ᐅ Single-family home with 250 sqm. Ideas for elevation and floor plan
Created on: 31 Aug 2021 20:15
Q
Querpasstoni
Hello everyone,
After reading many interesting floor plans and very sensible suggestions here for some time, I would like to know your opinion on our floor plan. Hopefully, you have some good ideas or critical points we should watch out for.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 825 sqm (8870 sq ft)
Slope: flat plot
Floor area ratio 0.4
Site occupancy index 0.4
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: no requirements
Number of parking spaces: no requirements
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: no requirements
Style: no requirements
Orientation: no requirements
Maximum height/limits: eaves height 6.50 m (21 ft)
Requirements of the Homeowners
Style, roof type, building type: no flat roof, preferred hip roof, but we are basically open
Basement, stories: basement not possible due to soil report, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults (34, 36), 1 child (1) + one more planned
Space requirement ground floor, upper floor: 200–220 sqm (2150–2370 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? 1 office
Guests for sleeping very rare
Open or closed architecture: open architecture
Conservative or modern design: modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony yes, no roof terrace
Garage, carport: large garage desired
Utility garden, greenhouse
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be: 2 bathrooms
House Design
Planned by:
- Architect
What do you like most? Why? Protected terrace with southwest orientation. These are our unobstructed views.
What do you dislike? Why? North side elevation. Very large surface with few/small windows.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 800,000 EUR
Personal budget for the house, including fittings: about 950,000 EUR
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump
If you had to give up on which details/extensions
- You could give up:
- You cannot give up: separate children’s bathroom, large children’s bedrooms, covered terrace
Why has the design turned out this way?
Design by our architect, who considered our wishes but also contributed ideas (e.g., L-shape)
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
We are quite far in the planning phase and generally very happy with the layout. However, we find the north exterior view unattractive. Unfortunately, this is the side the public sees. Do you have ideas on how to improve it without completely changing the floor plan? The architect suggested placing artistic elements on the large wall surface or breaking it up with color bands. We are not fully convinced by this.
Thanks in advance for your ideas.
After reading many interesting floor plans and very sensible suggestions here for some time, I would like to know your opinion on our floor plan. Hopefully, you have some good ideas or critical points we should watch out for.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 825 sqm (8870 sq ft)
Slope: flat plot
Floor area ratio 0.4
Site occupancy index 0.4
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: no requirements
Number of parking spaces: no requirements
Number of floors: 2 full stories
Roof type: no requirements
Style: no requirements
Orientation: no requirements
Maximum height/limits: eaves height 6.50 m (21 ft)
Requirements of the Homeowners
Style, roof type, building type: no flat roof, preferred hip roof, but we are basically open
Basement, stories: basement not possible due to soil report, 2 full stories
Number of occupants, age: 2 adults (34, 36), 1 child (1) + one more planned
Space requirement ground floor, upper floor: 200–220 sqm (2150–2370 sq ft)
Office: family use or home office? 1 office
Guests for sleeping very rare
Open or closed architecture: open architecture
Conservative or modern design: modern design
Open kitchen, kitchen island: open kitchen with island
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: yes
Music / stereo wall
Balcony, roof terrace: balcony yes, no roof terrace
Garage, carport: large garage desired
Utility garden, greenhouse
Other wishes / special features / daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be: 2 bathrooms
House Design
Planned by:
- Architect
What do you like most? Why? Protected terrace with southwest orientation. These are our unobstructed views.
What do you dislike? Why? North side elevation. Very large surface with few/small windows.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 800,000 EUR
Personal budget for the house, including fittings: about 950,000 EUR
Preferred heating system: air-to-water heat pump
If you had to give up on which details/extensions
- You could give up:
- You cannot give up: separate children’s bathroom, large children’s bedrooms, covered terrace
Why has the design turned out this way?
Design by our architect, who considered our wishes but also contributed ideas (e.g., L-shape)
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
We are quite far in the planning phase and generally very happy with the layout. However, we find the north exterior view unattractive. Unfortunately, this is the side the public sees. Do you have ideas on how to improve it without completely changing the floor plan? The architect suggested placing artistic elements on the large wall surface or breaking it up with color bands. We are not fully convinced by this.
Thanks in advance for your ideas.
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
An 84 sqm (900 sq ft) screen for the neighbors 😀If the neighbors are Germany fans, it will only be for two evenings 🙄 I do agree with @hampshire on this: as long as the views are generally more open and modern, I don’t see a large continuous wall surface as too problematic. Asymmetrical, varied window arrangements show that a house is designed from the inside out. The current symmetry and small-scale detailing, however, suggest that something is meant to impress from the outside – but that has backfired. Still, I’m optimistic that this can be addressed.
What he said. 🙂
The interior is good, but as a hipped roof house owner, I don’t like the exterior. (The next house won’t have a hipped roof either...)
Overall, I find the exterior appearance doesn’t match the financial investment.
The interior is good, but as a hipped roof house owner, I don’t like the exterior. (The next house won’t have a hipped roof either...)
Querpasstoni schrieb:That’s not unusual for the north side. Of course, you can install more windows, but they don’t bring as much benefit as windows facing south, which is why they’re often omitted.
Very large surface with few/small windows
Overall, I find the exterior appearance doesn’t match the financial investment.
G
Gerddieter1 Sep 2021 15:09I find it unfortunate that you are (presumably) paying a considerable amount of money to an architect and yet have to seek advice and suggestions for the appearance/facade, which is a significant part of your building, in a layperson forum....
I can agree with most of the points mentioned here.
Looking at the floor plan, I thought it would be a very modern house – then I saw the exterior view and thought, ugh.
A few minor points have mostly already been mentioned, but many are a matter of personal taste:
- Try to sketch the furniture as planned. Some areas might then look different on the floor plan.
- The living room currently seems divided into the sofa area, which appears small and rather dark compared to the rest of the house, and the "reading chair," which is given a very prominent spot but is also in line with the hallway. This could give the impression that the reading chair is more in the hallway than in the living room.
- In general, you have to be aware that the individual rooms in this floor plan are not significantly larger than those in a house with a slightly smaller floor area. A lot of space is taken up by corridors, roughly about 50 m² (540 sq ft), excluding the space occupied by the reading chair in the living room.
- Kitchen and dining area are similar. Is there really room for a stool at the island? It seems too tight for that. Is the pantry really necessary? There was already a suggestion to possibly omit the pantry instead.
- Regarding the open layout and noise, I didn’t quite understand that – have I missed a gallery? It is quite common nowadays that the staircase is not separated by doors or walls. Of course, this allows sound to travel upward. Please note that if you choose doors with higher sound insulation, you must consider this in the ventilation planning because doors with higher soundproofing usually close too tightly, preventing air from flowing through properly.
Looking at the floor plan, I thought it would be a very modern house – then I saw the exterior view and thought, ugh.
A few minor points have mostly already been mentioned, but many are a matter of personal taste:
- Try to sketch the furniture as planned. Some areas might then look different on the floor plan.
- The living room currently seems divided into the sofa area, which appears small and rather dark compared to the rest of the house, and the "reading chair," which is given a very prominent spot but is also in line with the hallway. This could give the impression that the reading chair is more in the hallway than in the living room.
- In general, you have to be aware that the individual rooms in this floor plan are not significantly larger than those in a house with a slightly smaller floor area. A lot of space is taken up by corridors, roughly about 50 m² (540 sq ft), excluding the space occupied by the reading chair in the living room.
- Kitchen and dining area are similar. Is there really room for a stool at the island? It seems too tight for that. Is the pantry really necessary? There was already a suggestion to possibly omit the pantry instead.
- Regarding the open layout and noise, I didn’t quite understand that – have I missed a gallery? It is quite common nowadays that the staircase is not separated by doors or walls. Of course, this allows sound to travel upward. Please note that if you choose doors with higher sound insulation, you must consider this in the ventilation planning because doors with higher soundproofing usually close too tightly, preventing air from flowing through properly.
face26 schrieb:
- Kitchen/dining area is similar. Maybe even a stool at the island? It’s too tight for that. Is the pantry really necessary? The suggestion was to possibly leave out the pantry and instead
It’s frustrating when you switch to something else in the middle and then forget to finish the sentence properly.
....instead, have a more spacious kitchen/dining area.
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