ᐅ Planning Our Single-Family Home – What Are Your Thoughts on the Design?
Created on: 1 Mar 2016 12:29
H
Hausbau Re
Hello, we have finished the preliminary drafts and are now ready to sign the contract with a solid construction company.
About us: we are a small family with one child, 2.5 years old, and another child expected in June. We are 30 and 33 years old and are eager to start this life project. After a long search for a plot of land, we have decided on one.
The plot is 712 sqm (7,663 sq ft) in size, with the garden facing south. My in-laws are also building new next to us on the plot to the west. The only downside to the plot is the 5 m (16 ft) building setback line on the north and east sides, but I negotiated a good discount on the leasehold because it is a corner plot.
About the house:
It will be approximately 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) and built to KfW 55 energy efficiency standard, including a ground-source heat pump with deep drilling and controlled residential ventilation with heat recovery. The manufacturer will be either Vaillant or Stiebel Eltron; I have not decided yet. The facade will be brick. There will be underfloor heating throughout. The garage will be 5 x 9 m (16 x 30 ft), built with masonry and a flat roof.
Regarding the floor plan, I must say we fell in love with a straight staircase. Therefore, I had to design the layout and rooms accordingly. I think I managed this well, and the children will both have bedrooms of equal size, which was very important to us. The office is small but sufficient as a storage space for documents and to handle billing. The printer for the house will be there, along with the LAN distribution box.
So now I kindly ask you to take a look at these drafts and share your suggestions freely.
I appreciate any tips.
About us: we are a small family with one child, 2.5 years old, and another child expected in June. We are 30 and 33 years old and are eager to start this life project. After a long search for a plot of land, we have decided on one.
The plot is 712 sqm (7,663 sq ft) in size, with the garden facing south. My in-laws are also building new next to us on the plot to the west. The only downside to the plot is the 5 m (16 ft) building setback line on the north and east sides, but I negotiated a good discount on the leasehold because it is a corner plot.
About the house:
It will be approximately 140 sqm (1,507 sq ft) and built to KfW 55 energy efficiency standard, including a ground-source heat pump with deep drilling and controlled residential ventilation with heat recovery. The manufacturer will be either Vaillant or Stiebel Eltron; I have not decided yet. The facade will be brick. There will be underfloor heating throughout. The garage will be 5 x 9 m (16 x 30 ft), built with masonry and a flat roof.
Regarding the floor plan, I must say we fell in love with a straight staircase. Therefore, I had to design the layout and rooms accordingly. I think I managed this well, and the children will both have bedrooms of equal size, which was very important to us. The office is small but sufficient as a storage space for documents and to handle billing. The printer for the house will be there, along with the LAN distribution box.
So now I kindly ask you to take a look at these drafts and share your suggestions freely.
I appreciate any tips.
The cross-section probably shows the entrance door to one of the children's bedrooms on the upper floor. And I find it irrelevant which way the door swings, as both options feel quite “unpleasant” when entering the room—either facing the sloped ceiling or the stairwell wall.
And the bathtub really needs to be reconsidered, even though there is space to extend it further into the room. Where you stand in the bathtub, the ceiling height will be about 175 cm (69 inches). Since the tub floor is elevated above the regular floor level, this will pose a risk of head injury for anyone taller than 165 cm (65 inches).
A wardrobe for four people, including two small children, with shoes and so on, could definitely become too small. Especially the shoes need to be considered, as they all should ideally fit there completely.
H
Hausbau Re10 Mar 2016 23:44Here are the revised plans.
H
Hausbau Re11 Mar 2016 00:00It has been changed.
Ground Floor:
The corner in the dining room was reduced to the minimum size.
The wall section between the dining room and kitchen was enlarged because my wife insisted that the buffet cabinet must fit into the house.
Wall protrusions next to the living room wall unit were removed, and the short overhang by the coat rack was also taken out.
Upper Floor:
The door in the dressing room will now be 76cm (30 inches) wide instead of 88.5cm (35 inches), so that there might be space on the left side for shelves or a wardrobe.
The bedroom wall was moved to make the dressing room wider, since only a TV is planned to be mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed.
The hallway upstairs was reduced to 1.20m (47 inches) wide, as I think that will be enough space.
The bathtub will get a partial enclosure and will therefore extend about 10cm (4 inches) further into the room.
Now it’s your turn again for valuable tips and suggestions.
If anyone still sees a way to arrange the bathroom differently, I would be very grateful if you could share it with a sketch.
The measurements are now available.
Ground Floor:
The corner in the dining room was reduced to the minimum size.
The wall section between the dining room and kitchen was enlarged because my wife insisted that the buffet cabinet must fit into the house.
Wall protrusions next to the living room wall unit were removed, and the short overhang by the coat rack was also taken out.
Upper Floor:
The door in the dressing room will now be 76cm (30 inches) wide instead of 88.5cm (35 inches), so that there might be space on the left side for shelves or a wardrobe.
The bedroom wall was moved to make the dressing room wider, since only a TV is planned to be mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed.
The hallway upstairs was reduced to 1.20m (47 inches) wide, as I think that will be enough space.
The bathtub will get a partial enclosure and will therefore extend about 10cm (4 inches) further into the room.
Now it’s your turn again for valuable tips and suggestions.
If anyone still sees a way to arrange the bathroom differently, I would be very grateful if you could share it with a sketch.
The measurements are now available.
We recently discussed a similar floor plan with a straight staircase. There, too, the entrance to the main living area was through the living room, which is supposed to serve as a retreat for family members. The route to the kitchen is also quite long, as it goes around the staircase.
For this reason, I would move the staircase to the other side of the hallway, so the access to the main room would be through the kitchen. The surrounding layout would need to be adjusted accordingly, as well as the upper floor.
On the upper floor, I would plan the sloping roof areas for built-in wardrobes with sliding doors.
The bathroom is nicely designed in a classic layout, but I would move the bathtub forward slightly (adjusting the door position accordingly) and add a shelf platform on the slope next to the bathtub.
For this reason, I would move the staircase to the other side of the hallway, so the access to the main room would be through the kitchen. The surrounding layout would need to be adjusted accordingly, as well as the upper floor.
On the upper floor, I would plan the sloping roof areas for built-in wardrobes with sliding doors.
The bathroom is nicely designed in a classic layout, but I would move the bathtub forward slightly (adjusting the door position accordingly) and add a shelf platform on the slope next to the bathtub.
H
Hausbau Re11 Mar 2016 00:09Yes, a shelf platform will be installed on the wall next to the bathtub's sloped ceiling.
The kitchen layout is not 100% finalized, but it cannot be changed because the children's rooms need to stay on that side (since the grandparents are building to the right of us), and we want to access the walk-in closet from the hallway. Both of us work alternating shifts, and neither wants to wake the other when searching in the closet and turning on the light.
Therefore, we had to accept this compromise. Also, the kitchen location was fixed after the garage space was determined.
The kitchen layout is not 100% finalized, but it cannot be changed because the children's rooms need to stay on that side (since the grandparents are building to the right of us), and we want to access the walk-in closet from the hallway. Both of us work alternating shifts, and neither wants to wake the other when searching in the closet and turning on the light.
Therefore, we had to accept this compromise. Also, the kitchen location was fixed after the garage space was determined.
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