Hello,
We are planning a single-family house with exterior dimensions of 9.5 × 11.4 meters (31.2 × 37.4 feet). The entrance is on the north side. On the south side is the garden, which extends 12 meters (39.4 feet) to the neighboring property. The neighbor must maintain a 12-meter (39.4-foot) distance from our garden due to building setback requirements. We are building without a basement and have two children. The design includes two full floors plus one recessed top floor. The top floor must be set back 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) on all sides; for this reason, the staircase is not located directly at the entrance. The house should have a modern style with many windows. Ceiling heights are 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) on the ground floor and recessed top floor, and 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) on the first floor. We are not architects and appreciate any advice!
Thank you in advance.
We are planning a single-family house with exterior dimensions of 9.5 × 11.4 meters (31.2 × 37.4 feet). The entrance is on the north side. On the south side is the garden, which extends 12 meters (39.4 feet) to the neighboring property. The neighbor must maintain a 12-meter (39.4-foot) distance from our garden due to building setback requirements. We are building without a basement and have two children. The design includes two full floors plus one recessed top floor. The top floor must be set back 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) on all sides; for this reason, the staircase is not located directly at the entrance. The house should have a modern style with many windows. Ceiling heights are 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) on the ground floor and recessed top floor, and 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) on the first floor. We are not architects and appreciate any advice!
Thank you in advance.
Do you want to be able to convert each floor into separate apartments?
You won’t be able to create a separate staircase. The utility room will become far too small. You will need individual water and electricity connections.
I find the entrance area too small for a house of this size. Where are shoes put on and taken off? Standing against the wall? Where will dirty shoes be stored? Where will wet jackets be hung?
The living room is huge—so much so that compromises have to be made just to keep the space as large as possible. As a result, each floor has small waste closets.
Okay, a laundry chute as a column in the bathroom is more than just impractical. Still, the door cannot open like that on the split-level floor.
Ah, okay, you’re reducing the landing by 0.5 m (20 inches). Then what is the red line on the upper floor stair hallway?
You won’t be able to create a separate staircase. The utility room will become far too small. You will need individual water and electricity connections.
I find the entrance area too small for a house of this size. Where are shoes put on and taken off? Standing against the wall? Where will dirty shoes be stored? Where will wet jackets be hung?
The living room is huge—so much so that compromises have to be made just to keep the space as large as possible. As a result, each floor has small waste closets.
Okay, a laundry chute as a column in the bathroom is more than just impractical. Still, the door cannot open like that on the split-level floor.
Ah, okay, you’re reducing the landing by 0.5 m (20 inches). Then what is the red line on the upper floor stair hallway?
haydee schrieb:
You want to convert each floor into separate apartments?
You can’t create a separate stairwell. The utility room will become far too small. You will need separate water and electrical connections.
I find the entrance area too small for a house of this size. Where will shoes be taken on and off? Standing leaning against the wall? Where will dirty shoes be stored? Where will wet jackets be hung?
The living room is huge, but it’s designed in a way that forces compromises—just to keep the space as large as possible. This leads to small storage closets on every floor.
Okay, a laundry chute as a column in the bathroom is more than ridiculous. Still, the door on the upper floor doesn’t open properly like this.
Ah, okay, you’re shortening the landing by 0.5 m (20 inches). What then is the red line in the upper floor hallway staircase?Separating the floors is not our main focus, but in case our children want to live with us for a few years when they are older, we want to have something prepared. The line around the stairs would be the “stairwell.” It’s not an elegant solution, but since we are not placing the stairs directly at the entrance, it can’t be done differently. However, maybe that situation will never happen. We just wanted to first adapt the plan to our current wishes. Regarding the landing: if the first is 1 m (40 inches), then the second would be 1.50 m (60 inches).
Yes, the small storage closets can be criticized, but we spend most of our time in the living area and the children in their bedrooms. Those rooms should be as large as possible. The storage rooms serve only a practical function, where you rarely enter. Items that are used more frequently can be stored in the larger storage rooms.
I just took a look at your floor plans after rotating them for easier reading, and unfortunately, I got the impression that a) you might lack a clear sense of dimensions, b) this is especially true for the way the setback floor aligns with the regular floors, and c) as a result, there seems to be a tendency to disguise leftover spaces as storage rooms.
Considering the setback of the upper floor, this is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, as it’s difficult for a non-expert to come up with a bigger solution offhand.
At the beginning, I suggested that building proposals from Massivhaus Mittelrhein and you might "harmonize": take a look at their Domus series (and possibly also Vito).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Considering the setback of the upper floor, this is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, as it’s difficult for a non-expert to come up with a bigger solution offhand.
At the beginning, I suggested that building proposals from Massivhaus Mittelrhein and you might "harmonize": take a look at their Domus series (and possibly also Vito).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
I just took a look at your floor plans after rotating them to read them more easily, and unfortunately got the impression that a) you lack a clear sense of the dimensions, b) this especially applies to how the stepped floor (setback floor) aligns with the standard floors, and c) as a result, there seems to be a tendency to cover up leftover areas by designating them as storage rooms.
Given the setback of the stepped floor, this is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, as it’s difficult for a non-professional to come up with a major solution offhand.
At the start, I had the suspicion that building proposals from Massivhaus Mittelrhein and you could "harmonize" well: take a look at their Domus series (and possibly also Vito).Thank you very much for your criticism and tips! We currently live in a space of similar size, just that it has sloped ceilings. However, for example, the distance to the TV is the same as on the plan. Just because the wall-to-wall distance is about 6 m (20 feet) doesn’t mean the eye-to-TV distance is 6 m (20 feet). Right now, our TV stand is set about 0.5 m (20 inches) away from the wall, and the sofa even a bit further. The distance to the TV is very comfortable. The TV size is quite normal. But of course, we are open to other suggestions. Do you have to order the catalog for the Domus series, or is it available online?
We will reconsider the storage room in the stepped floor and also think about where to sit when putting on and taking off shoes. I quite like this staircase because it connects two floors. A more elongated one immediately feels excessive. I find a straight staircase very elegant for one floor, but for two floors it looks quite different again. We will also revisit the size of the bedroom.
Schary schrieb:
Do you have to order the catalog for the "domus" series, or is it available online? The provider operates under the somewhat pretentious domain dasmassivhaus (de). You will quickly recognize Domus as a fitting option there, and Vito and Vito XL are also shown with gable roof designs. Feel free to request the catalog by mail; not all suppliers track their prospects.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
The provider operates under the somewhat pretentious domain dasmassivhaus (de). You will immediately recognize Domus as a suitable option there; Vito and Vito XL are also shown with gable roof designs. Feel free to request the catalog— not all providers track their potential customers We have taken a look at the Domus floor plan and indeed found many similarities. However, we still want to maintain this particular living space size and layout, as well as the size of the children's rooms. The south side is our favorite side with a large garden, so almost all windows should be placed on that side.
Given the scale, where we do not want to compromise, this staircase is the only option. All other “nice” staircases would encroach into the living area. Besides, we definitely want the main entrance on the north side. An architect can’t work miracles.
After all the feedback, we will omit the laundry chute. We will try to expand the storage room on the upper floor by 10cm (4 inches) to create a 1m (3 feet 3 inches) space. In the storage rooms opposite the bathrooms, dirty laundry will be deposited and sorted by color immediately. A laundry chute is a nice idea, but the time required to sort everything by color later is not worthwhile.
We will make the sleeping area cozy by adding decorations, indirect lighting, and carpet. We welcome further ideas regarding the current floor plan.
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