ᐅ Preliminary floor plan/layout for a large northwest-facing plot

Hello everyone,

Fortunately, about a year ago my previous floor plan received constructive and clear criticism that helped prevent long-term issues and encouraged a fresh start. After some delays, here is my draft for the room layout. Windows are not yet marked, and so far there is almost no furniture. Since we have an appointment with the architect on Tuesday, adding windows now would take too long to receive and incorporate any further suggestions beforehand. Please excuse this. In any case, a large window front is planned in the southwest area above the dining space’s open volume.

Checklist:

Development plan / restrictions
Size of the plot including backyard / former farmland (greenhouses already demolished) total 2800 sqm (about 0.7 acres)
Slope: The 32 m (105 feet) wide lot slopes down about 1.60 m (5.3 feet) from left to right in the front. The terrain also slopes slightly towards the back; within the 15 m (49 feet) deep building envelope, the ground falls by approximately 60–80 cm (2–2.6 feet).
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Gross floor area ratio (GFAR): 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundaries: shown in the processed development plan excerpt; building outlines are marked in red. The entire orange area including the white-marked path at the right edge of the lot belongs to us. Below this path is a public sewer line that cannot be built over. We must keep a distance of 2 meters (6.6 feet) between residential buildings and this path, or 1 meter (3.3 feet) if placing a garage there. The development plan for backyard buildings has been approved at our request (planned for possible future use, e.g., a children’s or senior bungalow).

Adjacent buildings: On the left (southwest) is a bungalow which, due to its higher position, can cast long shadows in winter. Behind this bungalow, on our property line, there is a garage and, behind that, a neighbor’s shed, which unfortunately also causes shading when the sun is low. On the right (northeast), there is a one-and-a-half-story building with a garage on the boundary next to our path.
Number of stories: 2 full stories
Roof shape: flexible, preferably mono-pitched roof (a visible roof over the upper floor is planned)
Architectural style: flexible
Garden orientation: northwest

Homeowners’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: preferably classic, “cozy traditional,” possibly somewhat playful and combined with modern elements
Number and age of occupants: 4 people aged 42 + 43 + 2.5 + 0.5 years (third child/foster child unlikely but not impossible)
Office: for private documents, books, etc.
Overnight guests per year: currently a maximum of 10 nights
Open or closed architecture: preferably open
Conservative or modern construction: both have pros and cons; a mix is welcome
Open kitchen, kitchen island: preferably open with the option to close later if desired; island preferred if space allows but not mandatory
Number of dining seats: 4 for everyday use, up to 12–18 with guests
Fireplace: not necessary
Music/stereo wall: not necessary; a compact system with two small speakers can be accommodated somewhere
Balcony, roof terrace: not necessary for cost reasons
Garage, carport: at least one double garage
Additional wishes or special considerations / daily routine, including explanations why some options are accepted or rejected: see below

House design
Origin of the plan:
- DIY preliminary draft with roomsketcher
- Cost estimate according to architect/planner: unknown so far
Personal budget limit for house, including fixtures: 550,000–600,000 EUR (~550–600 K EUR) including ancillary costs
Preferred heating technology: ground source heat pump, deep drilling (or does anyone have positive experience with wood chips? I could get that very cheaply.)

Why a self-drawn floor plan instead of a complete architect’s design? Our architect is technically very skilled and also a good professional partner. However, due to high workload, plan modifications usually take quite a while. To start optimally in spring, I prefer to do some preliminary work myself in the hope it will help.

We have placed the house “diagonally” within the building envelope so that it fits flush with the diagonally shaped right edge of the building area, as stated above in the checklist. The house walls run parallel to the right neighbor. The reason is that, while we want to enjoy the southwest sun coming from the left neighbor side, we also want to slightly turn away from visibility from the street and opposite neighbors. Another reason is to build as far away as possible from our higher left neighbor who casts long shadows in winter, so more sunlight can reach our windows. For brightness reasons, I also planned the garage detached from the house on the left southwest edge; it should be built as low as possible and in winter not cause significantly more shadowing than the neighboring buildings already do.

The terrace, visible from the street through the gap between garage and house, will be screened with a hedge.

My design was partly inspired by the floor plan of a used property we visited. There, as a striking feature upon entering, you looked at a tall plant growing through a 1x1 m (3.3x3.3 feet) ceiling opening next to the left end of the stairs reaching to the upper floor. The idea is to plan the ceiling opening large enough to allow the retrofitting of a vertical lift in the future. The gallery/open volume was positioned in that house similarly to ours, which we liked. The entrance vestibule (windfang) is primarily intended to avoid drafts, since our terrace door is often open. I initially placed the cloakroom behind the vestibule, open to the living area, so that the vestibule door would not interfere with a possible lift solution and its required maneuvering space.

On the ground floor, a wall is drawn next to the staircase (above it on the plan) which I assume might be a necessary load-bearing wall due to the large open living-dining “hall.” This wall continues through the basement and upper floor and also serves as practical room separation there.

In the upstairs plan, I placed the walk-in closet between the bedroom and bathroom, intentionally separating it again from the bedroom by a door. The reason is our current experience where our bedroom is only separated from the bathroom by a thin wall, and even with the door closed, there is still too much noise from the bathroom. I still consider this solution slightly imperfect but would not want to reduce the open volume too much. The very large bed planned for the bedroom should be a 2.7 m (8.9 feet) wide family bed. Space next to it is somewhat tight. If I place it on the opposite exterior wall, it would conflict with the wish for windows on the sunny side, wouldn’t it?

The open volume is a long-standing wish we don’t want to give up, even if it requires, for example, soundproof doors for the children’s rooms.

Since this is only a semi-finished draft of the room layout, I would greatly appreciate any critiques and ideas so I can incorporate them into the architect’s planning from the beginning. We would also like to save a few square meters if possible and sensible.

Thank you in advance for all suggestions!

I wanted to edit my post but exceeded the 10-minute time limit, so here is an addition:

On the ground floor, built-in closets are planned to fit in the gap between the load-bearing wall and the wall of the office/guest room. They will be accessible about half from the living room and half from the hallway (for cleaning supplies, etc.). The office/guest room will also serve as storage for some of our children’s toys in their early years, as long as they still like to play near the living area.

The open space in the upper floor plan is not fully outlined; you just need to imagine a continuous line starting as a wall on the left next to the door to the master bedroom.

I have also attached a larger excerpt from the development plan here:

The first attempt unfortunately didn't work out. You are planning very generously, but the layout is simply poor.
- The kitchen is very impractical in its design. It’s not usable, especially considering the size.
- The dining area as a walkthrough space is uncomfortable, and above all, the area is too narrow.
- How wide is the hallway behind the stairs? 0.80m (31.5 inches)?

All in all, it seems quite amateurish. The basement and upper floor are better, but the design already failed with the ground floor.

ivenh0 schrieb:

The first attempt unfortunately didn’t work. Your planning is very generous, but the layout is just poor.
- The kitchen is very impractically designed. You can’t really use it, especially considering the size.
- The dining room as a passageway area feels uncomfortable, and above all, the space is too narrow.
- How wide is the hallway behind the staircase? 0.80m (31.5 inches)?

Overall, it seems quite amateurish. The basement and first floor are better, but the design failed with the ground floor.

For the kitchen, we were thinking of an island in the middle — it doesn’t necessarily have to be a cooking island, it could also be a rectangular “worktop island” with cabinets underneath. What do you mean by impractical? Too wide to build without an island and too narrow for one? So, do you mean that the walking distances in the kitchen are too long?

We currently have the dining room positioned as a passage between kitchen and living room, and we actually like it that way. No strangers walk past us there, and we usually don’t spend too long at the dining table. We prefer to lounge on the couch during the day and sometimes eat there, too. We don’t want to separate those areas to maintain sightlines between each other. It should also be possible to add an extra table onto the dining table for bigger gatherings, which would then extend into the living room. But I have suspected that this area could be a bit narrow because of the stairs.

Regarding the space behind the stairs — if you mean the area above in the plan — there is no hallway there; maybe I should have added an interior wall. Between the stairs and the guest room/office, we plan to install two built-in cupboards. One cabinet, accessible from the living room side, will be on the left half of this niche, and the other, accessible from the hallway side, will be on the right.

Or are you referring to the hallway to the right of the stairs in the plan? That space should be about 1.10–1.20 m (43–47 inches) wide.

You have a nice budget and the plot is quite appealing. The orientation isn’t perfect, but you will get plenty of afternoon sun on the terrace. I would create a small L-shape in the house and position the terrace on the northwest side. This way, you’ll still get the southern sun on the terrace while avoiding sitting directly next to the street.

I wouldn’t consider placing the garage on the south side. Yes, the neighbors’ buildings are right on the boundary there, but the plot is fairly wide. You could also raise the house, including the terrace, by about 50cm (20 inches) to gain some elevation.

A staircase in the living room with two children is not ideal. I don’t see a necessity for it here and wouldn’t suggest it. After all, a basement is planned, which might require a technician to access it—having them walk through your private rooms every time would be inconvenient.

Despite your generous budget, your design is somewhat oversized. I sketched a rough draft for roughly 200m² (2,150 sq ft) plus basement, which I believe fits the budget. This is just a quick concept. Whether you want a balcony off the bedroom or prefer to roof over the terrace didn’t seem essential at this point. My main goal was to show how to bring light into the rooms and onto the terrace without facing the street or placing the garage on the west side.

With the slope plus 50cm (20 inches) above ground level, the basement rooms on the east side can definitely be planned with windows. This project is going to be a hit! I hope your architect is really enthusiastic about it. Looking forward to seeing how it develops.