Hello forum
We are building a city villa, 180 sqm (1,938 sq ft) according to residential space requirements, and we are currently struggling with the floor plan for the ground floor. Attached are the first two draft sketches from our builder. Both are almost identical, except that in the second version, due to a larger kitchen, the door from the hallway to the utility room is positioned further under the stairs, which eliminates the planned storage area there.
Would you completely give up the access to the utility room from the hallway?
How advantageous or disadvantageous is the rather square shape of the living/dining area?
We are building a city villa, 180 sqm (1,938 sq ft) according to residential space requirements, and we are currently struggling with the floor plan for the ground floor. Attached are the first two draft sketches from our builder. Both are almost identical, except that in the second version, due to a larger kitchen, the door from the hallway to the utility room is positioned further under the stairs, which eliminates the planned storage area there.
Would you completely give up the access to the utility room from the hallway?
How advantageous or disadvantageous is the rather square shape of the living/dining area?
aytex schrieb:
This should fit, right? What else should be considered? You seem to be one of the few homeowners whose patio doors open outward.
Have you made any changes to the staircase? I can’t quite make out the measurements, but in my opinion, it still looks like a very steep staircase. The entire floor plan depends heavily on the staircase.
I’m missing an entrance door and windows on the lower and right sides.
Exterior views without the upper floor cannot be evaluated.
Routing of utilities cannot be assessed without the upper floor. Is the upstairs bathroom located above the utility room or the downstairs bathroom?
The floor plan does not improve! Having to open two doors to get into the kitchen is one too many.
I thought this was about a standard house model with minor adjustments to a few walls on the ground floor, since the developer is somewhat incompetent in that area.
Now it turns out that this is a custom design, with extensions here and adding a bay window there.
With 180 square meters (1,937 square feet) of planned living space, a lot is possible, but the planning is being done as if it were a very tight space (e.g. 120 square meters (1,292 square feet) for four people), where you need to maximize every inch.
I don’t understand why, when planning generously (to me, that means 180 square meters (1,937 square feet)), you would include a storage room under the stairs. A staircase can be a key design element in the entire house if there is enough space available. If storage is needed, you can design a wall with built-in cabinets in the hallway, next to the utility room, which looks elegant rather than cramped.
Much of this is completely oversized, and structural integrity is not being considered. Everything is just a bit bigger and will cost a lot without providing any real added value.
As a basic rule, the planning must include all floors, as well as the site orientation with respect to north, the position of the road, and the external views.
I thought this was about a standard house model with minor adjustments to a few walls on the ground floor, since the developer is somewhat incompetent in that area.
Now it turns out that this is a custom design, with extensions here and adding a bay window there.
With 180 square meters (1,937 square feet) of planned living space, a lot is possible, but the planning is being done as if it were a very tight space (e.g. 120 square meters (1,292 square feet) for four people), where you need to maximize every inch.
I don’t understand why, when planning generously (to me, that means 180 square meters (1,937 square feet)), you would include a storage room under the stairs. A staircase can be a key design element in the entire house if there is enough space available. If storage is needed, you can design a wall with built-in cabinets in the hallway, next to the utility room, which looks elegant rather than cramped.
Much of this is completely oversized, and structural integrity is not being considered. Everything is just a bit bigger and will cost a lot without providing any real added value.
As a basic rule, the planning must include all floors, as well as the site orientation with respect to north, the position of the road, and the external views.
ypg schrieb:
The floor plan doesn’t improve! Having to open two doors to get to the kitchen is one too many.
I thought this was about a standard house model and adjusting a few walls on the ground floor because the developer is somewhat incompetent in that area.
Now it turns out this is a custom design, adding an extension here and simply placing a bay window there.
With 180 square meters (around 1,940 square feet) of planned living space, there’s plenty you can do, but it’s being handled as if you’re trying to optimize a very limited area (for example, 120 square meters (around 1,292 square feet) for four people).
I don’t understand why you plan generously (to me, that’s 180 square meters (1,940 square feet)) but then include, for instance, a storage room under the stairs. A staircase can be a design feature of the entire house when you have enough space. If storage is needed, you can plan a wall with built-in cabinets in the hallway near the utility room, which looks elegant rather than cramped.
Many elements here are oversized without considering structural support. Everything is just a bit bigger and will cost a lot without providing real added value.
Fundamentally, the planning must consider all floors, as well as the properly oriented plot with street location and the exterior views.One more thing: the living room/kitchen/terrace is oriented to the southwest.
Apart from the staircase being too short...
Do you now have an architect or a builder who is trying to sell you a thoughtless floor plan for a larger building?
If the client sets specifications, about 180 sqm (1,937 sq ft), 3 people, and apparently the kitchen has already been purchased, then an appropriate design should be created for me. If this is the design and you are happy with it because the whole house is planned around this kitchen (at the expense of functionality), then that’s fine. You should be happy living in it.
However, here a large house is being expanded by adding a bay window, making it even bigger and more expensive, which creates open spaces that do not really contribute to living comfort. In my opinion, that’s the wrong approach. The living-dining area lacks structure in my view.
Has the kitchen already been purchased? It seems that way to me. Otherwise, the layout would be more flexible — for example, moving the “technical block” with the tall cabinets to the outer wall, so the kitchen can be accessed from the hallway and positioned opposite the entrance to the utility room. Locking this node (fixing it exactly in this position and this way) naturally causes problems like your fundamental question about whether there should be two doors to the utility room or which one.
For 5 sqm (54 sq ft) less floor area and without a bay window, you could hire a good architect.
With 170 sqm (1,829 sq ft) for 3 people, ideas come to mind, such as a guest room on the ground floor near the shower, which later could be used by a child moving out, and in return, a reading and living nook on the upper floor. A second utility room on the upper floor, a walk-in closet doesn’t have to be 10 sqm (108 sq ft), a coat niche in the hallway, the staircase not by the entrance, spatial structures in the living and kitchen areas. And this is not about personal taste.
Ask yourself: who is supposed to use this shower and how? Naked or wrapped in a towel, rushing upstairs past the front door, hoping the mail carrier doesn’t ring?
Sight lines are also important: what do I see when I stand at the entrance? Does it invite me in? Where am I looking from my favorite armchair? Does my eye find resting points and/or “rooms” (living spaces) to see? This is probably assured in the kitchen but not in the rest of the house. But that’s just my opinion... and I don’t want to unsettle you, only because I have higher expectations for my future home.
Do you now have an architect or a builder who is trying to sell you a thoughtless floor plan for a larger building?
If the client sets specifications, about 180 sqm (1,937 sq ft), 3 people, and apparently the kitchen has already been purchased, then an appropriate design should be created for me. If this is the design and you are happy with it because the whole house is planned around this kitchen (at the expense of functionality), then that’s fine. You should be happy living in it.
However, here a large house is being expanded by adding a bay window, making it even bigger and more expensive, which creates open spaces that do not really contribute to living comfort. In my opinion, that’s the wrong approach. The living-dining area lacks structure in my view.
Has the kitchen already been purchased? It seems that way to me. Otherwise, the layout would be more flexible — for example, moving the “technical block” with the tall cabinets to the outer wall, so the kitchen can be accessed from the hallway and positioned opposite the entrance to the utility room. Locking this node (fixing it exactly in this position and this way) naturally causes problems like your fundamental question about whether there should be two doors to the utility room or which one.
For 5 sqm (54 sq ft) less floor area and without a bay window, you could hire a good architect.
With 170 sqm (1,829 sq ft) for 3 people, ideas come to mind, such as a guest room on the ground floor near the shower, which later could be used by a child moving out, and in return, a reading and living nook on the upper floor. A second utility room on the upper floor, a walk-in closet doesn’t have to be 10 sqm (108 sq ft), a coat niche in the hallway, the staircase not by the entrance, spatial structures in the living and kitchen areas. And this is not about personal taste.
Ask yourself: who is supposed to use this shower and how? Naked or wrapped in a towel, rushing upstairs past the front door, hoping the mail carrier doesn’t ring?
Sight lines are also important: what do I see when I stand at the entrance? Does it invite me in? Where am I looking from my favorite armchair? Does my eye find resting points and/or “rooms” (living spaces) to see? This is probably assured in the kitchen but not in the rest of the house. But that’s just my opinion... and I don’t want to unsettle you, only because I have higher expectations for my future home.
As mentioned before, everything depends on the staircase. I haven’t seen a floor plan of the upper floor yet, or did I overlook it?
Like ypg and musketier also wrote, the ground floor does not give a very coherent impression. Using the utility room also as storage for food is, in my opinion, not ideal. If both were separate, the utility room could also be used as a guest room if needed (or do you have guests staying all the time?), which would free up more space upstairs for children’s and bedrooms.
The bay window in the living room is "nice" to look at but essentially unnecessary. Since it consists only of windows, it does not provide any additional floor space for furniture.
You should get a cost estimate based on a reasonably detailed plan; then you will see what is feasible, realistic, absolutely necessary, and what is not.
Like ypg and musketier also wrote, the ground floor does not give a very coherent impression. Using the utility room also as storage for food is, in my opinion, not ideal. If both were separate, the utility room could also be used as a guest room if needed (or do you have guests staying all the time?), which would free up more space upstairs for children’s and bedrooms.
The bay window in the living room is "nice" to look at but essentially unnecessary. Since it consists only of windows, it does not provide any additional floor space for furniture.
You should get a cost estimate based on a reasonably detailed plan; then you will see what is feasible, realistic, absolutely necessary, and what is not.
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