ᐅ Single-family house with a floor area of 156 m² (2 children's bedrooms plus a home office)

Hello everyone,

after reading a bit here, I would now like to share our current floor plan. We are still quite early in the process... but since we now have a plot of land in sight, things might move faster than expected.

We had visited a show home that we absolutely loved. Unfortunately, at 180 m² (1,938 sq ft) it was too large or too expensive for us. The floor plan has since been modified and reduced to 157 m² (1,690 sq ft). Still, there are some difficulties, and I’m concerned it might feel cramped. Especially the upper floor is not ideal. Currently, the bathroom is located in the bay window area, and at 14 m² (150 sq ft) it is quite large. I feel the space could be better used, but how? Should one of the children's rooms be moved there? That might feel unfair... Also, the walk-in closet and storage room are not optimal since both rooms have sloped ceilings. The storage room is intended only for items not needed frequently (Christmas decorations, etc.). The attic can also be used for storage.

Downstairs, I am unsure if the utility room is large enough (it will include the heating system, washing machine/dryer, cleaning supplies, beverages, etc.).

Oh, and the furniture (and sanitary fixtures) shown are just examples from the advisor; we haven’t decided on those yet 😉

Regarding orientation, I’ve only just started researching. Unfortunately, the plot faces north… Tips on this are welcome! At first glance, I wonder if it makes sense to mirror the floor plan (at least on the ground floor) and position the house on the plot so that the entrance is not facing the street but to the right instead.

Here are the required details (as far as available):

Development Plan/Restrictions
No special restrictions known so far.

Plot size: approx. 900 m² (9,688 sq ft)
Slope: No
Site coverage ratio: 0.3
Number of floors: 1
Roof type: Hip roof, half-hip roof (jerkinhead), gable roof
Orientation: North
Maximum heights/limits: 4.50 m (15 ft) eaves height

Homeowner Requirements

Style, roof shape, building type: Single-family home (prefabricated) with gable roof and bay window (external dimensions 11.86 x 8.25 m (39 x 27 ft))
Basement, floors: No basement, 1.5 floors (knee wall 1.20 m (4 ft))
Number of people, ages: 2 adults (both 30 years old), 1 child (2 years), additional child uncertain
Room requirements on ground floor: Living/dining, kitchen, office/guest room, guest toilet, utility/technical room
Room requirements on upper floor: Bedroom with walk-in closet, 2 children's rooms, bathroom, storage room
Office use: family or home office? Home office
Number of overnight guests per year: approx. 6 times (1-2 persons each)
Open or closed architecture: rather closed, partly open
Traditional or modern construction: rather traditional, open to modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island: Kitchen with double doors, likely no island due to size
Number of dining seats: 2-4 in kitchen (for quick breakfast), 6-8 in dining area
Fireplace: No
Music/Stereo wall: No
Balcony, roof terrace: No
Garage, carport: Double carport with storage room
Utility garden, greenhouse: No
Other wishes/particulars/daily routines, with reasons if desired: Second children’s room upstairs to be used initially as a guest room; if there is a second child, a small sleeping space should be arranged in the office. Walk-in closet access from the bedroom; storage room does not have to be accessible from the corridor, can also be accessed via the walk-in closet.

House Design

Planned by: Designer from a construction company
What do you especially like? Why?

• Double doors to living/dining area and relatively open hallway (no narrow corridor = you don’t bump into each other quickly) feel inviting;
• Access from kitchen to utility/technical room

What do you dislike? Why?

• Only one possible arrangement for sofa and TV
• Is the utility room large enough?
• Large bathroom upstairs not necessary; how to better use the bay window?
• Second children’s room at 11 m² (118 sq ft) is very small
• Walk-in closet and storage room not optimal

Cost estimate according to architect/designer: approx. €300,000 (including painting/wallpaper and flooring)
Personal budget for house including features: €340,000
Preferred heating technology: Air-to-water heat pump

Why is the design as it is? Standard design from the planner with minor changes

What do you think is particularly good or bad about it?

Pros: The basic room sizes (except the upstairs bathroom) fit our needs; many rooms but thanks to the gallery and rather open bright hallway it doesn’t feel like an “apartment” (possibly an additional bay window in front near the stairs and stairs with a landing; bay window also brings more natural light).

Cons: Because of the gallery and bay window upstairs, there are only few options to arrange the rooms. Or are we just out of ideas?

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

How can we rearrange the upper floor? (smaller bathroom, larger children’s rooms, different walk-in closet and storage layout)? General feedback welcome... 😉

Change: Additional details added.

Please provide a site plan of the property to better assess the situation. Are the floor plans currently oriented toward the north?

Are only 1.5 stories allowed, or are you voluntarily limiting the height?

Unfortunately, dimensions are missing from the floor plan, but overall, I find the room layout not very practical. Some rooms are too small (for example, the walk-in closet barely fits a wardrobe, especially with the knee wall there), and the walk-in closet feels trapped. For instance, if someone gets up earlier, they have to pass by the bed at least twice.

What is the element drawn in the niche within the utility room? A long storage wall is planned there through the door to the kitchen, but it also seems to be the only possible coat storage spot in the entry hallway.

The guest bathroom door should open outward with this layout; otherwise, it will be difficult to exit the room from the inside.

Bay windows and galleries increase costs. The kitchen wastes space and still doesn’t fit the item you want to have. The bathroom is also a large room without a sense of coziness.

Linimi schrieb:
Standard design from the planner with minor modifications

You could also say with little enthusiasm and care.

Linimi schrieb:
We had visited a show home that we were absolutely thrilled with. Unfortunately, at 180 m² (1,938 sq ft), it was too large or too expensive for us. The consultant has now scaled the floor plan down to 157 m² (1,690 sq ft) with small changes.

You can’t just cut a few thousand dollars and a few square meters and expect to keep the same level of excitement. Having to target about fifteen percent smaller unfortunately means choosing a different design altogether.

What makes the original design so much like the Brad Pitt of show homes that it absolutely has to be this one?

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

I don’t find the floor plan itself so bad. Okay, the bathroom needs to switch places with Child 1’s room, mainly because of the wastewater connection. Child 2’s room should be a bit larger to balance that out. The whole dressing room / storage issue also needs to be reconsidered. But these thoughts aren’t really helpful when I hear you’re planning with a north orientation.

In that case, I would strongly recommend moving away from the "Brad Pitt" layout and finding your own individual floor plan optimized specifically for your country.

With a northern orientation in your country, the main rooms and terrace are usually positioned facing west to catch the afternoon sun. Of course, this also depends on the surroundings. If there happens to be a high-rise building there, the situation changes.

That’s why you really can’t make much progress without a site plan, as Kerstin already mentioned... 🙂

Thank you very much for the comments and questions!

I don’t have a site plan at the moment. However, I roughly sketched how the plot and the surrounding plots are arranged — very much as an amateur 😉 Maybe it’s helpful in some way?

kbt09 schrieb:
Are only 1.5 stories allowed, or are you limiting yourselves voluntarily?

Since we hadn’t found a plot yet, we cautiously planned for 1.5 stories… two stories are often not allowed. We just wanted to keep it flexible so the house could basically fit on any plot. We are also considering increasing the knee wall height up to 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in).

kbt09 schrieb:
Unfortunately, the floor plan is missing dimensions, but overall I don’t find the room layout very successful. Some rooms are too small (for example, the walk-in closet barely fits a wardrobe, especially because of the knee wall), and the walk-in closet feels trapped, meaning anyone getting up earlier has to pass by the bed at least twice.

This doesn’t matter to us personally because we usually get up at the same time and don’t expect that to change significantly. The sloped ceiling is indeed a challenge... We’ve considered rearranging the walk-in closet and making the small storage room accessible only through the walk-in closet. That way, the walk-in closet would have no slope. Maybe I can sketch that later.

kbt09 schrieb:
What is the element drawn in the niche within the utility room? Since the wall between the utility room and kitchen includes a long cabinet wall, there seems to be only one possible coat rack spot in the hallway.

Honestly, I’m not sure right now. I would have to check again.

kbt09 schrieb:
The guest bathroom door should open outward based on the layout; otherwise, it’s really difficult to exit the room from inside.

Yes, we would probably do it that way 🙂

11ant schrieb:
Bay windows and galleries increase costs. The kitchen wastes space yet still can’t fit something you want. The bathroom is also huge but lacks a cozy feeling.

I’ve mentioned my dissatisfaction with the bathroom myself. Of course, bay windows and galleries aren’t cheap, but the gallery in particular gives me a bright, open feeling.

11ant schrieb:
It sounds like you have little enthusiasm.

Is it that bad?

11ant schrieb:
You can’t just cut some thousands from the budget and square footage and expect to keep the same enthusiasm. Reducing about fifteen percent means you better choose a different design.

We spoke with our advisor about how much we could downsize. He said you’d still get a similar effect at this size. Also, the original design had a second bathroom of about 7 m² (75 sq ft) upstairs, which we removed. I don’t see it as that critical myself 😉

11ant schrieb:
What makes the original design the “Brad Pitt” of model houses that it absolutely has to be this one?

For us, it was exactly the balance between openness and privacy that we wanted. An inviting, bright hallway, the possibility of an open kitchen, but also an option to close it off, etc.

kaho674 schrieb:
I don’t think the floor plan is that bad on its own. Okay, the bathroom has to swap places with child 1’s room, mainly because of the drainage. Child 2’s room would then be bigger — that works. The whole walk-in closet/storage setup needs reconsidering. But these thoughts don’t matter if you’re planning with a north-facing plot.

Because of drainage? You mean because of noise? I’m not sure yet how to handle the north-facing orientation...

kaho674 schrieb:
For a north-facing plot, main rooms and the terrace are usually oriented west to capture the afternoon sun. Of course, this depends on the surroundings. If there happened to be a high-rise building there, it would be different.

Thankfully, there are no high-rises—only single-family houses around 😉

Freehand sketches are great. 🙂

Phew, your left neighbor has quite a problematic plot. Is there already a building on it? Otherwise, you should definitely consider that awkward construction there together with the expected neighboring developments.

You should definitely start by planning how you want to position your house on the land. For example, where should the terrace be? Make sure to explain your choice right away, or the forum will object. 😉