ᐅ Preliminary design floor plan for a single-family house with double garage, feedback requested
Created on: 1 Jul 2025 15:43
V
vineyard9
Hello everyone.
My wife and I are currently planning our house with our architect and now have a preliminary draft of the floor plan for which we would like to get your feedback.
The house will be built in a new residential area with the following conditions.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 619 m2 (6660 sq ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.35
Gross floor area ratio (GFAR): 0.6
Building envelope, building line and boundary: Building boundary 2.50 meters (8 feet)
Edge development: Max. 9 meters (30 feet)
Number of parking spaces: 1.5
Garage: Double garage, additional parking spaces in the yard in front of the garage
Number of floors: 2 floors with wall height of 6.50 meters (21 feet) on the eaves side
Roof type: No general restrictions on roof design
Architectural style: Classic, straightforward
Building plot: P06
Other: The construction area is located on a plateau with sloping terrain towards the south and west, offering a view over a river valley.
Owners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Classic single-family house with gable roof and basement
Number of floors: Fully basement, two full floors above ground
Number of occupants, age: Couple (mid-30s), one infant, another child planned
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: Desired living area between 180 and 210 m2 (1937 and 2260 sq ft)
Office: Family use or home office?
Used as a home office but also for private use by family members
Guests per year:
Not yet predictable, guest room will be regularly used by grandparents and friends
Open or closed architecture:
Open, but with defined separate areas
Conservative or modern design: Probably conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen with kitchen island, adjacent pantry
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: Yes, possibly also as room divider
Music/stereo wall: Not present, standard media wall
Balcony, roof terrace: No, but a large terrace facing south/west with a roof covering
Garage, carport: Double garage with storage space, access through a mudroom into the house
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be done:
Separated hallway for sound insulation of bedrooms, open living and dining area, mudroom as access to the garage, master bedroom facing north, two children’s rooms
House Design
Planning by: Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Bay window with a view over the beautiful valley, garden orientation at the front of the house
What do you not like? Why?
Shape of the children’s rooms, long and narrow and possibly too little natural light
Corridor on the upper floor is quite narrow – could this cause problems? Especially when moving furniture, etc. The house is generally rather long and narrow
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Not yet available
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 700,000€
Preferred heating system: Heat pump, possibly combined with district heating
The current draft is attached, along with some updates from our side regarding the current status.
On the upper floor, we are planning, as a deviation from the draft, a concrete ceiling and also to align the ceiling height with that of the ground floor.
In addition, we are discussing the size of the children’s rooms. In the previous version, the house was about 0.5 m (1.6 feet) narrower. This naturally reduces the width of the children’s rooms by 0.25 m (10 inches) each to just under 3 m (10 feet) and an area of about 16 m2 (172 sq ft). The older drafts of the ground and upper floors are also attached.
Is a width of just under 3 m (10 feet) enough for a children’s room? Because that half meter more in the overall house width clearly makes a significant difference in terms of area, cost, and distance to the neighbor.
We look forward to your assessment and constructive criticism of the design.
Thank you very much and best regards.
My wife and I are currently planning our house with our architect and now have a preliminary draft of the floor plan for which we would like to get your feedback.
The house will be built in a new residential area with the following conditions.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 619 m2 (6660 sq ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.35
Gross floor area ratio (GFAR): 0.6
Building envelope, building line and boundary: Building boundary 2.50 meters (8 feet)
Edge development: Max. 9 meters (30 feet)
Number of parking spaces: 1.5
Garage: Double garage, additional parking spaces in the yard in front of the garage
Number of floors: 2 floors with wall height of 6.50 meters (21 feet) on the eaves side
Roof type: No general restrictions on roof design
Architectural style: Classic, straightforward
Building plot: P06
Other: The construction area is located on a plateau with sloping terrain towards the south and west, offering a view over a river valley.
Owners’ Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: Classic single-family house with gable roof and basement
Number of floors: Fully basement, two full floors above ground
Number of occupants, age: Couple (mid-30s), one infant, another child planned
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: Desired living area between 180 and 210 m2 (1937 and 2260 sq ft)
Office: Family use or home office?
Used as a home office but also for private use by family members
Guests per year:
Not yet predictable, guest room will be regularly used by grandparents and friends
Open or closed architecture:
Open, but with defined separate areas
Conservative or modern design: Probably conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Open kitchen with kitchen island, adjacent pantry
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: Yes, possibly also as room divider
Music/stereo wall: Not present, standard media wall
Balcony, roof terrace: No, but a large terrace facing south/west with a roof covering
Garage, carport: Double garage with storage space, access through a mudroom into the house
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why some things should or should not be done:
Separated hallway for sound insulation of bedrooms, open living and dining area, mudroom as access to the garage, master bedroom facing north, two children’s rooms
House Design
Planning by: Architect
What do you particularly like? Why?
Bay window with a view over the beautiful valley, garden orientation at the front of the house
What do you not like? Why?
Shape of the children’s rooms, long and narrow and possibly too little natural light
Corridor on the upper floor is quite narrow – could this cause problems? Especially when moving furniture, etc. The house is generally rather long and narrow
Price estimate according to architect/planner: Not yet available
Personal price limit for the house including fittings: 700,000€
Preferred heating system: Heat pump, possibly combined with district heating
The current draft is attached, along with some updates from our side regarding the current status.
On the upper floor, we are planning, as a deviation from the draft, a concrete ceiling and also to align the ceiling height with that of the ground floor.
In addition, we are discussing the size of the children’s rooms. In the previous version, the house was about 0.5 m (1.6 feet) narrower. This naturally reduces the width of the children’s rooms by 0.25 m (10 inches) each to just under 3 m (10 feet) and an area of about 16 m2 (172 sq ft). The older drafts of the ground and upper floors are also attached.
Is a width of just under 3 m (10 feet) enough for a children’s room? Because that half meter more in the overall house width clearly makes a significant difference in terms of area, cost, and distance to the neighbor.
We look forward to your assessment and constructive criticism of the design.
Thank you very much and best regards.
GeraldG schrieb:
60k€ additional costs are probably underestimated.There must be a huge amount to compensate for. The neighbors to the south have the open broad side of the basement as well as the two upper floors facing them, if I read the drawing correctly. So 9 meters (30 feet). That should actually require a larger setback than 2.50 meters (8 feet).The driveway is on the north side, right?
D
derdietmar1 Jul 2025 21:14Hello,
I assume there are several roof windows (e.g., in the bathroom and above the staircase) as well as windows in the exterior walls of the bathroom and bedroom.
The children's rooms are actually quite narrow, and a desk also needs to fit by the window. One possible solution would be a "zigzag wall" between the rooms, with the niches closed off by built-in wardrobes. This way, no space behind the doors has to be reserved for wardrobes, and the bed can be placed toward the front. Of course, this reduces the maximum wardrobe length, but in my opinion, 260 cm (102 inches) is more than enough for children’s rooms.
I would remove the walk-in closet and provide a classic bedroom with a wardrobe (possibly using the wardrobe as a room divider if necessary). Instead, there should be a children’s bathroom or at least a separate toilet, as well as a bathroom without the latter.
I suggest leaving out the basement and instead extending the vestibule addition to the end of the house, enlarging and redesigning it to the minimum required setback from the property line. This would provide space for a toilet, a pantry with access from the hallway, and a technical/storage room there. Some of this space could also be taken from the garage.
This way, the budget might work out. With a basement, it will never be enough.
Best regards
I assume there are several roof windows (e.g., in the bathroom and above the staircase) as well as windows in the exterior walls of the bathroom and bedroom.
The children's rooms are actually quite narrow, and a desk also needs to fit by the window. One possible solution would be a "zigzag wall" between the rooms, with the niches closed off by built-in wardrobes. This way, no space behind the doors has to be reserved for wardrobes, and the bed can be placed toward the front. Of course, this reduces the maximum wardrobe length, but in my opinion, 260 cm (102 inches) is more than enough for children’s rooms.
I would remove the walk-in closet and provide a classic bedroom with a wardrobe (possibly using the wardrobe as a room divider if necessary). Instead, there should be a children’s bathroom or at least a separate toilet, as well as a bathroom without the latter.
I suggest leaving out the basement and instead extending the vestibule addition to the end of the house, enlarging and redesigning it to the minimum required setback from the property line. This would provide space for a toilet, a pantry with access from the hallway, and a technical/storage room there. Some of this space could also be taken from the garage.
This way, the budget might work out. With a basement, it will never be enough.
Best regards
V
vineyard92 Jul 2025 11:01Hello everyone,
Thank you very much for taking the time to provide your feedback so promptly and in such numbers, even if some of it was a bit sarcastic.
We also had some doubts about the design ourselves, which have now been confirmed. However, the plan was indeed created by a professional architect and not just traced, even though many requirements and ideas came from us, which may have influenced the outcome of the design.
Basically, the plan is still in the detailed phase and is intended for inquiries to potential builders. The exact placement of the windows has not yet been finalized, nor has the bathroom layout.
Regarding elevation/orientation:
The steepest slope is located in the southwest of the plot, which would be ideal for the basement. However, we want to have as much open space as possible in front of the house and as little space as possible behind it to the east/north. That is why the house has been positioned as far northeast as possible. The driveway can only be located in the northern part of the plot, leading toward the west.
In addition, there are very curious neighbors to the southeast, see the development plan. The existing house is marked with number 1.
Regarding the pantry/kitchen:
The pantry should have direct access from the kitchen, as we explicitly requested. Access from the hallway is secondary for us. The kitchen island is currently too large, which I completely agree with.
Regarding costs:
We plan to carry out several tasks ourselves and have qualified personnel for this. Nevertheless, thank you for your assessment; we will review the cost planning again. In your opinion, what drives the costs up besides the basement? We are in Bavaria but not in the southern area and far from metropolitan regions.
Finally, a key question:
From your perspective, is the design still salvageable with various adjustments, or should we start over from scratch? If a construction start is desired this year, that would no longer be feasible.
Good luck
Thank you very much for taking the time to provide your feedback so promptly and in such numbers, even if some of it was a bit sarcastic.
We also had some doubts about the design ourselves, which have now been confirmed. However, the plan was indeed created by a professional architect and not just traced, even though many requirements and ideas came from us, which may have influenced the outcome of the design.
Basically, the plan is still in the detailed phase and is intended for inquiries to potential builders. The exact placement of the windows has not yet been finalized, nor has the bathroom layout.
Regarding elevation/orientation:
The steepest slope is located in the southwest of the plot, which would be ideal for the basement. However, we want to have as much open space as possible in front of the house and as little space as possible behind it to the east/north. That is why the house has been positioned as far northeast as possible. The driveway can only be located in the northern part of the plot, leading toward the west.
In addition, there are very curious neighbors to the southeast, see the development plan. The existing house is marked with number 1.
Regarding the pantry/kitchen:
The pantry should have direct access from the kitchen, as we explicitly requested. Access from the hallway is secondary for us. The kitchen island is currently too large, which I completely agree with.
Regarding costs:
We plan to carry out several tasks ourselves and have qualified personnel for this. Nevertheless, thank you for your assessment; we will review the cost planning again. In your opinion, what drives the costs up besides the basement? We are in Bavaria but not in the southern area and far from metropolitan regions.
Finally, a key question:
From your perspective, is the design still salvageable with various adjustments, or should we start over from scratch? If a construction start is desired this year, that would no longer be feasible.
Good luck
vineyard9 schrieb:
Is the design still salvageable from your perspective,What if you could follow the site orientations as requested? That is basically the be-all and end-all. From my current understanding, that has failed.V
vineyard92 Jul 2025 11:22ypg schrieb:
If you could follow the orientations on the plot as requested? That is the fundamental starting point. As I understand it currently, this has failed.Do you mean a height section of the plot and the house?
vineyard9 schrieb:
Basically, the plan is still in the detailed design phase and is intended for inquiries with potential general contractors. On your plot, the term would be "general contractor," and if you want to do some work yourself, it might specifically be a shell construction general contractor.
vineyard9 schrieb:
Finally, a crucial guiding question.
From your perspective, is the design still salvageable with various adjustments, or should it be completely restarted? A construction start this year, as we wish, would no longer be feasible in that case. Precisely because this is a guiding question, it should be asked early on. An initial orientation inquiry (to set the course) should be started in the planning pause between Module A and design phase 3—not at the current stage of discussion, but already with the preliminary designs (as you would also use them for a building permit / planning permission inquiry).
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