ᐅ Single-family home with a separate basement or in-law apartment – looking for ideas
Created on: 28 Oct 2018 17:12
V
Vetti007
Hello,
I have been reading through this forum for a few days now and already want to thank you for the many ideas I’ve picked up just by browsing.
We (my self-employed husband, our young daughter, and I) are planning to build a house in the not-too-distant future (we have almost completely moved away from the original idea of buying a house). However, we don’t have a building plot yet.
Since we will most likely at some point take my brother-in-law in (he is not in need of care, but cannot live completely independently), and I still want to keep a private area for our small family, I currently have these two ideas:
1. A single-family house with about 130-140 m² (1400-1500 sq ft) for us plus an approximately 45 m² (480 sq ft) granny flat that could be rented out until my brother-in-law moves in. If it turns out that he doesn’t need to move in, the rental income from this granny flat could serve as retirement savings or be passed on to our daughter, etc.
2. A single-family house with approximately 180-190 m² (1900-2050 sq ft) of living space, including a decent guest room with a shower bathroom on the ground floor (which would later become my brother-in-law’s room). We would still have a private area upstairs with a full bathroom, bedroom, children’s room, study (which is essential due to my husband’s self-employment), and another guest room (we live far from family and receive 3-4 visitors several times a year). The kitchen, utility room, and living room would, of course, be shared with my brother-in-law, but the upper floor would be our “private area.” If my brother-in-law never moves in, this house would probably be larger than we actually need. But I don’t want to end up in a situation where we can’t keep “our house” because we don’t have room for him if he needs to come.
I have a floor plan for a single-family home with a granny flat on the ground floor. The main living area extends over the rest of the ground floor and the entire upper floor. The granny flat and the upper floor have a good layout, but in our part of the house on the ground floor there would essentially be only a kitchen with a sofa besides the utility room. I don’t want to feel that cramped when sharing the house with strangers in the granny flat. That’s why I’m looking for ideas and floor plans. Do you have any? Maybe I’m missing the forest for the trees... ;-)
Best regards – Vetti
I have been reading through this forum for a few days now and already want to thank you for the many ideas I’ve picked up just by browsing.
We (my self-employed husband, our young daughter, and I) are planning to build a house in the not-too-distant future (we have almost completely moved away from the original idea of buying a house). However, we don’t have a building plot yet.
Since we will most likely at some point take my brother-in-law in (he is not in need of care, but cannot live completely independently), and I still want to keep a private area for our small family, I currently have these two ideas:
1. A single-family house with about 130-140 m² (1400-1500 sq ft) for us plus an approximately 45 m² (480 sq ft) granny flat that could be rented out until my brother-in-law moves in. If it turns out that he doesn’t need to move in, the rental income from this granny flat could serve as retirement savings or be passed on to our daughter, etc.
2. A single-family house with approximately 180-190 m² (1900-2050 sq ft) of living space, including a decent guest room with a shower bathroom on the ground floor (which would later become my brother-in-law’s room). We would still have a private area upstairs with a full bathroom, bedroom, children’s room, study (which is essential due to my husband’s self-employment), and another guest room (we live far from family and receive 3-4 visitors several times a year). The kitchen, utility room, and living room would, of course, be shared with my brother-in-law, but the upper floor would be our “private area.” If my brother-in-law never moves in, this house would probably be larger than we actually need. But I don’t want to end up in a situation where we can’t keep “our house” because we don’t have room for him if he needs to come.
I have a floor plan for a single-family home with a granny flat on the ground floor. The main living area extends over the rest of the ground floor and the entire upper floor. The granny flat and the upper floor have a good layout, but in our part of the house on the ground floor there would essentially be only a kitchen with a sofa besides the utility room. I don’t want to feel that cramped when sharing the house with strangers in the granny flat. That’s why I’m looking for ideas and floor plans. Do you have any? Maybe I’m missing the forest for the trees... ;-)
Best regards – Vetti
Take a look here: https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/was-haltet-ihr-von-einem-mehrgenerationenhaus-erfahrungen-tipps.28085/ (just mentally replace “mother-in-law” with “brother-in-law,” but basically it’s a relevant discussion thread).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
I am currently building a U-shaped bungalow with a granny flat.
160m² (1720 sq ft) plus an extension of 70m² (750 sq ft), all on one level. I was inspired by Danish holiday homes...
I was lucky to find a plot where this was possible. However, there isn’t much garden left, which limits the space for a carport or garage.
160m² (1720 sq ft) plus an extension of 70m² (750 sq ft), all on one level. I was inspired by Danish holiday homes...
I was lucky to find a plot where this was possible. However, there isn’t much garden left, which limits the space for a carport or garage.
We had the problem that most houses with a granny flat or secondary suite are generally well over 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft). We didn’t want that since we don’t have or want children.
We are now building 140 sqm (1,510 sq ft) on two levels for ourselves and 50 sqm (540 sq ft) as a separate single-story annex.
If you don’t plan to rent it out, your husband could use the granny flat as a spacious office and work there without the usual distractions of a home office.
In our case, my mom will move in right away, but we are planning so that renting it out to others could also be an option. Since we both work from home a lot, it would also be possible for us to use the granny flat as an office space if needed.
We are now building 140 sqm (1,510 sq ft) on two levels for ourselves and 50 sqm (540 sq ft) as a separate single-story annex.
If you don’t plan to rent it out, your husband could use the granny flat as a spacious office and work there without the usual distractions of a home office.
In our case, my mom will move in right away, but we are planning so that renting it out to others could also be an option. Since we both work from home a lot, it would also be possible for us to use the granny flat as an office space if needed.
Katdreas schrieb:
Since we both work a lot from home, using the granny flat as an office could also be an option for us As a home office, yes; however, as a business office with employees and/or public access, to my knowledge this is only allowed in residential areas with mixed use (WA) and even then only for freelance professionals, not in purely residential zones (WR).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Katdreas schrieb:
For us, it would be an office for working from home... I wasn’t really thinking of you or the OP here. In forums, there are usually many more silent readers than active participants. I just wanted to share the information that you can’t always use a granny flat or accessory dwelling unit as an office—it also depends on the type of zoning in the area.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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