ᐅ Single-Family House on a South-Facing Slope Floor Plan – Request for Feedback
Created on: 18 May 2021 15:35
E
EFH-Sued-Hang
Hello everyone, after a lot of tinkering, we would really appreciate some feedback on our floor plan ☺️
Development Plan / Restrictions
This is a new residential area.
Plot size approx. 700 sqm (8,000 sq ft)
South-facing slope with access from the north and a nice view towards the south
2 parking spaces per housing unit: 2 in the carport, 2 in front of the house parallel to the street
Floor area ratio, gross floor area ratio, and other regulations are quite generous in the development plan and have been taken into account in the design
Homeowners’ Requirements
Timber frame construction with a shallow pitched roof
Currently 2 adults (32 years old) and 1 child (1 year old), with 1-2 more children planned in the future
Rooms:
Special features:
House Design
Mainly own planning
Collaboration with a construction company and an architect
Initially, it is important for us to create our dream floor plan. Roughly, the price given to us is around 540,000 €.
KfW40+ standard with 10 kWP photovoltaic system and 10 kWh battery
Heating & ventilation:
• Air-source heat pump
• Central ventilation system with possible enthalpy heat exchanger
• Underfloor heating (except in the pantry, possibly with cooling option)
Other:
• Probably a basic Loxone smart home system
• Possibly a water softening system
• Possibly ceiling LED lighting in rooms without visible roof structure
Why did the design turn out this way?
Due to the slope, we want the living and common rooms on the ground floor (= upper level), plus two additional rooms. Because the ground floor is above the second level (the basement) due to the slope, the basement necessarily has to be the same size. Alternatively, you would need a cantilevered upper floor, which is probably extremely expensive.
The extra area in the basement that we don’t need as living space is located partly in the slope, so it basically functions as a cellar.
What is the most important basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think about the room layout? Is there anything you see negatively or would change?
What do you think about the room sizes?
Will the south orientation and many windows make it too warm in summer?
We look forward to your ideas, thoughts, and tips!
Development Plan / Restrictions
This is a new residential area.
Plot size approx. 700 sqm (8,000 sq ft)
South-facing slope with access from the north and a nice view towards the south
2 parking spaces per housing unit: 2 in the carport, 2 in front of the house parallel to the street
Floor area ratio, gross floor area ratio, and other regulations are quite generous in the development plan and have been taken into account in the design
Homeowners’ Requirements
Timber frame construction with a shallow pitched roof
Currently 2 adults (32 years old) and 1 child (1 year old), with 1-2 more children planned in the future
Rooms:
- Open living-dining-kitchen area
- 5 (almost) equally sized rooms to be used flexibly as parents’ bedroom, children’s rooms, office, home office, or rental units as a granny flat
- Family bathroom (including washing machine and dryer)
- Children’s bathroom (alternatively as a bathroom for the granny flat)
- Guest toilet (including utility sink)
- Pantry / storage room
- Storage including technical room
- Carport with bicycle shed and partial basement (used as garden shed)
- Balcony
Special features:
- Ground floor = living space, due to the nice view
- Basement = partly cellar, partly regular rooms facing the garden (possible due to the slope)
- Open roof structure over the large living-dining area
- Intermediate ceiling with attic over the other rooms on the ground floor
- Window seats in the living-dining area and possibly in rooms in the basement
- Barrier-reduced design
- Direct, level, covered entrance from the carport into the house
- Generous balcony → How would you recommend shading the balcony so it’s comfortable in high summer, but also usable in breezy and rainy spring weather, while still feeling like being outside (no conservatory)?
- We have purposely omitted a utility room
- Currently, we have planned external venetian blinds (Raffstores) on all windows. Since the two children’s rooms in the basement face south, shading will be necessary there. Do you find external venetian blinds suitable for bedrooms?
- We have not planned any skylights so far, as they are said to require more maintenance. Would you still consider using skylights?
- Due to the layout in the basement, one room—or with an added partition wall, two or even three rooms—could be rented out.
House Design
Mainly own planning
Collaboration with a construction company and an architect
- We really like the room layout and floor plan on the ground floor—what do you think?
- We still need to move a few walls in the basement, but we already like the layout as it is. Your thoughts?
- We oriented the house towards the south. Will it be too warm in summer?
- We have planned many windows (only a few of which open). → Would you recommend fewer windows? (due to heat in summer, view from neighbors)
→ Is it enough if only a few windows can be opened in each room?
Initially, it is important for us to create our dream floor plan. Roughly, the price given to us is around 540,000 €.
KfW40+ standard with 10 kWP photovoltaic system and 10 kWh battery
Heating & ventilation:
• Air-source heat pump
• Central ventilation system with possible enthalpy heat exchanger
• Underfloor heating (except in the pantry, possibly with cooling option)
Other:
• Probably a basic Loxone smart home system
• Possibly a water softening system
• Possibly ceiling LED lighting in rooms without visible roof structure
Why did the design turn out this way?
Due to the slope, we want the living and common rooms on the ground floor (= upper level), plus two additional rooms. Because the ground floor is above the second level (the basement) due to the slope, the basement necessarily has to be the same size. Alternatively, you would need a cantilevered upper floor, which is probably extremely expensive.
The extra area in the basement that we don’t need as living space is located partly in the slope, so it basically functions as a cellar.
What is the most important basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What do you think about the room layout? Is there anything you see negatively or would change?
What do you think about the room sizes?
Will the south orientation and many windows make it too warm in summer?
We look forward to your ideas, thoughts, and tips!
Washing and drying clothes in the bathroom? Do you never hang any laundry on a clothesline? Hand washing in the bathroom sink? Laundry baskets then just stand around in the bathroom (which is not even particularly large).
I would accept such a solution in an apartment, but never in a house (which I can also plan according to my own needs).
I would accept such a solution in an apartment, but never in a house (which I can also plan according to my own needs).
H
hampshire19 May 2021 08:44Myrna_Loy schrieb:
Well, some apartments and houses have about as much personality as a hotel room. We also have quite a bit of art – and a painting simply needs a wall. I fully agree on the topic of art; sculptures also need a place, and I have nothing against spacious rooms. However, that is not the benchmark for a completely different house concept. Apart from the idea of a separate apartment, the house shown works, in my opinion, for a family that is restrained in acquisitions and prefers clear organization. A detached house and having individual bedrooms for each child are already luxuries in themselves. The size of the rooms reflects modesty within an overall above-average framework. This works wonderfully if the people are suited to it. Since, in this concept, parents and children are subject to the same rules, I find it very harmonious and balanced.
When I look at a design, thoughts and feelings always come into play about how such a house supports a good (family) life. This design, to me, especially radiates a strong sense of well-being – even if some details may be less practical or spacious. Other houses, where everything is planned purely for practicality, do not evoke this feeling.
@hampshire I only partially agree with you. A good balance between parents and child spaces is indeed important. Many have walk-in closets larger than the children’s bedrooms.
Still, overall it feels unbalanced. A small granny flat, and suddenly there’s a leftover pan-shaped area in the basement = wasted square meters (square feet), upstairs you bump into a wardrobe in the master bedroom (some people even have this with 25 m² (270 ft²)), and your choices for beds are also limited.
It feels like a bungalow to which a basement was forcibly added, where the possibly necessary children’s bedrooms are just crammed in, along with a granny flat for subsidy purposes, and a huge, awkwardly shaped basement space as the leftover.
Even the children’s room benefits greatly if the door can be moved 60 cm (2 feet) toward the pantry.
Why is the pantry so far away?
What happens? As long as the kids are small, the kitchen in the granny flat gets more use than the main kitchen upstairs. Child 1 is swinging, child 2 needs a fresh diaper, both children are carried upstairs because the diaper was forgotten. No, we can’t go outside to play now, the cake has to be out of the oven in 12 minutes, etc.
In the evening there’s a barbecue invitation. In addition to the usual seating set, a beer bench is brought in, it gets too tight around the grill, so everything moves downstairs where there’s more space.
Still, overall it feels unbalanced. A small granny flat, and suddenly there’s a leftover pan-shaped area in the basement = wasted square meters (square feet), upstairs you bump into a wardrobe in the master bedroom (some people even have this with 25 m² (270 ft²)), and your choices for beds are also limited.
It feels like a bungalow to which a basement was forcibly added, where the possibly necessary children’s bedrooms are just crammed in, along with a granny flat for subsidy purposes, and a huge, awkwardly shaped basement space as the leftover.
Even the children’s room benefits greatly if the door can be moved 60 cm (2 feet) toward the pantry.
Why is the pantry so far away?
What happens? As long as the kids are small, the kitchen in the granny flat gets more use than the main kitchen upstairs. Child 1 is swinging, child 2 needs a fresh diaper, both children are carried upstairs because the diaper was forgotten. No, we can’t go outside to play now, the cake has to be out of the oven in 12 minutes, etc.
In the evening there’s a barbecue invitation. In addition to the usual seating set, a beer bench is brought in, it gets too tight around the grill, so everything moves downstairs where there’s more space.
H
hampshire19 May 2021 09:31haydee schrieb:
As long as the children are small, the kitchen in the basement apartment gets used more than the main kitchen upstairs. Child 1 is swinging, Child 2 needs a fresh diaper, both kids have to go upstairs because the diaper was forgotten. No, we can’t go out to the garden to play now, the cake has to come out of the oven in 12 minutes, etc. The point to keep in mind is that people think very differently here. Of course, the children can go out to play in the garden. Full-time supervision doesn’t last very long—unless you are insecure or hovering like a helicopter. For us, it wouldn’t have been a problem at all; we would have made garden access from the terrace and that would have been it.
haydee schrieb:
In the evening, there’s a barbecue invitation. Besides the usual seating set, a beer bench is also used, but it gets too cramped by the grill, so everything is moved downstairs where there’s more space. There’s nothing wrong with using a nice spot downstairs in the garden for barbecuing. It just means carrying things a bit further, and in the end, everyone carries something back upstairs. We use several terraces on different levels. Grilling outside with friends is 30m (98 feet) and one floor away from the kitchen. Sitting outside and drinking Caipirinhas is 3m (10 feet) from the drinks fridge with ice crusher. There is also a place to enjoy the sun undisturbed, and in summer there are cool shaded spots to stay in— it’s not just “the” terrace. The sloped plot shown offers more than just a pretty garden and a play lawn.
hampshire schrieb:
There is no reason not to use a nice spot down in the garden for barbecuing. It just means carrying things a little further, and in the end, everyone helps carry some things back up. We use several terraces on different levels. Grilling outside with friends is 30m (100 feet) and one floor away from the kitchen. Sitting outside and enjoying Caipirinhas is just 3m (10 feet) from the drinks fridge with an ice crusher. There is also a spot to relax undisturbed in the sun, and in summer there are cool shaded areas for staying comfortable – it’s simply not just “the” terrace. The shown sloped plot offers more than just a pretty garden and a play lawn. We have a similar situation (a slope with many different seating and open areas, sometimes naturally shaded, sometimes a large open space for bigger gatherings). What at first caused the question “Why do you need so many different spots?” quickly changed into what you described. It’s simply wonderful (and of course a luxury) to have different places for different needs. A slope especially provides significantly more flexibility for that.
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