Hello everyone,
we are planning to build a 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) house and are currently optimizing our floor plan... Overall, we are quite happy with it, but there are still a few doubts.
I’m a bit uncertain about the following areas:
- Living room: Is the sofa placement very awkward? I’d prefer not to rotate it 90 degrees, as that would require placing the TV on the short window wall...
- Kitchen: Do we need a separate heating source, or will the living/dining area provide enough warmth for the kitchen? I can’t immediately think of a good spot to install a heater there.
- Pantry: Is it practical in this layout? Of course, the space with a width of 60 cm (24 inches) isn’t ideal, but could it still be used for spare chairs or similar items? Additionally, we want to store drinks, cordless vacuum cleaner, paper/plastic waste, baking trays, etc. — basically all things not used very often or too bulky for kitchen cabinets.
- Upstairs bathroom: I’d rather not fill the large room with very expensive bathroom cabinets, which is why I came up with the idea of the space behind the shower/bathtub. Is there enough room between the sink and the bathtub/shower for 2 to 4 people to move comfortably if needed? I’m quite enthusiastic about this idea. Previously, the sanitary fixtures were just placed around the edges and there wasn’t even space left for a cabinet.
If anyone feels like taking a look and sharing their thoughts, I’d really appreciate it!
Thank you,
hemali
The floor plan and measurements are approximate, please excuse the odd values!
Top is west, right is north, bottom is east, left is south.
The windows are not perfectly aligned vertically, but that’s not a concern for us since the sides of the house are barely visible from outside, so the asymmetry doesn’t bother us much.
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 800 m² (8,611 sq ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor area ratio: -
Building envelope, setback lines, boundaries: -
Edge development: -
Number of parking spaces: -
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: gable roof, 45 degrees
Architectural style: classic/modern
Orientation: entrance east, terrace west
Maximum heights / limits: -
Additional requirements: -
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type –
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (2 and 5 years old)
Space requirement on ground and upper floor: as shown in the floor plan
Office: family use or home office? No, filing cabinets in utility room
Guest bedrooms per year: negligible
Open or closed architecture: semi-open kitchen
Conservative or modern construction: -
Open kitchen, island: semi-open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6, expandable
Fireplace: no
Music/Stereo wall: yes, preferably a whole wall with storage
Balcony, rooftop terrace: no
Garage, carport: no
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine –
House design
Planning origin: original developer plan, customized by us
What do you particularly like? Ground floor extra shower, pantry, large utility room, masonry shower upstairs, large bedrooms, upstairs storage room
What do you dislike? -
Cost estimate by architect/planner: not relevant
Personal price limit for house including equipment: not relevant
Preferred heating system: gas boiler + solar with 400-liter (105-gallon) water storage tank
If you had to give up certain details/add-ons:
- Could you do without: –
- Could you not do without: –
we are planning to build a 150 m² (1,615 sq ft) house and are currently optimizing our floor plan... Overall, we are quite happy with it, but there are still a few doubts.
I’m a bit uncertain about the following areas:
- Living room: Is the sofa placement very awkward? I’d prefer not to rotate it 90 degrees, as that would require placing the TV on the short window wall...
- Kitchen: Do we need a separate heating source, or will the living/dining area provide enough warmth for the kitchen? I can’t immediately think of a good spot to install a heater there.
- Pantry: Is it practical in this layout? Of course, the space with a width of 60 cm (24 inches) isn’t ideal, but could it still be used for spare chairs or similar items? Additionally, we want to store drinks, cordless vacuum cleaner, paper/plastic waste, baking trays, etc. — basically all things not used very often or too bulky for kitchen cabinets.
- Upstairs bathroom: I’d rather not fill the large room with very expensive bathroom cabinets, which is why I came up with the idea of the space behind the shower/bathtub. Is there enough room between the sink and the bathtub/shower for 2 to 4 people to move comfortably if needed? I’m quite enthusiastic about this idea. Previously, the sanitary fixtures were just placed around the edges and there wasn’t even space left for a cabinet.
If anyone feels like taking a look and sharing their thoughts, I’d really appreciate it!
Thank you,
hemali
The floor plan and measurements are approximate, please excuse the odd values!
Top is west, right is north, bottom is east, left is south.
The windows are not perfectly aligned vertically, but that’s not a concern for us since the sides of the house are barely visible from outside, so the asymmetry doesn’t bother us much.
Development plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 800 m² (8,611 sq ft)
Slope: none
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor area ratio: -
Building envelope, setback lines, boundaries: -
Edge development: -
Number of parking spaces: -
Number of floors: 1.5
Roof type: gable roof, 45 degrees
Architectural style: classic/modern
Orientation: entrance east, terrace west
Maximum heights / limits: -
Additional requirements: -
Client requirements
Style, roof type, building type –
Basement, floors: no basement, 1.5 floors
Number of occupants, ages: 2 adults, 2 children (2 and 5 years old)
Space requirement on ground and upper floor: as shown in the floor plan
Office: family use or home office? No, filing cabinets in utility room
Guest bedrooms per year: negligible
Open or closed architecture: semi-open kitchen
Conservative or modern construction: -
Open kitchen, island: semi-open kitchen
Number of dining seats: 6, expandable
Fireplace: no
Music/Stereo wall: yes, preferably a whole wall with storage
Balcony, rooftop terrace: no
Garage, carport: no
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes/special features/daily routine –
House design
Planning origin: original developer plan, customized by us
What do you particularly like? Ground floor extra shower, pantry, large utility room, masonry shower upstairs, large bedrooms, upstairs storage room
What do you dislike? -
Cost estimate by architect/planner: not relevant
Personal price limit for house including equipment: not relevant
Preferred heating system: gas boiler + solar with 400-liter (105-gallon) water storage tank
If you had to give up certain details/add-ons:
- Could you do without: –
- Could you not do without: –
Okay, now I understand why the staircase fits – you don’t have a knee wall at all, and the floor plan starts at 1 m (3.3 feet). The original ground floor is much more functional than yours (Mitwachshaus148). With such a low knee wall, compromises have to be made in the upper floor – especially in the bathroom. Whether a built-in walk-in shower near the window shutters (and the forced door positions) is even feasible is questionable.
H
hemali200322 May 2016 09:57@86bibo: I’ve now planned additional cabinets under the existing ones (gray area), which I would then be missing again because it’s hard to place them behind the bathtub. And placing the bathtub directly under the sloped ceiling seems challenging to me... We currently have an attic apartment, and the bathtub is positioned like in my new plan. Even that often feels uncomfortable to me.
@BeHaElJa: You might be right. But what should I do with a kitchen where the counters are 2.40m (7 feet 10 inches) apart? Or what do you find impractical about our setup?
We still need to check the feasibility and affordability of a masonry shower anyway. I would just like to avoid having to clean or wipe down glass panels.
@BeHaElJa: You might be right. But what should I do with a kitchen where the counters are 2.40m (7 feet 10 inches) apart? Or what do you find impractical about our setup?
We still need to check the feasibility and affordability of a masonry shower anyway. I would just like to avoid having to clean or wipe down glass panels.
I can relate to that – we have glass, and every morning I also resist doing squats... On the other hand, a bit of exercise in the morning isn’t a bad thing... especially since the tiles get dirty too, just not as visible.
Unfortunately, the dimensions are not listed on the Town & Country website. Our kitchen has a free interior space of 1.90 m x 2.1 m (6.2 ft x 6.9 ft), and I actually find that great because you can do things together as three people (just yesterday we made pizza).
I really like Kerstin’s suggestion – make the kitchen a bit smaller and instead create a proper wardrobe in the hallway area – skip the pantry. Just make a kitchen cabinet where you can store a beverage crate. We don’t have a pantry and still easily and comfortably fit all our groceries (including drinks).
Unfortunately, the dimensions are not listed on the Town & Country website. Our kitchen has a free interior space of 1.90 m x 2.1 m (6.2 ft x 6.9 ft), and I actually find that great because you can do things together as three people (just yesterday we made pizza).
I really like Kerstin’s suggestion – make the kitchen a bit smaller and instead create a proper wardrobe in the hallway area – skip the pantry. Just make a kitchen cabinet where you can store a beverage crate. We don’t have a pantry and still easily and comfortably fit all our groceries (including drinks).
H
hemali200322 May 2016 10:08The original kitchen was about 3.7 x 4.7 m (12 x 15 ft), I believe. At first glance, it seemed quite spacious. On second thought, I don’t find it optimal to waste so much space and would prefer to create more (flexible and concealed) storage.
I will give it some more thought...
I will give it some more thought...
hemali2003 schrieb:
The sides of the house are hardly visible, so it doesn’t bother us much whether it looks particularly harmonious or not.hemali2003 schrieb:
Family use or home office?: no, files in the utility roomypg schrieb:
50 cm (20 inches) for the shower entrance doesn’t work either.hemali2003 schrieb:
We have a 2 m (6.5 ft) wardrobe, which is sufficient for us. Everything not currently worn can be stored in boxes in the storage room. This way, items get sorted regularly.hemali2003 schrieb:
Dirty shoes next to the white laundry don’t bother me.You don’t mind many things. What about your wife? What about 10 years from now? What if, for some reason, the house needs to be sold quickly? For such points, besides personal preferences, some basic principles should be implemented in the house design, which benefits every home and does not disadvantage those who don’t care.
Examples include placing toilets below the 2 m (6.5 ft) height line and having sufficient wardrobe space with a minimum of 3 m (9.8 ft).
We had hot days three weeks ago, good for packing away winter clothes, but two weeks ago it snowed. You can create more work than necessary. Also, the storage room is needed for other things.
hemali2003 schrieb:
By the way, the internal room dimensions are correct despite the walls being too thin.Yes, I added it up again: it matches.
I’ve looked over the house: I think the floor plan is actually quite okay for a family, considering the limited budget.
In the utility room, you could carve out a corner for an emergency shower, move the door slightly, so that along the long wall you can fit shoe cabinets and hooks as a coat rack. Instead of the table in the kitchen, you could add a deep built-in cupboard/pantry accessible from the hallway. For beverage crates on the lower shelves, brooms, vacuum cleaner, cleaning supplies, and some food storage above, that cupboard should suffice.
The bathroom is also not the worst. If you want to make changes or even without, I would talk to the drywall installers on-site about whether and how you can use the paneling for shelves. Either they can do this during their work for a small additional cost, or you leave it open and do it yourself. But accept that the alternative of crawling behind walls simply does not suit a new-build house.
hemali2003 schrieb:
The bedroom is definitely a matter of taste. We intentionally keep it small to avoid it turning into a storage room (which happened with our large bedroom). Otherwise, the bedroom is really only used for sleeping—which is why children’s rooms and the living area were more important to us. That’s where you spend most of your day.Regarding the rooms: I see it differently— the smaller the bedroom, the more likely it is to become a storage room. It becomes unmanageable to keep tidy, and the comfort atmosphere is almost zero… oh, well, you do have two children already, okay… then maybe it’s not an issue… uh
For you, the bedroom will be the retreat for one of you. You don’t have more rooms! You should keep that in mind.
And the children don’t need 15 sqm (161 sq ft) each if they don’t already have that. While they are at school, the rooms are used for relaxing, homework, and sleeping. Friends lounge on the bed regardless of how small it is; they don’t need a large seating area. Eventually, they hang out outside anyway, whether on the playground or with friends. From time to time, the garden gets used for that as well.
What you should also consider: stacking toilets vertically. Town & Country has planned this as well. That could mean an additional cost.
H
hemali200322 May 2016 10:36When it comes to the house’s exterior, I prioritize my needs over the neighbors’ aesthetic preferences.
But I don’t need an office just because I have to store 10 file folders, do I?
I have expanded the shower entrance.
Phew, am I planning a house to make it easy to sell? No, sorry… our floor plan isn’t that unique after all, I think. I’m building for myself, not for other people.
By the way, I am the woman here. And no, my husband doesn’t mind either.
However, I can understand some of your criticisms and will reconsider them.
I will definitely rethink the bathroom and also the pantry.
A quick shower in the utility room is out of the question for me. My husband might want to shower there every morning, which is just not acceptable. What about guests?
Large children’s bedrooms are simply important to us. Under 15 sqm (160 sq ft) is not an option. My son currently has 15 sqm (160 sq ft), and I find that tiny!
I will ask about the toilets stacked one above the other.
Thank you!
But I don’t need an office just because I have to store 10 file folders, do I?
I have expanded the shower entrance.
Phew, am I planning a house to make it easy to sell? No, sorry… our floor plan isn’t that unique after all, I think. I’m building for myself, not for other people.
By the way, I am the woman here. And no, my husband doesn’t mind either.
However, I can understand some of your criticisms and will reconsider them.
I will definitely rethink the bathroom and also the pantry.
A quick shower in the utility room is out of the question for me. My husband might want to shower there every morning, which is just not acceptable. What about guests?
Large children’s bedrooms are simply important to us. Under 15 sqm (160 sq ft) is not an option. My son currently has 15 sqm (160 sq ft), and I find that tiny!
I will ask about the toilets stacked one above the other.
Thank you!
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