Bungalow with 140 sqm and garage in the floor plan

Hello dear home builders,

we also want to take on this pleasure in the coming months and fulfill our dream.

For this purpose, I have created a floor plan and would like to know your opinion about it.

Brief explanation:
- Bungalow with hipped roof, covered terrace area
- Garage with access to the house and a third WC
- most of the windows are planned as 150cm, double casement with mullion
- terrace door as lift-and-slide door
- Bathroom 1 with bathtub and shower
- Bathroom 2 should also get a shower
- recess in the kitchen (62cm) is intended for a "stand-alone refrigerator"
- the 80cm gap behind it is to serve as a small storage area, possibly with a door
- the sliding door from the kitchen to the living room should run concealed in the wall



Thanks in advance.
Best regards, Micha

I like that the private area is separated from the "public" one. I also like the solution in the kitchen with the two niches. So, now comes what I like less, or what I find not so practical. - The covered terrace is wasted space because you can’t use this area since it’s too small. I would rather enlarge the living room here and install a proper glass terrace roof. - The terrace door in the kitchen takes up too much space because it connects directly to the wall and you therefore can’t use this wall. - The lift-and-slide door to the terrace also seems quite small to me. Ours is 2.50 m and I think that is already the minimum for a sliding door. Also, you will probably always have to walk around the table to get to the terrace. And 3.30 m for the dining area is also planned quite tight. - The hallway is large, but unfortunately not really usable either, because there is no space for a wardrobe cabinet. I would possibly cut off a niche from the bathroom for this. - I would also consider whether you really need this dressing area in the bedroom. I would rather extend the upper wall of the utility room, so you gain space in the utility room, and you could furnish the current dressing area with a nice corner wardrobe and thus also gain space. In addition, a small niche would be created in front of the bedroom where you could, for example, put another wardrobe. - I also don’t like the location of the utility room. It is practical to be able to enter the house directly from the garage, but it is inconvenient if you want to get out of the utility room, for example to hang up laundry or carry something out, and then always have to squeeze past the car. Also, no natural light (ventilation). Furthermore, the technician, electricity reader, etc. must always pass by your bedrooms, which would bother me a lot. Last but not least, I find the utility room somewhat too small. If it contains heating, electricity, water, telecommunications connection, washing machine, dryer, laundry collector, etc., it is full. - I would either move the garage further forward or backward so that you can get directly outside from the utility room. By the way, our utility room opens to the back directly onto the side terrace. On the wall next to the utility room is our carport. This way we still get into the house with dry feet and only have to take a detour of 2 meters over the terrace, which is also covered. And by the way, we have the utility room and the technical room separated. The utility room is directly next to the kitchen with access to the terrace, and the technical room is right at the entrance.

Hello Micha,

I'll start with the most obvious: the utility room! A bit misplaced between two bedrooms. Child 1 will enjoy the sounds of the washing machine, dryer, heating, and controlled residential ventilation. Why isn't it near the kitchen? Surely, there will be beverage crates, yellow bags, and supplies stored there that are quickly needed in the kitchen.
I also wonder (not only here, but more and more often) why people don’t just make themselves happy every day and use the (usually pimped-up) main entrance—instead, they take a dark airlock with technical stuff as the entrance to their own little house. There will hardly be much freedom of movement or space for wardrobes here; moreover, the hallway in the sleeping area will get dirty right away (oh, right, no dirty shoes anymore because you have the garage).
Child 2 next to the living room is also not optimal. But: at least the noise is balanced this way.
The size of Child 1 is one square meter smaller (door airlock), the kitchen loses 2 square meters right away. I don’t imagine the entrance here being very inviting. This room, completely isolated by this cabinet/refrigerator airlock. I think this door won’t even be used; luckily, there is the sliding door.

The rest is well described by @Manu1976, so I don’t need to repeat it. Still, I find this niche solution in the kitchen quite different from great. I love niches but not a niche within a niche, rather staged a bit or practical in use.
I can also imagine that the site plan does not necessarily fit the house location, but for that you should post the site plan.

In bathroom 2, fitting in a door that opens inward (the door looks very small) + 1 sink + 1 toilet + a shower will be a challenge.

Hello,

I created a floor plan for this and would like to know your opinion about it.

"Your" floor plan is – in my opinion – the best advertisement for the job of an architect. You have arranged all rooms as if hung on a string and at the same time wasted so much space that it can be annoying...

Put together your property documents – cadastral excerpt, development plan, and textual specifications – and either consult a provider offering all-in-one services (including architecture) or an independent architect. Almost every development plan allows the building envelope to be exceeded in the living room area (designated as a conservatory or bay extension); incorporating this into the architecture and isolating the sleeping areas from the living areas should result in a "livable" spatial program. Even if the development plan explicitly excludes this, a competent architect can certainly provide a better design than you might expect as a layperson...

I also don’t understand why a garage requires a toilet. Isn’t a washbasin enough?

Rhenish regards

Hello Micha,

since I can't find a staircase anywhere, I assume you are building without a basement, right?

In that case, in my opinion, the utility room is too small, as all the technical equipment has to go in there.

I would also consider whether there really needs to be a bedroom of 20 sqm + dressing room, while the two children's rooms are "only" about 14 sqm each.

I also don't think the position of the utility room between the bedroom and children's room is ideal – keyword noise from the technical equipment.

Bathroom 2 with toilet & shower is too small – it will be very cramped.

The toilet in the garage is unusual but a good idea – do you work a lot on cars or motorcycles and don't want to walk through the house with the usual "signs of use"?

Best regards,

Dirk