Dear forum members,
We bought a plot of land last autumn and are currently deep into the floor plan design. We would like to share our current draft with you and welcome any comments and opinions.
[F]irst some preliminary information about the plot and its buildability:[/F]
Best regards
We bought a plot of land last autumn and are currently deep into the floor plan design. We would like to share our current draft with you and welcome any comments and opinions.
[F]irst some preliminary information about the plot and its buildability:[/F]
- 1000 m² (10,764 sq ft) rear plot, southwest facing (so southwest is on the left side of the site plan)
- Building boundary up to approx. 16 m (52 ft) behind the property line (up to the dashed line on the site plan)
- No zoning plan (construction according to § 34 of the Building Code)
- Groundwater at surface level and peaty soil (exact geotechnical report pending), so piled foundation required and no basement
- Affordable! (Our maximum budget for the house including foundation slab is €230,000)
- Country house style
- Bright, large windows facing south/garden
- Open living/dining/kitchen area
- Family of four, 1 bedroom and 2 children’s rooms
- Not oversized, max 150 m² (1,615 sq ft), preferably less
- Solid construction using Ytong blocks (for us the most cost-effective option, although we would have liked to build with wood as well).
- Developed ourselves after studying various floor plans (including from the book "Affordable Building with a Small Budget" by Achim Linhardt) with support from architect friends and our planner (an independent civil engineer).
- Dimensions 12.50 x 7.50 m (41 x 25 ft) (the measurements shown on the site plan are from an earlier draft).
- What we like: open living area, all main rooms have large windows facing the garden, efficient size, although the children’s and bedroom could be smaller, sewing/work nook behind the stairs upstairs, plenty of wall space for large wardrobes in the upstairs bedroom and hallway on the ground floor, light shaft in the stairwell, staircase (we originally wanted a straight run staircase but it would have taken too much space; the one with three quarter turns is also fine with us).
- What we don’t like 100% yet: the height of the house from the outside. It is currently planned as a two-story house with an eaves height of 6.2 m (20 ft), with the ground floor 2.84 m (9 ft 4 in) high and the upper floor 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in) high. The gable roof will be an uninsulated, unfinished cold roof, mainly because of the economical prefabricated truss construction method. This is a bit disappointing because I really like sloped ceilings and did not want the character of a townhouse. Lowering the roof with a knee wall of about 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) and an insulated roof with open sloped ceilings would probably be more expensive due to the rafter/beam construction. We would also lose the garden view through the floor-to-ceiling bedroom windows.
- Simple: What do you think about the floor plan?
- Can you still imagine the relatively tall two-story house having a country house character? Maybe it depends on the facade design and choice of materials? Do you think it looks too “blocky,” especially from the front entrance side? Or would a lower eaves height with an attic conversion including a knee wall be preferable?
- We are still unsure how to arrange the windows on the garden side. The drawing with the elevations shows two possible versions. We actually prefer it when the upper floor window is centered over the lower window front. However, this does not align the interior line of sight from the entrance door to the garden/patio door (see ground floor plan). This represents version two; for version one, the window front would have to be shifted about one window width to the right, so that the patio door is behind the dining table. With the window front shifted left, the interior looks better to us, but from the outside it looks strange if it is offset from the upper floor window, right? What do you think?
Best regards
la.schnute27 Apr 2022 13:31haydee schrieb:
I was going to suggest the same. Swap the two rooms.
I knew it wasn’t a standard shower curtain. Looks great.
Landscaping takes time to grow.It’s not that simple. My partner has the large screen and generally needs a biiig desk. His PC is somehow connected to the TV (I actually think by cable); he can access his files and watch videos on the TV. And the large desk wouldn’t fit in the walk-in closet... no, no, that won’t work. And the sewing machine next to the TV is also a bad idea, as it would be hard to hear anything from the Netflix series in that case. But I could move to the gallery, that would be possible. We need to think it through calmly. Other things are more urgent 🙂.
F
Fuchsbau3527 Apr 2022 15:52The house really seems to have turned out great. Congratulations! But didn’t you originally plan to have your sewing corner upstairs in the gallery anyway?
la.schnute schrieb:
There are still some cluttered corners, A house wouldn’t feel like home without them anyway 😉
la.schnute schrieb:
The shower curtain is nice, isn’t it? 🙂 Really nice! It adds warmth, which the cold smooth shower doors lack.
la.schnute schrieb:
Maybe it will come when the kids hit puberty. The shower will definitely be used by then.
K a t j a schrieb:
Why not swap the sewing room with the office?
(I can’t remember the current floor plan, though. 😉) The office is an extension of the living room and, I believe, open. The sewing room was, I think, a narrow dressing area next to the bedroom?
@la.schnute
Especially when you have to manage with limited space and build compactly, not everything can be perfect. So you haven’t planned anything wrong.
Not considering soundproofing for the sewing machine isn’t a mistake. Did any of us think about that?
… and within a family, compromises often have to be made. That also applies to sewing and sleeping times 😉
Good luck going forward 😀
T
TomTom197927 Apr 2022 19:48Very nice and honest summary. The price for the house, however, surprises me—it is affordable for today’s standards and still looks good. It shows that it is definitely possible. Of course, the curtain is a matter of taste, but it works.
I think it looks really great and harmonious :-) The shower setup seems well done and definitely not a makeshift solution. The kitchen and the backsplash are also nicely chosen (what kind of tiles do you have there? I’m still debating whether our backsplash should be a white panel or tiles...).
So, congratulations on your home! 🙂
So, congratulations on your home! 🙂
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