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
Just came across this by chance. Great living room, or rather the size of the room. And once again, a nice example that you can still build affordably. But I have to say one thing: for me, in the first picture, the top window in the middle is aligned to the left of the patio door... why not centered? That would drive me crazy... maybe the OCD is kicking in a bit...
Andre77 schrieb:
For me, in the first picture, the upper window in the middle is aligned flush left with the patio door… why isn’t it centered? That would drive me crazy… maybe it’s just my OCD coming through… The first picture shows the guest toilet; there is no patio door there 😉
…but I think I understand the point of your question… and before the original poster appears again in six months, I’ll answer it:
As you can see with the kitchen window on the gable end, there seems to be a concept of a 1/3 and 2/3 division when it comes to windows: 2/3 fixed, and the 1/3 section is operable. You also see this in the central patio door. The outer windows on the long side are fixed windows. It’s possible that the lower windows are repeated on the upper floor.
The design focus was on a small house footprint and not on symmetry for its own sake, for example due to the available space where it’s needed.
If you aim for symmetry in a house, quite a few square meters (sq m) can be wasted. So, apart from symmetry enthusiasts, there is no practical reason to follow this kind of design guideline.
Andre77 schrieb:
I meant the first picture in #314 😉Ah… okay…! Yeah, that could have been done. But everyone has their own little obsession 😀
la.schnute27 Apr 2022 22:59Thank you all for the kind comments 🙂, especially you, @ypg, we did have quite a few disagreements in this thread 😉.
@TomTom1979 : I also think we built very economically. The only comparison I have from the same period is with my sister, who built a 160 m² (1,722 sq ft) single-family house with EcoHaus—slightly larger but otherwise a similar layout, similar materials, 1.5 stories with knee wall at 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches). I’m not exactly sure what the final cost was, but probably around 300,000. And the construction was chaotic beyond belief. We were very lucky; my father-in-law not only managed the build excellently but also sold materials at good prices, and we did many things ourselves (design planning, construction management and contracting, underfloor heating, drywall, full plumbing, installation of windows and doors with help from a professional friend who didn’t want any payment…). I estimate we saved around €15,000 with this.
Thank you 🙂. The tiles in the kitchen and also the green ones in the upstairs bathroom are the Kyushu by Colli di Sassuolo.
Exactly, the actual patio door is all the way to the right. The upstairs window is directly above the fixed glazing next to the patio door. I have to say, we spent way too much time fiddling with the windows. At one point we aimed for strict symmetry, then complete asymmetry (upstairs windows always positioned between the downstairs windows). My partner wanted to align the windows only based on interior function and not care about the outside appearance, which I didn’t like at all. Maybe that would have been consistent though. Eventually, we agreed on a compromise that felt quite balanced to us. The window above on the left is also narrower than the wider one below. We think it’s okay. In hindsight, I might have made the narrow windows a bit wider. They are 1 m (3 ft 3 inches) wide, while 1.13 m (3 ft 8 inches) is often standard (this was recommended here as well, but sadly I lost track of it amid everything). You can definitely notice the difference in width. In my sister's house, the windows all look noticeably wider.
@TomTom1979 : I also think we built very economically. The only comparison I have from the same period is with my sister, who built a 160 m² (1,722 sq ft) single-family house with EcoHaus—slightly larger but otherwise a similar layout, similar materials, 1.5 stories with knee wall at 1.30 m (4 ft 3 inches). I’m not exactly sure what the final cost was, but probably around 300,000. And the construction was chaotic beyond belief. We were very lucky; my father-in-law not only managed the build excellently but also sold materials at good prices, and we did many things ourselves (design planning, construction management and contracting, underfloor heating, drywall, full plumbing, installation of windows and doors with help from a professional friend who didn’t want any payment…). I estimate we saved around €15,000 with this.
Ysop*** schrieb:
I think it’s really great and coherent 🙂 The shower setup looks good, and anything but a makeshift solution. The kitchen and the backsplash are nicely chosen too (what tiles did you use there? I’m still debating whether to use a white panel or tiles for our backsplash…).
Thank you 🙂. The tiles in the kitchen and also the green ones in the upstairs bathroom are the Kyushu by Colli di Sassuolo.
Andre77 schrieb:
Just happened to come across this. Great living room, or rather the size of the room. And again, a nice example that you can still build affordably. But one thing I have to say: for me, in the first picture the top window in the middle is left-aligned with the patio door… why not centered? That would drive me crazy… maybe my OCD is showing…
Exactly, the actual patio door is all the way to the right. The upstairs window is directly above the fixed glazing next to the patio door. I have to say, we spent way too much time fiddling with the windows. At one point we aimed for strict symmetry, then complete asymmetry (upstairs windows always positioned between the downstairs windows). My partner wanted to align the windows only based on interior function and not care about the outside appearance, which I didn’t like at all. Maybe that would have been consistent though. Eventually, we agreed on a compromise that felt quite balanced to us. The window above on the left is also narrower than the wider one below. We think it’s okay. In hindsight, I might have made the narrow windows a bit wider. They are 1 m (3 ft 3 inches) wide, while 1.13 m (3 ft 8 inches) is often standard (this was recommended here as well, but sadly I lost track of it amid everything). You can definitely notice the difference in width. In my sister's house, the windows all look noticeably wider.
la.schnute schrieb:
Especially to you, @ypg, we had quite a few disagreements in this thread 😉.True. But I think my concerns were about the lack of privacy due to the compact open floor plan with children? And definitely the missing patio door in the kitchen.
Still, it’s always nice to see the house finished and beautifully furnished. That’s the real point! With money and pragmatism, you can plan a lot. Emotions, however, you cannot. Personally, I was convinced about all my ideas for my house… and in reality, when it was finished, it still wasn’t perfect. But a lovingly and tastefully furnished home that feels coherent makes up for every little planning mistake.
We don’t want that annoying perfectionism anyway, because it’s soooo boring 😉
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