ᐅ Single-family house, 175 sqm without a basement—too large?
Created on: 15 Apr 2020 10:02
D
Drasleona
Hello everyone
I would also like to hear your opinion on our current design.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 507 sqm (5455 sq ft)
Slope: yes, about 4 m (13 ft) difference in height over a length of 30 m (98 ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge building: allowed for garage/carport
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: max. 2 full stories
Roof type: anything except flat roof
Style: any
Orientation: any
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height max. 12 m (39 ft), wall height max. 10 m (33 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full stories (knee wall 1.86 m (6 ft))
Number of occupants, age: 3 people, 1 teenager, 2 adults
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: approx. 175 sqm (1880 sq ft)
Office: home office
Guest bedrooms per year: rarely 2 guests
Open or closed architecture: rather open, airy, including open kitchen
Balcony, roof terrace: no to both
Garage, carport: double carport planned later
House Design
Who designed it: put together myself
What do you like most? Why?
- Direct access from the bedroom through the dressing room to the bathroom
- Cloakroom niche keeps dirty shoes outside the main passage area
- Floor-to-ceiling windows for lots of light
- Straight staircase, looks modern, easier to walk on than a spiral one and better for accessibility later (stairlift)
- Very spacious living/dining/kitchen area (though perhaps too large?)
- Pantry with everything easily accessible on open shelves
What do you dislike? Why?
- Huge waste of space in the hallways
Why did the design turn out this way?
I saw a similar layout in a townhouse that I really liked at first glance. We want a generous living feel with large window areas.
Since we are planning without a basement, an extra room upstairs was created for storage, guest room, and workshop space.
Important: the bathroom layout is not really planned yet. I have inserted my first idea there but I know it is still far from a “good idea.” For now, the focus is on the basic room layout. The windows are currently more of an idea than fully thought through.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
- Do you see a way to reduce hallway space despite having a straight staircase?
- What is your overall impression of the design?
I would also like to hear your opinion on our current design.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 507 sqm (5455 sq ft)
Slope: yes, about 4 m (13 ft) difference in height over a length of 30 m (98 ft)
Floor area ratio (FAR): 0.4
Site occupancy index: 0.8
Building envelope, building line and boundary: 3 m (10 ft) to the street
Edge building: allowed for garage/carport
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: max. 2 full stories
Roof type: anything except flat roof
Style: any
Orientation: any
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height max. 12 m (39 ft), wall height max. 10 m (33 ft)
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: gable roof
Basement, floors: no basement, almost 2 full stories (knee wall 1.86 m (6 ft))
Number of occupants, age: 3 people, 1 teenager, 2 adults
Space requirements ground floor / upper floor: approx. 175 sqm (1880 sq ft)
Office: home office
Guest bedrooms per year: rarely 2 guests
Open or closed architecture: rather open, airy, including open kitchen
Balcony, roof terrace: no to both
Garage, carport: double carport planned later
House Design
Who designed it: put together myself
What do you like most? Why?
- Direct access from the bedroom through the dressing room to the bathroom
- Cloakroom niche keeps dirty shoes outside the main passage area
- Floor-to-ceiling windows for lots of light
- Straight staircase, looks modern, easier to walk on than a spiral one and better for accessibility later (stairlift)
- Very spacious living/dining/kitchen area (though perhaps too large?)
- Pantry with everything easily accessible on open shelves
What do you dislike? Why?
- Huge waste of space in the hallways
Why did the design turn out this way?
I saw a similar layout in a townhouse that I really liked at first glance. We want a generous living feel with large window areas.
Since we are planning without a basement, an extra room upstairs was created for storage, guest room, and workshop space.
Important: the bathroom layout is not really planned yet. I have inserted my first idea there but I know it is still far from a “good idea.” For now, the focus is on the basic room layout. The windows are currently more of an idea than fully thought through.
What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
- Do you see a way to reduce hallway space despite having a straight staircase?
- What is your overall impression of the design?
D
Drasleona15 Apr 2020 13:41@hausnrplus25 I also considered it but have no sense of the size of the utility room. However, I will definitely keep an eye on that!
@Alessandro Laundry is not going to be dried there, but the heating aspect definitely needs to be taken into account, thanks for the tip!
@Alessandro Laundry is not going to be dried there, but the heating aspect definitely needs to be taken into account, thanks for the tip!
@hampshire can probably explain it better.
If you are planning with small children or a desire to have children, it will be just as you envisioned until they move out and you are done.
Your son is growing up and becoming more independent; eventually, he will move out. This point will come 10 to 15 years earlier for you than for many other home builders.
Hampshire built a house for two plus his sons. They can eat with their mother but don’t disturb her at 11 p.m. if they get hungry.
Furthermore, it’s about how the space is used once the kids have left. Standard houses eventually become too large, and further uses become difficult.
With Hampshire’s concept, his house fits well, and he can counteract vacancy by renting it out through Airbnb or by moving in a caregiver.
This option also applies to your situation. It makes sense to expand or plan the son’s area with a small bathroom, a kitchenette, and a separate entrance.
You will also have a master bathroom.
If you are planning with small children or a desire to have children, it will be just as you envisioned until they move out and you are done.
Your son is growing up and becoming more independent; eventually, he will move out. This point will come 10 to 15 years earlier for you than for many other home builders.
Hampshire built a house for two plus his sons. They can eat with their mother but don’t disturb her at 11 p.m. if they get hungry.
Furthermore, it’s about how the space is used once the kids have left. Standard houses eventually become too large, and further uses become difficult.
With Hampshire’s concept, his house fits well, and he can counteract vacancy by renting it out through Airbnb or by moving in a caregiver.
This option also applies to your situation. It makes sense to expand or plan the son’s area with a small bathroom, a kitchenette, and a separate entrance.
You will also have a master bathroom.
hausnrplus2515 Apr 2020 13:52I was referring to the pantry, not the utility room.
For the pantry, it depends on how you plan to design your kitchen and how much stuff you have. For example, the question of whether to keep the toaster on the countertop or inside a cupboard — keeping it in the cupboard means less space for pasta and similar items, and so on. It’s best to take a close look at your current kitchen to understand how much space you have and need or would like to have. Should there be an additional refrigerator in the pantry? Only a few ingredients? A work surface? Beverage crates? The drawings only show shelves, but in 4m² (43 sq ft), full-height shelving can hold a very large amount!
The utility room depends on what equipment you plan to install: size of the heating system/water tank, ventilation or not, a smart home server cabinet or not, just a washing machine or also a dryer, space for hanging laundry. Do you have a storage room at the carport or a garden shed? Without a garage, what else needs to fit into the utility room?
One idea I want to raise for discussion: turn the staircase around for shorter routes from the living area?!
For the pantry, it depends on how you plan to design your kitchen and how much stuff you have. For example, the question of whether to keep the toaster on the countertop or inside a cupboard — keeping it in the cupboard means less space for pasta and similar items, and so on. It’s best to take a close look at your current kitchen to understand how much space you have and need or would like to have. Should there be an additional refrigerator in the pantry? Only a few ingredients? A work surface? Beverage crates? The drawings only show shelves, but in 4m² (43 sq ft), full-height shelving can hold a very large amount!
The utility room depends on what equipment you plan to install: size of the heating system/water tank, ventilation or not, a smart home server cabinet or not, just a washing machine or also a dryer, space for hanging laundry. Do you have a storage room at the carport or a garden shed? Without a garage, what else needs to fit into the utility room?
One idea I want to raise for discussion: turn the staircase around for shorter routes from the living area?!
D
Drasleona15 Apr 2020 13:58@haydee I can understand the idea, no question about it. But it’s also a matter of setting priorities. If I add this to the to-do list now, other things will inevitably get pushed back, and I’m not fully committed to that idea.
@hausnrplus25 Yes, the pantry suggestions are good food for thought... So far, the plan has been to put a freezer in there and otherwise fill it with shelves that would also hold a toaster, a food processor, etc.
I had mixed up the utility room, sorry about that. Something I haven’t mentioned yet: I want to place the washing machine and dryer in the upstairs bathroom if possible. Most laundry accumulates on the upper floor, so I don’t want to have to carry it up and down all the time. There will also be an outdoor storage room by the carport for garden tools. The mechanical room is really just for building services; nothing else should go in there.
Reversing the staircase sounds very interesting! It actually makes sense since otherwise you always have to walk all the way around... But I haven’t seen that anywhere so far.
@hausnrplus25 Yes, the pantry suggestions are good food for thought... So far, the plan has been to put a freezer in there and otherwise fill it with shelves that would also hold a toaster, a food processor, etc.
I had mixed up the utility room, sorry about that. Something I haven’t mentioned yet: I want to place the washing machine and dryer in the upstairs bathroom if possible. Most laundry accumulates on the upper floor, so I don’t want to have to carry it up and down all the time. There will also be an outdoor storage room by the carport for garden tools. The mechanical room is really just for building services; nothing else should go in there.
Reversing the staircase sounds very interesting! It actually makes sense since otherwise you always have to walk all the way around... But I haven’t seen that anywhere so far.
hausnrplus2515 Apr 2020 14:01We are planning a second utility room upstairs, very small, for the washing machine, dryer, ironing board, etc. -> maybe this is an alternative idea for your storage room upstairs, using part of it for that?!
In the bathroom, appliances and accessories tend to reduce the coziness, especially if you no longer have small children who keep their toys and potty in the bathroom anyway, this would be important to me.
In the bathroom, appliances and accessories tend to reduce the coziness, especially if you no longer have small children who keep their toys and potty in the bathroom anyway, this would be important to me.
H
hampshire15 Apr 2020 14:46Drasleona schrieb:
How many young adults living at home want to cook? In our case, 100% when they have guests over—they really cook, fry, or bake then. Having their own bathroom is also a plus. The boys each have a 2.9m (9.5 feet) long kitchen line with a sink, an oven, a cooktop, a kettle, a toaster, and a refrigerator. It’s all from Ikea and assembled and connected together—which also helped them learn something.
Our kitchen is off-limits to them after 8 p.m., but we have an open-plan layout for ourselves.
What has also proven beneficial is that we no longer have arguments about things left lying around or differing sleep schedules, which really improves the overall atmosphere.
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