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!
I’m not usually a fan of integrating the washing machine into the bathroom, but here it’s probably the quickest and simplest solution. The bathroom is quite large anyway, so there’s plenty of space.
I also tried moving the office upstairs, but given the dimensions and requirements, it doesn’t necessarily improve things. Still, I’m sharing the idea.
I also tried moving the office upstairs, but given the dimensions and requirements, it doesn’t necessarily improve things. Still, I’m sharing the idea.
M
mambo19883 Oct 2019 14:02Hello everyone,
thank you for the additional advice and especially thanks to kaho674 for the floor plan! Also an interesting alternative.
We find our new proposal a bit better: (images attached)
- Dryer and washing machine upstairs in the bathroom behind a small wall (not full height)
- There should be enough space for a drying rack in the utility room under the stairs, right? And then the remaining technical equipment should have enough room?! Only the electrical panel and an air-to-water heat pump combination unit will be installed. We are still undecided about photovoltaics.
- Office reduced in size and arranged differently (unfortunately, 1 corner desk and 1 regular desk are necessary)
- Larger hallway for the wardrobe area
- Bed rotated
What do you think? Unfortunately, I can’t get the dimensions right with the floor plan, I hope this version is okay.
thank you for the additional advice and especially thanks to kaho674 for the floor plan! Also an interesting alternative.
We find our new proposal a bit better: (images attached)
- Dryer and washing machine upstairs in the bathroom behind a small wall (not full height)
- There should be enough space for a drying rack in the utility room under the stairs, right? And then the remaining technical equipment should have enough room?! Only the electrical panel and an air-to-water heat pump combination unit will be installed. We are still undecided about photovoltaics.
- Office reduced in size and arranged differently (unfortunately, 1 corner desk and 1 regular desk are necessary)
- Larger hallway for the wardrobe area
- Bed rotated
What do you think? Unfortunately, I can’t get the dimensions right with the floor plan, I hope this version is okay.
Take a look at the technical specifications of the air-to-water heat pump to see how much space it requires.
We have the LWZ 604 Air; the other LWZ or THZ models need a similar amount of space. It might fit in the hallway behind the door.
House connections under the stairs—if permitted.
Electrical panel approximately 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) high and 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) wide.
I’m not sure where that would go in your case.
Check carefully.
There are occasionally problems with it not fitting.
Hmm, the washing machine in the bathroom is manageable. But where will the dirty laundry go? Gather it in the bedrooms.
Hand washing in the sink.
We have the LWZ 604 Air; the other LWZ or THZ models need a similar amount of space. It might fit in the hallway behind the door.
House connections under the stairs—if permitted.
Electrical panel approximately 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) high and 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) wide.
I’m not sure where that would go in your case.
Check carefully.
There are occasionally problems with it not fitting.
Hmm, the washing machine in the bathroom is manageable. But where will the dirty laundry go? Gather it in the bedrooms.
Hand washing in the sink.
I actually meant the bed with the headboard oriented toward the bottom of the plan. Otherwise, the room isn't wide enough. Take a look at the space next to the bed at the bottom of the plan. It's only about 30cm (12 inches) or so. It's like walking on a balance beam.
The laundry basket also needs to fit next to the washing machine and shouldn’t be too tight considering there are 4 people. You can integrate some baskets into the kids' rooms and maybe in the walk-in closet, but somewhere the laundry basket and detergent have to be stored. I still maintain that the utility room is basically non-existent for a household of 4. You’ll be frustrated forever that everything is so cramped and that it’s impossible to work properly. In the end, the laundry plus the drying rack will end up in the office—mark my words.
One more suggestion: make the bathroom smaller, eliminate the walk-in closet, move the wardrobe into the bedroom, and then relocate the utility room upstairs. Keep the ground floor as is.
The laundry basket also needs to fit next to the washing machine and shouldn’t be too tight considering there are 4 people. You can integrate some baskets into the kids' rooms and maybe in the walk-in closet, but somewhere the laundry basket and detergent have to be stored. I still maintain that the utility room is basically non-existent for a household of 4. You’ll be frustrated forever that everything is so cramped and that it’s impossible to work properly. In the end, the laundry plus the drying rack will end up in the office—mark my words.
One more suggestion: make the bathroom smaller, eliminate the walk-in closet, move the wardrobe into the bedroom, and then relocate the utility room upstairs. Keep the ground floor as is.
haydee schrieb:
Utility connections under the stairs – if allowed
Breaker panel approximately 1.4 m (4.6 ft) high, 1.2 m (3.9 ft) wide
I wouldn’t know where to place that in your home You must have a proper installation if you have such a panel. For a standard setup, 55 cm (22 inches) wide and 110 cm (43 inches) high should be sufficient.
I really like the suggestion from @kaho674 about the small utility room upstairs. This way you still have a storage or junk room upstairs – something you completely lack. The utility room downstairs is too small for that purpose and I’m afraid the office would otherwise be sacrificed for it. I also find a walk-in closet unnecessary if the bedroom provides enough space.
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