ᐅ Single-Family Home Floor Plan Approx. 190 m² – Optimizations

Hello everyone,

Our dream of owning a home is finally coming true, and we were able to purchase a plot of land in a new development area.
We already have the first drafts. Overall, we really like the direction, but some details are not yet exactly how we want them.
Therefore, we hope to receive some suggestions for improvements here.

Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 680m2 (7316 ft2)
Slope: no – the plot slopes about 2–2.5m (6.6–8.2 ft) over the length of 30m (98 ft)
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Gross floor area ratio: -
Building line, construction limits: visible in the attachments
Edge development: yes according to building regulations – max. length 9m (30 ft) (The garage is planned on the boundary)
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: mono-pitched roof, flat roof, gable roof, hipped roof, pyramidal roof
Architectural style: -
Orientation: south
Maximum heights / limits: max. wall height: 6.5m (21 ft) / max. ridge height: 12.5m (41 ft)
Other requirements -

Owner Requirements
Architectural style, roof type, building type: modern, simple / hipped roof (no pyramidal roof) or possibly gable roof
Basement, floors: basement + 2 full floors
Number of occupants, ages: 3 people (32, 31, 13)
Space requirement on ground floor and upper floor: approx. 90–100m2 (970–1076 ft2) each
Office: family use or home office? Both – later possibly usable as a bedroom
Overnight guests per year: 3–5
Open or closed layout: open
Traditional or modern construction: traditional
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, kitchen unit without upper cabinets + kitchen island
Number of dining seats: 6 (expandable to 8)
Fireplace: yes
Music/stereo wall
Balcony, roof terrace: possibly roof terrace on the garage
Garage, carport: garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also explanations why something should/should not be: open living kitchen with pantry and “glass front” facing the garden / platform staircase / walk-in closet in the bedroom / 2 nearly equally sized rooms on the upper floor / office later also usable as bedroom, hence the shower bathroom on the ground floor

House Design
Planner: architect + our ideas / adjustments
What do you particularly like? Why? – The open living area including access to the south-facing terrace – especially the arrangement/layout of the kitchen plus access to the pantry. We would adopt the basement exactly as planned. Possibly add a direct external access via stairs. We also like the size of the children’s rooms on the upper floor. The children’s rooms should face south here.
What do you not like? Why? – Entrance area on the ground floor – we would like a niche or similar for shoes, coats, etc., so you don’t “stumble” over these or see everything immediately. Possibly a “mudroom” would be very practical.
Regarding the upper floor, the biggest change from today’s perspective would be: the access to the bedroom through the “walk-in closet” is not ideal for us. The roof terrace overlooking the bathroom is, in our opinion, only a suboptimal solution. The roof terrace is not a must, and if it exists, it will not be over the main entrance.
Cost estimate according to architect/planner: 500,000€
Preferred heating system: heat pump

If you have to give up, which details / extensions
- can you give up: roof terrace
- cannot give up: large garage, shower bathroom on the ground floor, guest room / office on the ground floor

As mentioned before, the draft is already very much in line with what we like. We are currently considering rotating the house and possibly placing the entrance between the garage and the house. However, this would shift everything completely.
We are grateful for any suggestions and look forward to your comments.

I really like the layout on the ground floor. If I were to build again, it would be very similar.

The request for a shoe nook will be difficult. I don’t see any space that seems wasted. If you don’t want to give up the pantry, in my opinion, you would have to add a small porch or vestibule for that. Would it be worth it?

The upper floor isn’t exactly smooth in design. How exactly is the walk-in closet supposed to be arranged? Should it be separate next to the bedroom? Or only accessible through the bedroom? The latter is often debated here as a disadvantage, especially if one person gets up while the other still wants to sleep.

I don’t immediately see any advantage in moving the entrance. What do you hope to achieve by that?

TraumvHaus schrieb:

however, some details are still not quite the way we want them

One side of the staircase has a wall above the bottom step, while the other side has a gallery: this looks uneven.

TraumvHaus schrieb:

The plot slopes about 2 to 2.5 meters (6.5 to 8 feet) over a length of 30 meters (100 feet)

So more than half a meter (around 20 inches) over the length of the garage, and the terrace would also need to be raised.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Hello,

Thank you for the comments.

kaho674 schrieb:
The request for a niche for shoes will be difficult. I don’t see any space that would be wasted. If you don’t give up the pantry, in my opinion, a small porch would have to be added for that. Would it be worth it?

That’s why we’re considering rotating the house to accommodate the niche. Giving up the pantry is not an option, and I don’t think a small porch fits the overall design of the house, as it is otherwise very streamlined. Possibly, we would consider a projection for the kitchen if we rotate the house...

kaho674 schrieb:
The upper floor is not exactly smooth in design. How exactly is the walk-in closet supposed to be arranged? Should it be separate next to the bedroom? Or only accessible through the bedroom? The latter is a frequently discussed disadvantage here when one person gets up and the other still wants to sleep.

I don’t see an immediate advantage to moving the entrance. What do you expect from that?

We don’t want the walk-in closet to be directly accessible when entering the bedroom — this way, it might also be possible to leave some worn clothes “lying around.” Fortunately, we don’t have the problem of different schedules, and even if we did, it wouldn’t bother us too much. Overall, the upper floor is okay but not particularly “great.” Do you have any good ideas or suggestions?

11ant schrieb:

One side of the staircase has a wall above the first step, the other side opens to a gallery: it looks uneven.

What do you mean exactly, or what should we improve? Add a wall on both sides? I think that might make the entrance area appear very "massive," right?

11ant schrieb:

So more than half a meter (over 1.5 feet) beyond the length of the garage, and the terrace would also be raised.

Yes, the terrace would likely be elevated; we might secure it with a stone retaining wall. Unfortunately, we cannot change the existing conditions.

TraumvHaus schrieb:

What do you mean exactly, or what should we improve?

TraumvHaus schrieb:

But if both sides are to be framed, the staircase would probably need to be moved.

I just wanted to point that out because, in my experience, not every homeowner “sees” this themselves. However, it’s not necessary to (objectively) “improve” everything that I would (subjectively) plan differently. Others may prefer different things—I’m not supposed to want to rent the house.

TraumvHaus schrieb:

Yes, the terrace would probably be elevated, and we might secure it with a stone retaining wall.

Here too: just a note, as not everyone will read this consequence from the plan. At that height, terrain grading is not problematic.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/