ᐅ Single-family home, approximately 1500 square feet, with 2 children’s bedrooms – What do you think of the floor plan?
Created on: 4 Aug 2018 14:18
S
Stege90
Hello,
we have been offered a plot of land by a developer and would like to build our future home there. The plot is located at the end of a cul-de-sac in a traffic-calmed residential area (infilling development).
I should mention upfront that we have not yet received much information from the developer. We shared our rough requirements with him, and he has created a first draft, so far only for the ground floor.
It would be great if you could help us evaluate this early on before we progress too far in the planning and have to make major changes later.
The positioning of the house on the plot is due to the fact that all other options we considered would cast too much shadow on the rest of the plot.
The plot shown as undeveloped on the site plan has meanwhile been built on with a bungalow (marked). A carport will be constructed between the bungalow and our plot.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: approx. 750 m² (about 8,070 sq ft)
Slope: none
Floor area ratio: no information received yet
Plot ratio: no information received yet
Building window, building line, and boundary: no information received yet
Edge development: no information received yet
Number of parking spaces: no information received yet
Number of floors: no information received yet
Roof shape:
Architectural style:
Orientation: see image
Maximum heights / limits: ?
Additional requirements?
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: A mono-pitched roof was preferred to minimize sloping ceilings, but according to the developer and the development plan this is not permitted, so a gable roof was proposed – this still needs clarification.
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: currently 3 (28, 28, 1), planned: second child
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor: guest toilet, utility room, kitchen/dining room, living room; Upper floor: 3 bedrooms, office, bathroom
Office use: family or home office? office to be used occasionally as a mobile workspace; initially also as a guest room
Guests per year – every 3 months 2-4 people
Open or closed layout – rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: probably a mix
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen connected to dining room – no freestanding kitchen island; separation from dining area by a counter
Number of dining seats: minimum 6, option for a large dining table (big family)
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: yes, in the living room where the sofa is currently planned (wall on the left towards the carport); sofa arranged in an L-shape facing north and east – pictures might be hung on the wall towards the dining room
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage was requested, but we also like the current proposal
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
Bathroom – T-shaped bathroom with shower cabin desired; a large washbasin
Walk-in closet not desired
No basement
Access via the garage/carport
House Design
Designed by:
- planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like and why? What do you dislike and why?
We definitely want the carport to be wider than in the initial floor plan – at least 4 meters (about 13 feet).
Noticeable is the missing entrance area, i.e. the actual front door. Initially, this seemed strange to us, but it provides many opportunities for the interior layout, so after some consideration we don’t find it so bad.
Price estimate according to architect/planner; personal price limit for the house, including fittings: approx. €260,000
Preferred heating technology: not discussed yet
If you have to give up something, which features/extensions
- can you do without: garage – already left out by the developer to enable the design without a main entrance area
- cannot do without: kitchen/dining area – pantry next to the kitchen
Why is the design like it is? For example:
We do not want a completely open living/dining area. Therefore, the living room should be a separate, closed room.
[U]What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
What do you think about the missing traditional entrance area?
Please feel free to criticize and offer suggestions for improvement. For now, the focus is on the house location on the plot and the ground floor layout. Since we are still at the beginning, many things are still changeable.
we have been offered a plot of land by a developer and would like to build our future home there. The plot is located at the end of a cul-de-sac in a traffic-calmed residential area (infilling development).
I should mention upfront that we have not yet received much information from the developer. We shared our rough requirements with him, and he has created a first draft, so far only for the ground floor.
It would be great if you could help us evaluate this early on before we progress too far in the planning and have to make major changes later.
The positioning of the house on the plot is due to the fact that all other options we considered would cast too much shadow on the rest of the plot.
The plot shown as undeveloped on the site plan has meanwhile been built on with a bungalow (marked). A carport will be constructed between the bungalow and our plot.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: approx. 750 m² (about 8,070 sq ft)
Slope: none
Floor area ratio: no information received yet
Plot ratio: no information received yet
Building window, building line, and boundary: no information received yet
Edge development: no information received yet
Number of parking spaces: no information received yet
Number of floors: no information received yet
Roof shape:
Architectural style:
Orientation: see image
Maximum heights / limits: ?
Additional requirements?
Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: A mono-pitched roof was preferred to minimize sloping ceilings, but according to the developer and the development plan this is not permitted, so a gable roof was proposed – this still needs clarification.
Basement, floors: no basement, 2 floors
Number of occupants, age: currently 3 (28, 28, 1), planned: second child
Space requirements on ground floor and upper floor: Ground floor: guest toilet, utility room, kitchen/dining room, living room; Upper floor: 3 bedrooms, office, bathroom
Office use: family or home office? office to be used occasionally as a mobile workspace; initially also as a guest room
Guests per year – every 3 months 2-4 people
Open or closed layout – rather closed
Conservative or modern construction: probably a mix
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen connected to dining room – no freestanding kitchen island; separation from dining area by a counter
Number of dining seats: minimum 6, option for a large dining table (big family)
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: yes, in the living room where the sofa is currently planned (wall on the left towards the carport); sofa arranged in an L-shape facing north and east – pictures might be hung on the wall towards the dining room
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage was requested, but we also like the current proposal
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Additional wishes / special features / daily routine, including reasons why certain things should or shouldn’t be included:
Bathroom – T-shaped bathroom with shower cabin desired; a large washbasin
Walk-in closet not desired
No basement
Access via the garage/carport
House Design
Designed by:
- planner from a construction company
What do you particularly like and why? What do you dislike and why?
We definitely want the carport to be wider than in the initial floor plan – at least 4 meters (about 13 feet).
Noticeable is the missing entrance area, i.e. the actual front door. Initially, this seemed strange to us, but it provides many opportunities for the interior layout, so after some consideration we don’t find it so bad.
Price estimate according to architect/planner; personal price limit for the house, including fittings: approx. €260,000
Preferred heating technology: not discussed yet
If you have to give up something, which features/extensions
- can you do without: garage – already left out by the developer to enable the design without a main entrance area
- cannot do without: kitchen/dining area – pantry next to the kitchen
Why is the design like it is? For example:
We do not want a completely open living/dining area. Therefore, the living room should be a separate, closed room.
[U]What is the most important / fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
What do you think about the missing traditional entrance area?
Please feel free to criticize and offer suggestions for improvement. For now, the focus is on the house location on the plot and the ground floor layout. Since we are still at the beginning, many things are still changeable.
J
j.bautsch15 Aug 2018 07:45Stege90 schrieb:
Would it help if we rotated the staircase and left the area underneath open, or something similar? Would that make the hallway feel significantly more spacious?You could simply use a half-turn staircase so that the space under the stairs can still be utilized.
Only having the "high" side facing the utility room allows for the space underneath to be used effectively. From this perspective, the direction of rotation is clear, while from the attic it is neutral.
I do not see any advantage in having a straight flight here—neither for the spatial effect nor for the usability of the area below. In my opinion, a "wound" (spiral) design fits the style of the house better.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I do not see any advantage in having a straight flight here—neither for the spatial effect nor for the usability of the area below. In my opinion, a "wound" (spiral) design fits the style of the house better.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
I would expect a load-bearing wall as the central wall, using walls at least 17.5cm (7 inches) thick. 45cm (18 inches) is not a standard brick dimension – commonly it would be 36.5cm (14 inches), 49cm (19 inches), or increasingly 42.5cm (17 inches) – which suggests a multi-layer wall construction in this case. It would be worth asking what kind of wall structure that is meant to be.
I would place the door there and omit the eastern door of the storage room.
I would avoid a boiler, and a full-fledged furnace – so I’ve heard – is also no longer common nowadays.A 17.5cm (7 inch) thick wall has now been included in the plans.j.bautsch schrieb:
You could simply use a landing staircase so that the space under the stairs can still be used.
We will replace the currently planned staircase with a landing staircase as well and add a window there to let some light into the hallway from the north side.Here are the updated floor plans. The staircase will be changed as mentioned above. Other than that, the hallway already feels more open.
We are still uncertain about the guest WC. It has been slightly enlarged, but does that actually help us? Or would it be better to make it a bit smaller again to allow the door to open more easily?
We rotated the shower and toilet so that there is daylight in the shower area. But is the wall length really sufficient for the shower here? For your information: we do not want a completely open shower, but a shower door.
The windows shown are still from the old design. Our question is more about the knee wall. Is 90cm (35 inches) enough? Or do you notice any other inconsistencies?
The front view (the carport will be on the left in front of the shed) feels a bit wooden to me. Everything is very angular. What do you think? Would perhaps a round window above (in the bathroom) help to soften the overall impression?
We like the other elevations. Although we are considering moving the fixed part of the front door to the right. That might also help a bit with the guest WC door issue.
We are very grateful for all your feedback. We have taken everything to heart and have already incorporated some of the suggestions.
Just my two cents, since I’m not an expert on floor plans here in the forum.
- Move the front door towards the hallway; this might allow you to rearrange the coat storage and possibly enlarge the guest bathroom.
- Leave out the utility room’s exterior door. It really doesn’t make sense and only increases costs.
- Apparently, you live mostly in the dining room and kitchen; otherwise, I can’t explain the floor plan. The living room doesn’t have any access to the terrace at all???
Overall, the ground floor plan doesn’t have the character of a single-family house for me. Its layout looks more like a plan for a condominium unit. Is it just me?!
My personal opinion: I wouldn’t even want the ground floor as a gift, and I suspect you might regret it in a few years.
The upper floor turned out quite well. Although I would give the bedroom at least 1 m (3 feet) more space – there is room for it.
- Move the front door towards the hallway; this might allow you to rearrange the coat storage and possibly enlarge the guest bathroom.
- Leave out the utility room’s exterior door. It really doesn’t make sense and only increases costs.
- Apparently, you live mostly in the dining room and kitchen; otherwise, I can’t explain the floor plan. The living room doesn’t have any access to the terrace at all???
Overall, the ground floor plan doesn’t have the character of a single-family house for me. Its layout looks more like a plan for a condominium unit. Is it just me?!
My personal opinion: I wouldn’t even want the ground floor as a gift, and I suspect you might regret it in a few years.
The upper floor turned out quite well. Although I would give the bedroom at least 1 m (3 feet) more space – there is room for it.
I’m afraid a landing staircase will be quite tight. Have someone calculate the effective walking width; it will now be around a maximum of 85 to just under 90 cm (33 to 35 inches) considering the railing, partition wall, stairwell, etc.
I would remove the slanted wall.
@Zaba12 … why make the guest toilet larger? I would rather reduce it by 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches). The outward-opening door, which on paper conflicts with the main entrance door, will practically never happen and wouldn’t bother me.
Living room … I like separating the living area from dining and kitchen. And when I want to relax on the sofa, I don’t want to have to walk out to the terrace. However, I would still add a smaller north-facing window to bring more light and friendliness to the room.
Then you could start planning the kitchen, and maybe shift the southern kitchen window slightly to the right.
I would remove the slanted wall.
@Zaba12 … why make the guest toilet larger? I would rather reduce it by 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches). The outward-opening door, which on paper conflicts with the main entrance door, will practically never happen and wouldn’t bother me.
Living room … I like separating the living area from dining and kitchen. And when I want to relax on the sofa, I don’t want to have to walk out to the terrace. However, I would still add a smaller north-facing window to bring more light and friendliness to the room.
Then you could start planning the kitchen, and maybe shift the southern kitchen window slightly to the right.
Stege90 schrieb:
We are uncertain about the guest toilet, among other things. It has now been slightly enlarged, but does that really help us?No, in my opinion, simply widening it does not help.
Stege90 schrieb:
We swapped the shower and toilet so that there is daylight in the shower.But then there’s a cramped feeling in the bathroom? You’re busy in the shower. A view of the sky from the toilet would be nice... I would switch them back. I’m not surprised that so much space is given to the toilet. It could definitely be smaller to give more room to the shower!
Stege90 schrieb:
But is the wall length sufficient for the shower?No, it can easily be one meter (3 feet 3 inches) long. At least for aesthetic reasons. You will be visible through the window anyway.
Stege90 schrieb:
Our question is more about the knee wall. Is 90 cm (35 inches) enough?Measure the headboard of your beds. Or sit in bed to read and measure how much height you actually need.
Stege90 schrieb:
The carport looks a bit wooden to me. Everything is very angular. What do you think?Not angular, but unbalanced. The windows don’t align... the spacing isn’t refined. This also applies to other windows on the ground and upper floors... the facades appear somewhat displaced and skewed.
Stege90 schrieb:
Would a round window at the top (bathroom) maybe loosen things up a bit?No, I would hold off on that until the rest is organized.
Stege90 schrieb:
We like the other elevations.Oops.
It feels like you told the architect, “We need a pantry.” So they drew one. You want the toilet and shower swapped, so they swapped them—without thinking it through. And you don’t notice the mistakes because you’re getting exactly what you asked for.
A pantry definitely doesn’t need a south-facing window. Leave the pantry out and use the space under the stairs as a pantry. The room can serve better as storage or a wardrobe closet. You actually don’t have enough wardrobe space. What’s drawn is only enough for out-of-season clothes currently in use, but not for storing seasonal clothing.
The windows on that side need to be adjusted. The bathroom window is disproportionately small compared to the dormer, which is why it looks odd to you. The toilet doesn’t need that much space, so the “I” in the “T”-shaped layout needs reconsidering. Actually, you could make the “T” more like an “L.”
I would also suggest balancing the east side, trying if the dining window can be shifted.
Entrance: the window under the carport makes no sense. Let that window bring in light. The living room needs a patio door. Is this supposed to be a formal living room? Or a TV room... but even then, access to the outside is useful—you want to go out in the evening sometimes.
You should also reconsider the bathroom door to make sure there’s enough space behind it for the bathtub.
The architect should really be ashamed!
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