ᐅ Single-family house, 150 sqm, nearing detailed design phase – feedback?
Created on: 1 Nov 2018 22:21
S
sunnyage
Hello dear forum members,
We are now a family of four and are finally ready to fulfill our dream of owning a home. We already have a plot of land and a general contractor who will build with us. Over the past few months, we have been tirelessly reviewing plans and gathering information. We have now reached the point where we have an approved building permit / planning permission. So, the basic parameters of the house are basically set. However, as we approach the final approval of the detailed planning, we are starting to doubt whether we have been too focused on our own ideas for too long.
The floor plan has caused us quite some headaches because the plot is only 14 meters (46 feet) wide, which means the maximum width of the house is 8 meters (26 feet). We also wanted a fireplace in a spacious, open living area. With large windows and hopefully plenty of natural light, we aim to create a friendly atmosphere. By the way, in the screenshots, the south side is shown at the top.
This resulted in the attached floor plan. One challenge is definitely having enough space for wardrobes and other furniture. According to our current visualizations, this seems to fit reasonably well. To improve this even more, we have already decided to slightly reduce the widths of the windows on the south side.
We are still unsure about the "corner" in the study. We could either place a desk or a bed there, but it would also be possible to close the wall and, with an entrance from the hallway, create a separate wardrobe. Another point is the rather large bedroom—which will not have a separate dressing room—but as a large room it is also somewhat difficult to furnish.
We would be very grateful if you could take a fresh and unbiased look at the floor plan and provide your comments.
Thank you very much in advance!
Sonja and Simon
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1000 sqm (11,000 sq ft)
Slope: No
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: -
Building window, building line, and boundary: Adjacent development
Edge development: No
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of floors: 1 full floor
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Classic
Orientation: East
Maximum heights / limits: -
Other requirements: -
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Classic single-family house with gable roof
Basement, floors: 1 full floor
Number of people, age: 4 (2 adults, 2 small children)
Room requirements on ground floor: Living room, dining room, kitchen, utility room, guest toilet, study/guest room
Room requirements on upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, bathroom
Office: Family use or home office?: Family use
Number of overnight guests per year: very few (5-6)
Open or closed layout: Open
Conservative or modern construction: Conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Carport planned for later
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routines, including reasons for certain choices: -
House Design
Planned by: Planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?: The open living/dining area with the connection to the small study. We plan to keep the door between these spaces mostly open so that these central rooms receive natural light throughout the day. Also, we look forward to no longer being isolated from the rest of the family when cooking, as we are in our current small kitchen.
What do you not like? Why?: -
Estimated price according to architect/planner: -
Personal maximum budget for house including fittings: -
Preferred heating system: Gas
If you had to give up, which details or extensions
- would you be able to give up: ?
- would you NOT give up: Open area with kitchen, dining and living room, as well as the fireplace
Why did the design turn out the way it is now?
We spent a long time with the planner and on our own trying to reconcile our various requirements. He made a great effort to incorporate them all into one floor plan.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
How would you plan the study and bedroom, and do you notice any major flaws in our floor plan?
We are now a family of four and are finally ready to fulfill our dream of owning a home. We already have a plot of land and a general contractor who will build with us. Over the past few months, we have been tirelessly reviewing plans and gathering information. We have now reached the point where we have an approved building permit / planning permission. So, the basic parameters of the house are basically set. However, as we approach the final approval of the detailed planning, we are starting to doubt whether we have been too focused on our own ideas for too long.
The floor plan has caused us quite some headaches because the plot is only 14 meters (46 feet) wide, which means the maximum width of the house is 8 meters (26 feet). We also wanted a fireplace in a spacious, open living area. With large windows and hopefully plenty of natural light, we aim to create a friendly atmosphere. By the way, in the screenshots, the south side is shown at the top.
This resulted in the attached floor plan. One challenge is definitely having enough space for wardrobes and other furniture. According to our current visualizations, this seems to fit reasonably well. To improve this even more, we have already decided to slightly reduce the widths of the windows on the south side.
We are still unsure about the "corner" in the study. We could either place a desk or a bed there, but it would also be possible to close the wall and, with an entrance from the hallway, create a separate wardrobe. Another point is the rather large bedroom—which will not have a separate dressing room—but as a large room it is also somewhat difficult to furnish.
We would be very grateful if you could take a fresh and unbiased look at the floor plan and provide your comments.
Thank you very much in advance!
Sonja and Simon
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 1000 sqm (11,000 sq ft)
Slope: No
Site coverage ratio: 0.2
Floor area ratio: -
Building window, building line, and boundary: Adjacent development
Edge development: No
Number of parking spaces: 1
Number of floors: 1 full floor
Roof type: Gable roof
Style: Classic
Orientation: East
Maximum heights / limits: -
Other requirements: -
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: Classic single-family house with gable roof
Basement, floors: 1 full floor
Number of people, age: 4 (2 adults, 2 small children)
Room requirements on ground floor: Living room, dining room, kitchen, utility room, guest toilet, study/guest room
Room requirements on upper floor: Master bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, bathroom
Office: Family use or home office?: Family use
Number of overnight guests per year: very few (5-6)
Open or closed layout: Open
Conservative or modern construction: Conservative
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Carport planned for later
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: No
Additional wishes / special features / daily routines, including reasons for certain choices: -
House Design
Planned by: Planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like? Why?: The open living/dining area with the connection to the small study. We plan to keep the door between these spaces mostly open so that these central rooms receive natural light throughout the day. Also, we look forward to no longer being isolated from the rest of the family when cooking, as we are in our current small kitchen.
What do you not like? Why?: -
Estimated price according to architect/planner: -
Personal maximum budget for house including fittings: -
Preferred heating system: Gas
If you had to give up, which details or extensions
- would you be able to give up: ?
- would you NOT give up: Open area with kitchen, dining and living room, as well as the fireplace
Why did the design turn out the way it is now?
We spent a long time with the planner and on our own trying to reconcile our various requirements. He made a great effort to incorporate them all into one floor plan.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan, summarized in 130 characters?
How would you plan the study and bedroom, and do you notice any major flaws in our floor plan?
kaho674 schrieb:
The line is 2.3 m (7.5 ft) – strangely – it confused me too.Ah, not easy to read on a phone.
And I also overlooked this here: if I had read that, I wouldn’t have replied at all 😉
sunnyage schrieb:
that we have an approved building permit / planning permission.sunnyage schrieb:
But now that we are approaching the final approval of the detailed planning, doubts arise as to whether we have been overthinking it for too long.Yes, that is often critical. The exterior cannot usually be changed without a new or amended building permit / planning permission.
But the interior certainly can 🙂
O
Obstlerbaum2 Nov 2018 16:34The living room corner with the passage to the study could be difficult to furnish. I also don't think giving the child a northeast-facing room is particularly ideal...
Hello everyone,
Thank you very much for all the responses and great suggestions. Unfortunately, due to the advanced planning stage, we are not as flexible anymore, but we definitely received some useful ideas.
Stairs / Entrance Area: We had not considered the concept of a landing staircase for our house before. This could indeed help us avoid the “dirt zone” in front of the entrance door and maybe even allow for a wider door in the utility room (but see the point below). We might then replace the window currently planned right next to the door with a higher one above the landing. This could free up some space next to the door.
Landing Staircase: We just tried to visualize it. If we implemented it correctly, the space between the stairs and the living room becomes quite tight (80cm (31.5 inches) between the step and the wall to the living room). The landing at the top also needs the width of a normal step, right?
Guest Room / Coat Area: The corner in the study would probably just fit a desk (~1.50m (5 feet) wide). But the question is whether that would be a pleasant workspace. As a coat area, we would have about 2 square meters (22 square feet). Would you install a door there? We fear losing space compared to the entrance door area, where we currently planned a cupboard.
Utility Room: The layout of the utility room has been bothering us for a long time (greetings to Kersting J). Unfortunately, we can’t think of a good option that avoids doors without having the path from the entrance / upstairs to the kitchen go through the living room. We have considered a second exterior door in the utility room, but have always hesitated about having two doors side by side. Also, the idea of giving up access from the hallway.
Door to the Utility Room: While visualizing the landing staircase, we realized that it could definitely be replaced with a wider door.
Bedroom: The version with the centered windows and the walk-in closet also looks good.
Thank you very much for all the responses and great suggestions. Unfortunately, due to the advanced planning stage, we are not as flexible anymore, but we definitely received some useful ideas.
Stairs / Entrance Area: We had not considered the concept of a landing staircase for our house before. This could indeed help us avoid the “dirt zone” in front of the entrance door and maybe even allow for a wider door in the utility room (but see the point below). We might then replace the window currently planned right next to the door with a higher one above the landing. This could free up some space next to the door.
Landing Staircase: We just tried to visualize it. If we implemented it correctly, the space between the stairs and the living room becomes quite tight (80cm (31.5 inches) between the step and the wall to the living room). The landing at the top also needs the width of a normal step, right?
Guest Room / Coat Area: The corner in the study would probably just fit a desk (~1.50m (5 feet) wide). But the question is whether that would be a pleasant workspace. As a coat area, we would have about 2 square meters (22 square feet). Would you install a door there? We fear losing space compared to the entrance door area, where we currently planned a cupboard.
Utility Room: The layout of the utility room has been bothering us for a long time (greetings to Kersting J). Unfortunately, we can’t think of a good option that avoids doors without having the path from the entrance / upstairs to the kitchen go through the living room. We have considered a second exterior door in the utility room, but have always hesitated about having two doors side by side. Also, the idea of giving up access from the hallway.
Door to the Utility Room: While visualizing the landing staircase, we realized that it could definitely be replaced with a wider door.
Bedroom: The version with the centered windows and the walk-in closet also looks good.
Hm, unfortunately it’s a bit late to make changes here….
For me, there are 3 main issues that bother me.
1. The sofa placement is awkward. Why is there such a large door to the guest room? Couldn’t you use a regular-sized door and then place the sofa against the wall?
2. Why is there no walk-in closet? It seems like a great opportunity here to create one, which would help prevent the room from feeling overwhelming due to its size.
3. The upstairs hallway is only a few centimeters wider than a door, which I find way too narrow. The house can’t be any wider, but then I also don’t see an extra bathroom for the kids.
Do you really want standard doors that are 1.98 meters (6 feet 6 inches) tall? Nowadays, 2.11 meters (6 feet 11 inches) is more like the new standard.
For me, there are 3 main issues that bother me.
1. The sofa placement is awkward. Why is there such a large door to the guest room? Couldn’t you use a regular-sized door and then place the sofa against the wall?
2. Why is there no walk-in closet? It seems like a great opportunity here to create one, which would help prevent the room from feeling overwhelming due to its size.
3. The upstairs hallway is only a few centimeters wider than a door, which I find way too narrow. The house can’t be any wider, but then I also don’t see an extra bathroom for the kids.
Do you really want standard doors that are 1.98 meters (6 feet 6 inches) tall? Nowadays, 2.11 meters (6 feet 11 inches) is more like the new standard.
If any of these changes appeal to you, you should quickly apply for a modification permit for other windows. This usually isn’t a problem and is faster than the standard application.
I would also equip the upper floor with a walk-in closet, as @kaho674 initially designed.
I would swap the rooms downstairs but keep the utility room as is. The mentioned corner becomes a cloakroom with a door. The office and kitchen would be exchanged, as well as the living room and dining area. This way, the private area is placed at the back, and the dining area functions as a walkthrough room.
I would also equip the upper floor with a walk-in closet, as @kaho674 initially designed.
I would swap the rooms downstairs but keep the utility room as is. The mentioned corner becomes a cloakroom with a door. The office and kitchen would be exchanged, as well as the living room and dining area. This way, the private area is placed at the back, and the dining area functions as a walkthrough room.
Similar topics