ᐅ Single-family house with a 75 sqm accessory dwelling unit (ADU) / granny flat
Created on: 20 Oct 2019 11:37
K
Kusja90Hello everyone,
I was advised to post my floor plan here, as there are always good suggestions in this forum.
We have a plot of just under 775 sqm (8340 sq ft) and need at least 3 parking spaces in total – 1.5 per residential unit. Since street parking is not possible in front of the plot, a garage or parking space on the property is very important.
The building envelope measures 12×18 m (39×59 feet).
We are planning a ground floor with one upper floor and a partial basement, with a single-sloped roof.
The current driveway faces north, and the terraces and living room are oriented to the south.
Currently, two adults in their early 30s with one child, more children planned, plus two people in their mid-50s living in the granny flat.
The granny flat should be entirely on the ground floor for age-appropriate living and must have room in the bedroom for a large wardrobe and another room for guests or an office.
The basement will be used for storage and technical equipment including the heating system.
Our key requirements are:
- at least one garage
- bathroom and toilet with windows
- storage room accessible from both living areas
- laundry room on the upper floor
- basement access from the garage
- pantry close to the kitchen
- 3 children’s bedrooms
- separate bathrooms for parents and children
The current design comes from the architect.
I’m unsure about the layout of the ground floor – possibly too much hallway and the living/dining area might be too small. On the upper floor, I wonder if the size of the children’s rooms is appropriate compared to the master bedroom and walk-in closet.
I look forward to your suggestions and ideas! Thank you all!
I was advised to post my floor plan here, as there are always good suggestions in this forum.
We have a plot of just under 775 sqm (8340 sq ft) and need at least 3 parking spaces in total – 1.5 per residential unit. Since street parking is not possible in front of the plot, a garage or parking space on the property is very important.
The building envelope measures 12×18 m (39×59 feet).
We are planning a ground floor with one upper floor and a partial basement, with a single-sloped roof.
The current driveway faces north, and the terraces and living room are oriented to the south.
Currently, two adults in their early 30s with one child, more children planned, plus two people in their mid-50s living in the granny flat.
The granny flat should be entirely on the ground floor for age-appropriate living and must have room in the bedroom for a large wardrobe and another room for guests or an office.
The basement will be used for storage and technical equipment including the heating system.
Our key requirements are:
- at least one garage
- bathroom and toilet with windows
- storage room accessible from both living areas
- laundry room on the upper floor
- basement access from the garage
- pantry close to the kitchen
- 3 children’s bedrooms
- separate bathrooms for parents and children
The current design comes from the architect.
I’m unsure about the layout of the ground floor – possibly too much hallway and the living/dining area might be too small. On the upper floor, I wonder if the size of the children’s rooms is appropriate compared to the master bedroom and walk-in closet.
I look forward to your suggestions and ideas! Thank you all!
H
hampshire20 Oct 2019 11:59I find the layout clever. The connection through the utility room on the ground floor suggests a family-oriented function, like “Can you watch the kids today?” or “Grandma is cooking today.” If that’s the case, it’s a type of multi-generational house.
I’m always surprised to see how important the TV becomes in the house. Here, in both living rooms, a tiny sofa set is pushed against the wall just to hold the screen. I don’t like that. Maybe you could also check the furniture dimensions and adjust them to scale if necessary.
The basement stairs are conveniently located right by the kitchen, garden, and garage. I like that.
I would consider “slimming down” the almost L-shaped children’s room and give some space back to the office. The wall isn’t load-bearing, and there’s no visual reason to keep it aligned with the hallway walls.
Does the garage extend all the way to the property boundary? Will a car always block part of the garage? What if the children also have vehicles, at least bicycles and toys at first? If children play in the street, you need to be prepared for some scratches on the vehicles, which would bother most people in Germany a lot.
I’m always surprised to see how important the TV becomes in the house. Here, in both living rooms, a tiny sofa set is pushed against the wall just to hold the screen. I don’t like that. Maybe you could also check the furniture dimensions and adjust them to scale if necessary.
The basement stairs are conveniently located right by the kitchen, garden, and garage. I like that.
I would consider “slimming down” the almost L-shaped children’s room and give some space back to the office. The wall isn’t load-bearing, and there’s no visual reason to keep it aligned with the hallway walls.
Does the garage extend all the way to the property boundary? Will a car always block part of the garage? What if the children also have vehicles, at least bicycles and toys at first? If children play in the street, you need to be prepared for some scratches on the vehicles, which would bother most people in Germany a lot.
Well, it’s doable.
I’d rather see a building envelope of 15 x 12 meters (50 x 40 feet) plus a 3 x 9 meters (10 x 30 feet) extension for the garage. Without knowing the plot, it’s hard to evaluate the quality of the design. So please provide a site plan.
Considering that my living room alone is 40 m² (430 sq ft), the living areas both seem quite small to me. If you’re fine with 42 m² (450 sq ft) including the kitchen, that’s okay. But in my opinion, there won’t be a proper lounge area. The 30 m² (320 sq ft) open-plan room in the granny flat is even more questionable but still feasible.
Without knowing the plot, I would ask myself the following questions:
- Do the cars need to be inside the house? (noise, smell; a simple garage might be cheaper)
- Better to have the entrance for the granny flat on the right side of the plan to avoid a long corridor.
- The upper floor, in my opinion, is a complete disaster:
Why do you need a huge master bedroom with a huge walk-in closet? Do you want to spend all your time in the bedroom? The south-facing bedroom will get hot and takes away space that would be better used for the children’s rooms. Child 1 has a very awkward layout. Other kids’ rooms are dark and comparatively tiny. The office is one of the nicest rooms. Do you not care about your children?
- The basement stairs take up a lot of space. In my view, they are unnecessary – it would be better under the other staircase. Why do you need access from the garage to the basement?
I’d rather see a building envelope of 15 x 12 meters (50 x 40 feet) plus a 3 x 9 meters (10 x 30 feet) extension for the garage. Without knowing the plot, it’s hard to evaluate the quality of the design. So please provide a site plan.
Considering that my living room alone is 40 m² (430 sq ft), the living areas both seem quite small to me. If you’re fine with 42 m² (450 sq ft) including the kitchen, that’s okay. But in my opinion, there won’t be a proper lounge area. The 30 m² (320 sq ft) open-plan room in the granny flat is even more questionable but still feasible.
Without knowing the plot, I would ask myself the following questions:
- Do the cars need to be inside the house? (noise, smell; a simple garage might be cheaper)
- Better to have the entrance for the granny flat on the right side of the plan to avoid a long corridor.
- The upper floor, in my opinion, is a complete disaster:
Why do you need a huge master bedroom with a huge walk-in closet? Do you want to spend all your time in the bedroom? The south-facing bedroom will get hot and takes away space that would be better used for the children’s rooms. Child 1 has a very awkward layout. Other kids’ rooms are dark and comparatively tiny. The office is one of the nicest rooms. Do you not care about your children?
- The basement stairs take up a lot of space. In my view, they are unnecessary – it would be better under the other staircase. Why do you need access from the garage to the basement?
kaho674 schrieb:
Well, it’s manageable.
I would see a building envelope of about 15 x 12 meters (49 x 39 feet) plus a 3 x 9 meters (10 x 30 feet) annex for the garage. Without knowing the plot, it’s hard to judge the quality of the design. So please provide a site plan.
I have uploaded the site plan. We can place the garage directly on the boundary, with the house set back 3 meters (10 feet).
Considering that my living room alone is 40 m² (430 ft²), the living areas here seem quite tight. If you are fine with 42 m² (452 ft²) including the kitchen, that’s okay. However, in my opinion, there won’t be a genuine lounge or relaxation area. The 30 m² (323 ft²) open-plan area of the granny flat is even more questionable but still manageable.
That is also my concern :-(
Without knowing the plot, here are some questions I would ask:
- Do the cars need to enter the house? (Noisy, smelly; a simple garage might be cheaper.)
They don’t have to. But then the space above the garage would be lost.
- It would be better to position the granny flat entrance on the right side of the plan to avoid the long corridor.
- The upper floor is a total disaster, in my opinion:
Why do you need a huge master bedroom with a massive walk-in closet? Are you planning to spend your whole life in the bedroom? The master bedroom facing south will get hot and takes space away from the children’s rooms, which would be better located there. Child 1’s room has a poor layout. The other children’s bedrooms are dark and relatively tiny. The office is the nicest room. Do you not like your children?
That was actually the architect’s idea. I’m also not completely happy with the layout. He said this is the best option due to the bathrooms, etc.
- The basement stairs take up a lot of space. In my opinion, they are unnecessary—under the other staircase would be a better location. Why must you be able to go down from the garage?
This way, my mother can access the basement without passing through our living space. Also, the basement will be unheated—a cold cellar. My concern is whether the cold will constantly rise upstairs. Similar topics