AlexF76
2020-06-06 19:31:51
- #1
Hello dear builders and comrades!
We are currently planning our house. The property is purchased, now we just have to fill/build it with life.
We have received the first draft from the architect and have already had a constructive conversation afterwards. I have now incorporated some considerations into the draft and adjusted it. It would be really great if you could give me your opinion on how you generally find the house and the floor plan, and where it can be cleverly improved or the space reduced, because at the moment the whole thing is about 260 m² and we would ideally like to end up under 250 m². If that is not possible, or only with too many compromises, that would also be okay, but we would like to optimize the floor plan.
Development plan/restrictions
Size of the property: 1200sqm
Slope: none, flatland, living in the north.
Floor area ratio: 0.3
Plot ratio: 0.6
Building window, building line and boundary: See site plan
Edge development: 3m
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Ceiling height: 2.70 - 2.80m
Roof shape: See site plan
Style: City villa with old brick
Orientation: House entrance west
Maximum heights/limits: FH 8.50m TH 6.50m
Clients’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: City villa with old brick
Basement, floors: No basement, 2 floors
Number of persons, age: 3 (43, 35, 2) hopefully expecting 1 more child and possibly a parent in the future.
Space needs on ground and upper floor: 200-250m²
Office: family use or home office?: Home office, 8-12 hours daily.
Overnight guests per year: on average 2-4 persons 5 times a year, later probably permanently 1 parent
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: more in country house style
Open kitchen, cooking island: open kitchen with cooking island (but island is not a must)
Number of dining seats: 3-4 at the island, 10-12 at the dining table
Fireplace: yes please
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: definitely
Garage, carport: yes, garage for 2 cars and for birthday parties in winter
Utility garden, greenhouse: possibly later
Reasons why this or that should or should not be included:
Balcony in front, so I can step out from the office occasionally and we can perhaps enjoy the setting western sun in the evening.
The kitchen should definitely be bright with a view of the street, that’s what my wife wanted, which unfortunately means it is a bit far from the garage and utility room.
Guest room and guest WC should be barrier-free and large enough so that parents or we could also live there later.
House design
From whom is the planning:
Rough drafts from me, first draft from the architect, current status is the first draft with adjustments from me.
What do you particularly like? Why?
Utility room (laundry room) upstairs
Dressing area
Little hallway despite many rooms
Bright
Possibility to separate living area later
It’s not standard
What don’t you like? Why?
First of all the large area! About 260 sqm! It would be really great if we could get it under 250 sqm by implementing it more cleverly. Besides that:
Ground floor:
The kitchen could be a bit smaller, but without significantly affecting the exterior shape. So far there is no window for a view directly to the terrace, maybe there is an idea for that.
Also with the utility/technical room, I’m not sure what exactly we should do there. Some say the technical room is sufficient with 3-4 m², others recommend 6-8 m². What do you think? The utility room here would be without dryer and washing machine, because those are upstairs. Maybe you have a good idea how to separate the technical room and utility room properly. If possible, so that light still shines into the utility room and direct access to the garage remains for shopping that can be put there directly (freezer) or for parties in the garage, so you can go straight to the utility room for drinks from the fridge or other things. The size of the technical room is still uncertain for us. As said, for heating either geothermal or air-to-water and we also plan a photovoltaic system, if the roof arrangement makes sense at all. Because of the quite large size, which was once 280 m², I tried to reduce some things, including the utility room, now the question is whether the whole thing is not too narrow or narrow for utility and technical rooms.
Also regarding the fireplace, which is now in the corner of the living room, we are not quite sure yet if it fits there. Is there enough space, does it make sense to have it there? It’s not primarily about the fireplace heating the whole room, but about a certain coziness.
Another point, the kitchen is far from the utility room and garage, but the lady wants light in the kitchen. I understand that and we have accepted it and can live with it.
No pantry next to the kitchen, that is a pity, if anyone has ideas, please share.
Upper floor:
So far we like the upper floor, only it would be great if the utility room gets enough space so that you can not only accommodate washing machine and dryer but also iron and hang laundry that cannot go into the dryer. Are 6 m² enough for that? How should the arrangement of washing machine, dryer and furniture best be done?
Also here, where can space be saved upstairs? Especially the office is quite large and should be smaller, and the size of the children’s rooms at 14-16 m² would actually be completely sufficient.
Also the dressing room, less narrow but the space around the corner is not really necessary if you have an idea. I tried not to make it so narrow like in (Upper floor-14-Alternative.jpg), but am not really satisfied with the result (Upper floor-16.jpg), you also cut into the bedroom (doesn’t it then get too tight?) and the children’s rooms. Which of the two proposals do you find better? Or do you have a better idea?
And the bathroom could also shrink by 1-2 m² as long as it does not then look cramped. All under the premise that it is possible, makes sense and is coordinated with the ground floor.
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
2000 euros per m²
Personal price limit for the house including equipment:
550,000 euros without land. We would prefer to stay under 500k. We don’t want a “jam house” (meaning you can no longer even afford jam on your bread if you have to pay too high monthly installments for the house).
Preferred heating technology:
We can’t decide yet whether geothermal or air-to-water. No gas heating! If anyone has tips regarding the house, please let us know!
If you have to give up, on which details/upgrades can you forgo:
Smarthome
If you have to give up, on which details/upgrades can you not forgo:
Open living/dining area
Entrance to the street and inviting
Garden and sun
Balcony in front above the office
Guest room and guest WC with shower for later living possibility of parent
Sauna
Distance to the TV should be at least 4.50 m. Currently it is 5 m here.
Why did the draft turn out as it is now?
Corresponding wishes and ideas from us were implemented by the architect with additional creativity and experience from the architect.
Unfortunately, it had far too much hallway and little space for the technical room and guest room, and the dressing room had no light.
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?
The area is pretty large; some rooms are bigger than we need and with others it would be great if we had 1-3 m² more here and there. But unfortunately, much depends on other circumstances, such as the same outer dimensions upstairs and downstairs, access to other rooms, etc. Unfortunately, rooms are usually not autonomous.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
General opinion on the floor plan and exterior – also critical (constructive feedback) welcome
Optimization possibilities of room layout/position and possible space savings
Are hallways or spots in the plan too narrow or tight?
Creative and clever ideas to use space sensibly and make it cozy.
Windows better slightly rounded or straight on top and with concrete frame or without? What do you like or dislike about the front?
Roof better with or without dormer?
PS:
The site plan is still from the first draft, the middle and right part has meanwhile been moved slightly forward because we wanted more than 10 m garden at the back.
The m² figures are approximate and may vary slightly.
In the front view there is a window to the right of the garage, but that should be a side door.
Windows in the floor plans are not always exactly positioned, I still have to adjust that.
If you have further questions, please ask, I will try to answer them.
Thank you very much for your help and feedback! We really appreciate it! I will then upload the progress and adjustments in the next steps, let’s see how the result turns out. We are quite excited ourselves!
Have a nice weekend!
Alex
We are currently planning our house. The property is purchased, now we just have to fill/build it with life.
We have received the first draft from the architect and have already had a constructive conversation afterwards. I have now incorporated some considerations into the draft and adjusted it. It would be really great if you could give me your opinion on how you generally find the house and the floor plan, and where it can be cleverly improved or the space reduced, because at the moment the whole thing is about 260 m² and we would ideally like to end up under 250 m². If that is not possible, or only with too many compromises, that would also be okay, but we would like to optimize the floor plan.
Development plan/restrictions
Size of the property: 1200sqm
Slope: none, flatland, living in the north.
Floor area ratio: 0.3
Plot ratio: 0.6
Building window, building line and boundary: See site plan
Edge development: 3m
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2
Ceiling height: 2.70 - 2.80m
Roof shape: See site plan
Style: City villa with old brick
Orientation: House entrance west
Maximum heights/limits: FH 8.50m TH 6.50m
Clients’ requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: City villa with old brick
Basement, floors: No basement, 2 floors
Number of persons, age: 3 (43, 35, 2) hopefully expecting 1 more child and possibly a parent in the future.
Space needs on ground and upper floor: 200-250m²
Office: family use or home office?: Home office, 8-12 hours daily.
Overnight guests per year: on average 2-4 persons 5 times a year, later probably permanently 1 parent
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: more in country house style
Open kitchen, cooking island: open kitchen with cooking island (but island is not a must)
Number of dining seats: 3-4 at the island, 10-12 at the dining table
Fireplace: yes please
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: definitely
Garage, carport: yes, garage for 2 cars and for birthday parties in winter
Utility garden, greenhouse: possibly later
Reasons why this or that should or should not be included:
Balcony in front, so I can step out from the office occasionally and we can perhaps enjoy the setting western sun in the evening.
The kitchen should definitely be bright with a view of the street, that’s what my wife wanted, which unfortunately means it is a bit far from the garage and utility room.
Guest room and guest WC should be barrier-free and large enough so that parents or we could also live there later.
House design
From whom is the planning:
Rough drafts from me, first draft from the architect, current status is the first draft with adjustments from me.
What do you particularly like? Why?
Utility room (laundry room) upstairs
Dressing area
Little hallway despite many rooms
Bright
Possibility to separate living area later
It’s not standard
What don’t you like? Why?
First of all the large area! About 260 sqm! It would be really great if we could get it under 250 sqm by implementing it more cleverly. Besides that:
Ground floor:
The kitchen could be a bit smaller, but without significantly affecting the exterior shape. So far there is no window for a view directly to the terrace, maybe there is an idea for that.
Also with the utility/technical room, I’m not sure what exactly we should do there. Some say the technical room is sufficient with 3-4 m², others recommend 6-8 m². What do you think? The utility room here would be without dryer and washing machine, because those are upstairs. Maybe you have a good idea how to separate the technical room and utility room properly. If possible, so that light still shines into the utility room and direct access to the garage remains for shopping that can be put there directly (freezer) or for parties in the garage, so you can go straight to the utility room for drinks from the fridge or other things. The size of the technical room is still uncertain for us. As said, for heating either geothermal or air-to-water and we also plan a photovoltaic system, if the roof arrangement makes sense at all. Because of the quite large size, which was once 280 m², I tried to reduce some things, including the utility room, now the question is whether the whole thing is not too narrow or narrow for utility and technical rooms.
Also regarding the fireplace, which is now in the corner of the living room, we are not quite sure yet if it fits there. Is there enough space, does it make sense to have it there? It’s not primarily about the fireplace heating the whole room, but about a certain coziness.
Another point, the kitchen is far from the utility room and garage, but the lady wants light in the kitchen. I understand that and we have accepted it and can live with it.
No pantry next to the kitchen, that is a pity, if anyone has ideas, please share.
Upper floor:
So far we like the upper floor, only it would be great if the utility room gets enough space so that you can not only accommodate washing machine and dryer but also iron and hang laundry that cannot go into the dryer. Are 6 m² enough for that? How should the arrangement of washing machine, dryer and furniture best be done?
Also here, where can space be saved upstairs? Especially the office is quite large and should be smaller, and the size of the children’s rooms at 14-16 m² would actually be completely sufficient.
Also the dressing room, less narrow but the space around the corner is not really necessary if you have an idea. I tried not to make it so narrow like in (Upper floor-14-Alternative.jpg), but am not really satisfied with the result (Upper floor-16.jpg), you also cut into the bedroom (doesn’t it then get too tight?) and the children’s rooms. Which of the two proposals do you find better? Or do you have a better idea?
And the bathroom could also shrink by 1-2 m² as long as it does not then look cramped. All under the premise that it is possible, makes sense and is coordinated with the ground floor.
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
2000 euros per m²
Personal price limit for the house including equipment:
550,000 euros without land. We would prefer to stay under 500k. We don’t want a “jam house” (meaning you can no longer even afford jam on your bread if you have to pay too high monthly installments for the house).
Preferred heating technology:
We can’t decide yet whether geothermal or air-to-water. No gas heating! If anyone has tips regarding the house, please let us know!
If you have to give up, on which details/upgrades can you forgo:
Smarthome
If you have to give up, on which details/upgrades can you not forgo:
Open living/dining area
Entrance to the street and inviting
Garden and sun
Balcony in front above the office
Guest room and guest WC with shower for later living possibility of parent
Sauna
Distance to the TV should be at least 4.50 m. Currently it is 5 m here.
Why did the draft turn out as it is now?
Corresponding wishes and ideas from us were implemented by the architect with additional creativity and experience from the architect.
Unfortunately, it had far too much hallway and little space for the technical room and guest room, and the dressing room had no light.
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?
The area is pretty large; some rooms are bigger than we need and with others it would be great if we had 1-3 m² more here and there. But unfortunately, much depends on other circumstances, such as the same outer dimensions upstairs and downstairs, access to other rooms, etc. Unfortunately, rooms are usually not autonomous.
What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
General opinion on the floor plan and exterior – also critical (constructive feedback) welcome
Optimization possibilities of room layout/position and possible space savings
Are hallways or spots in the plan too narrow or tight?
Creative and clever ideas to use space sensibly and make it cozy.
Windows better slightly rounded or straight on top and with concrete frame or without? What do you like or dislike about the front?
Roof better with or without dormer?
PS:
The site plan is still from the first draft, the middle and right part has meanwhile been moved slightly forward because we wanted more than 10 m garden at the back.
The m² figures are approximate and may vary slightly.
In the front view there is a window to the right of the garage, but that should be a side door.
Windows in the floor plans are not always exactly positioned, I still have to adjust that.
If you have further questions, please ask, I will try to answer them.
Thank you very much for your help and feedback! We really appreciate it! I will then upload the progress and adjustments in the next steps, let’s see how the result turns out. We are quite excited ourselves!
Have a nice weekend!
Alex