ᐅ Our floor plan is open for discussion.

Hello everyone,
I have been following the discussions for some time now, and now it’s our turn. I would like to share our floor plan for discussion:

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 434 m² (4670 sq ft), 14.16 m (46.5 ft) wide on the north side, 14.28 m (46.9 ft) wide on the south side, approximately 30 m (98.4 ft) long
Slope: No
Number of parking spaces: According to the development plan, 2 are required. We would prefer 2 garages, but probably only one will be possible?…
Number of floors: Up to 2 full stories
Special conditions: The access on the north side is not very wide because a small fence separates the adjacent bike path. The location is quiet in a cul-de-sac, with the pedestrian/bike path continuing via a small staircase.

Homeowners’ Requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: simple single-family house with a gable roof
Basement, stories: basement, ground floor, upper floor
Number of people, age: 2 people, 41 and 46 years old, no children planned
Room needs on ground floor and upper floor:
Ground floor: kitchen, living room, dining area, guest bathroom, storage space (for beverage crates, coat rack, etc.)
Upper floor: bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closet, guest room/office, and a study/library
Office: family use or home office? A “study” plus an office/guest room, no home office
Open or closed layout: rather open
Open kitchen with island: yes, please!
Number of dining seats: 2 to many, as I like to invite people over…
Fireplace: yes
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage (preferably 2)
Utility garden, greenhouse: we enjoy gardening on a very small scale; a greenhouse might come later if there is enough space/time, but it doesn’t have to be planned now…

Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be included
In the study, at least my two bookshelves need to fit (HWD 98 x 233 x 54 cm (39 x 92 x 21 in) and 300 x 41 x 247 cm (118 x 16 x 97 in), with one side only 32 cm (12.6 in) deep over 88 cm (34.6 in) length; currently placed behind the door J). The kitchen is especially important to us because we enjoy cooking and have A LOT of accessories, devices, etc. Therefore, we need a lot of storage space.

House Design
Who designed it: planner from a construction company, together with us
What do you particularly like and why? The spacious kitchen, the separate wardrobe area
What do you not like and why? The entrance to the dining room from the east side because of the garage, the long hallway on the ground floor / the entire entrance situation
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump with controlled residential ventilation and photovoltaic system

If you had to give up something,
- what details/expansions could you do without: double washbasin, recessed front door
- what you cannot do without: fireplace, basement, walk-in closet!

Why is the design the way it is?
Design by the planner together with us
Unfortunately, we only have 8.16 m (26.8 ft) available for the house width, but we can extend further in length…

I am happy to receive any criticism! If you have questions, please ask here anytime!

Personally, I don’t like the floor plan at all. The distance from the kitchen to the dining table is as long as half a soccer field, and the living area isn’t even 4m (13 feet) wide. Upstairs, your bathroom is located directly on the opposite side of the bedroom, so you constantly have to walk through the bedroom to get to the dressing room. Since you don’t have children, a separate sleeping, dressing, and bathroom area should be possible.

Best regards,
Sabine

Hello Sabine,

The kitchen will definitely be extended longer than shown in the floor plan and will include a small breakfast bar. It will be located roughly where the double patio door is currently drawn. This will be reduced to a single door, and the kitchen will extend up to that point. Our dining table is quite large as well, so this fits nicely.

I also think it’s a shame that the living room is so narrow, especially since we plan to have a corner sofa, which is usually about 3 meters (10 feet) wide, reaching almost to the south-facing window. So, we will create a cozy little corner for the living room. It’s not overly spacious, but it’s enough for a large sofa. The TV will be placed on the exterior wall, the fireplace diagonally opposite, and we’ll still be able to see the garden from the sofa. I don’t really need open floor space in the living room...

Regarding the upper floor, I agree with you—we had planned it that way because we’ve often seen it done like that... Do you have any ideas on how it could be improved?

Thank you very much for your feedback.

Best regards,
Tanita

for example:

I like it! Sometimes the obvious solutions are the hardest to see...
I prefer a bedroom facing north anyway, and then I can look out into the garden from "my" room!

Exactly, you don’t need any sun in the bedroom :P