyday use.
The furniture arrangement in the hallway reminds me of those computer games where you have to dodge obstacles. But it can look very good.
The children’s rooms look like they were last drawn. Maybe new creativity will come once they are first planned on the upper floor.
Putting a room in the basement is a good idea. It could also be the guest room – guests are probably less frequent than people working from home.
A sympathetic inquiry and drawing.
- Some storage space above the bedrooms, bathroom, and gallery, accessible via a classic hatch with a pull-out ladder.
- Sleeping lofts for the children – especially nice, for example, a single bed above the "pipe entrance"
- More space for play and a desk on the same footprint
Avoiding symmetry on the exterior gives you the flexibility to place the kitchen window wherever the optimal kitchen layout allows.
Symmetry on the front of the house either leads to a window that is too small in the guest room or one that is too large in the guest WC. Again, it is better to think from the inside out.
It seems the sofa is only for TV watching. This area is not very sociable. No problem if life takes place at the dining table. We don’t have a couch area for guests either; guests either sit at the dining table or “lounge” on the terrace.
A TV unit protruding beyond the wall will become a “point of contention.” This can be solved with a folding swivel arm but remains impractical for everyday use.
The furniture arrangement in the hallway reminds me of those computer games where you have to dodge obstacles. But it can look very good.
The children’s rooms look like they were last drawn. Maybe new creativity will come once they are first planned on the upper floor.
Putting a room in the basement is a good idea. It could also be the guest room – guests are probably less frequent than people working from home.
A sympathetic inquiry and drawing.
K1300S schrieb:I smile too – it’s a marketing euphemism.
PS: Am I the only person here who always has to smile at so-called “villas” with a floor area of 10 x 8 m² (32 x 26 feet)? Then I myself would live in a villa, even though I would never call it that.
hausvoraus schrieb:Boxy does not automatically mean Bauhaus.
Bauhaus style with flat roof
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