ᐅ Small single-family house of approximately 1,500 sq ft – any suggestions for improvements?
Created on: 2 Oct 2019 17:00
M
mambo1988
Hello everyone,
Our plans for our small house are already quite advanced, so we believe this is a good time to ask for your feedback.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 355m² (3,820 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor-area ratio: -
Building envelope, building line and limits: -
Edge development: -
Number of stories: 2
Roof style: gable roof or hip roof
Orientation: southeast
Maximum heights / limitations: -
Other: -
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa
Basement, floors: no basement, ground floor, upper floor, attic used as storage
Number of occupants: 4 (2 children)
Room requirements on ground and upper floors: ground floor – living room, kitchen, office, guest toilet, utility and storage room; upper floor – 2 children’s bedrooms, parents’ bedroom, bathroom
Office use: family use or home office: home office
Guest sleepers per year: 5 (living room)
Open or closed layout: relatively closed
Traditional or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes; kitchen island extends up to the wall under the window
Number of dining seats: minimum 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: yes, at the staircase
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage with storage, 3 x 9m (10 x 30 ft)
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Designed by: draftsman and us
What do you especially like? Why?: The open living room and hopefully very efficient use of space for such a relatively small house
What do you dislike? Why?: We are concerned that the utility/storage room, which will also house laundry facilities, may be too small
Cost estimate by architect/planner: €300,000 including garage
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: €310,000; all desired fittings are included in the house price
Preferred heating technology: air-water heat pump
If you have to compromise, on which details/features
- can you do without: walk-in closet
- can you not do without: office
Why did the design end up as it is now? e.g.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?: Parents’ bedroom in the north, living room in the south
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?:
Good: hopefully efficient use of space, including the masonry staircase
Bad: Actually nothing really bad; only concerned that the utility room may be a bit small and the living room sofa might be slightly narrow
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What would you change or improve? Have we overlooked anything that could cause problems later?
Is the size of the utility room sufficient? Air-water heat pump combined with water heater, washing machine, dryer stacked above washing machine, drying rack
Explanation of the images:
One shows the floor plan with dimensions, the other shows the floor plan with furniture placement. Behind the sofa there should be some space so the children can leave things there occasionally (and to allow more room for surround speakers).
Then comes the house orientation and plot layout.
I hope everything is clear so far. Feel free to ask if not.
Thank you very much!
Our plans for our small house are already quite advanced, so we believe this is a good time to ask for your feedback.
Development Plan / Restrictions
Plot size: 355m² (3,820 sq ft)
Slope: no
Site coverage ratio: -
Floor-area ratio: -
Building envelope, building line and limits: -
Edge development: -
Number of stories: 2
Roof style: gable roof or hip roof
Orientation: southeast
Maximum heights / limitations: -
Other: -
Owners’ Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: urban villa
Basement, floors: no basement, ground floor, upper floor, attic used as storage
Number of occupants: 4 (2 children)
Room requirements on ground and upper floors: ground floor – living room, kitchen, office, guest toilet, utility and storage room; upper floor – 2 children’s bedrooms, parents’ bedroom, bathroom
Office use: family use or home office: home office
Guest sleepers per year: 5 (living room)
Open or closed layout: relatively closed
Traditional or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes; kitchen island extends up to the wall under the window
Number of dining seats: minimum 6
Fireplace: no
Music / stereo wall: yes, at the staircase
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: garage with storage, 3 x 9m (10 x 30 ft)
Vegetable garden, greenhouse: no
House Design
Designed by: draftsman and us
What do you especially like? Why?: The open living room and hopefully very efficient use of space for such a relatively small house
What do you dislike? Why?: We are concerned that the utility/storage room, which will also house laundry facilities, may be too small
Cost estimate by architect/planner: €300,000 including garage
Personal budget limit for house including fittings: €310,000; all desired fittings are included in the house price
Preferred heating technology: air-water heat pump
If you have to compromise, on which details/features
- can you do without: walk-in closet
- can you not do without: office
Why did the design end up as it is now? e.g.
Which wishes were implemented by the architect?: Parents’ bedroom in the north, living room in the south
What do you think makes it particularly good or bad?:
Good: hopefully efficient use of space, including the masonry staircase
Bad: Actually nothing really bad; only concerned that the utility room may be a bit small and the living room sofa might be slightly narrow
What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
What would you change or improve? Have we overlooked anything that could cause problems later?
Is the size of the utility room sufficient? Air-water heat pump combined with water heater, washing machine, dryer stacked above washing machine, drying rack
Explanation of the images:
One shows the floor plan with dimensions, the other shows the floor plan with furniture placement. Behind the sofa there should be some space so the children can leave things there occasionally (and to allow more room for surround speakers).
Then comes the house orientation and plot layout.
I hope everything is clear so far. Feel free to ask if not.
Thank you very much!
Has the municipality set the house width limit to 8m (26 feet)?
If I understand correctly, the sidewalk with 1.50m (5 feet) is counted towards the setback area. Is that definitely included? Then, theoretically, you would only need to maintain a 1.50m (5 feet) distance from the house to the property boundary, and the house could have a maximum width of about 8.30m (27 feet) according to my rough calculation. If that is possible, I would go for those extra 30cm (1 foot) – that makes quite a difference.
If I understand correctly, the sidewalk with 1.50m (5 feet) is counted towards the setback area. Is that definitely included? Then, theoretically, you would only need to maintain a 1.50m (5 feet) distance from the house to the property boundary, and the house could have a maximum width of about 8.30m (27 feet) according to my rough calculation. If that is possible, I would go for those extra 30cm (1 foot) – that makes quite a difference.
The bathroom is too big? I find it too small, there’s hardly any space left for storage for towels and so on. It’s probably because of the popular space-consuming T-shaped layout.
I would probably remove the T, rearrange things, and then put the washing machine and dryer at the top of the bathroom. That way, there would be some storage space left in the utility room. I think it makes more sense to do laundry where the clothes accumulate anyway, which is the only point we couldn’t implement here.
I would also keep the garage.
The room layout is otherwise good, but I wouldn’t choose the staircase design like that (though it doesn’t have to be my preference).
I would probably remove the T, rearrange things, and then put the washing machine and dryer at the top of the bathroom. That way, there would be some storage space left in the utility room. I think it makes more sense to do laundry where the clothes accumulate anyway, which is the only point we couldn’t implement here.
I would also keep the garage.
The room layout is otherwise good, but I wouldn’t choose the staircase design like that (though it doesn’t have to be my preference).
M
mambo19883 Oct 2019 10:53Good morning everyone,
we are now trying out an alternative floor plan for the upper floor. At the same time, we are also attempting to fit all appliances into the utility room. Another option would be to move the washing machine and dryer upstairs into the bathroom, hidden behind a wall.
@hanse987: Unfortunately, this is where my skills end. I can’t improve it any further. However, we have already had a kitchen designed, which we really liked and which offers plenty of storage space.
@kaho674: Unfortunately, we can only use 1.20 m (4 feet) as clearance space. That’s why the 8 m (26 feet) house width is fixed.
Thanks again to everyone!
we are now trying out an alternative floor plan for the upper floor. At the same time, we are also attempting to fit all appliances into the utility room. Another option would be to move the washing machine and dryer upstairs into the bathroom, hidden behind a wall.
@hanse987: Unfortunately, this is where my skills end. I can’t improve it any further. However, we have already had a kitchen designed, which we really liked and which offers plenty of storage space.
@kaho674: Unfortunately, we can only use 1.20 m (4 feet) as clearance space. That’s why the 8 m (26 feet) house width is fixed.
Thanks again to everyone!
M
mambo19883 Oct 2019 10:55Müllerin schrieb:
The bathroom is too big? I find it too small—there’s hardly any space left for storage for towels, etc. It’s probably due to the popular space-consuming T-shape.
I would probably remove the T, rearrange the layout, and then put the washing machine and dryer at the top of the bathroom. That way, there would be some storage space left in the utility room. And I think it makes more sense to do laundry where the laundry is generated; that’s the only point we couldn’t implement here.
I would keep the garage as it is.
The room layout is otherwise good; the staircase design wouldn’t be my choice (but it doesn’t have to be). Thanks for the suggestion. We will primarily try to adjust the bathroom floor plan first and accommodate the washing machine and dryer there.
We’ll get back to you!
Oh, one more thing: I wouldn’t squeeze the office upstairs, as I think that would ruin the existing rooms – and what alternative would go downstairs then? I would rather consider why three seating places are necessary since they take up quite a bit of space. But with "Billys" next to the door and filing cabinets above the desks, you can fit something in there...
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