DIY floor plan design for 2 people

Thanks again for the lively participation; the many different opinions on the same topic always make reading along here exciting. As I have already written, we will definitely work with an architect, but we also have to tell them what we want, and for that, I find a DIY preliminary plan with all the ideas we have important. I am already aware that our plan is far from mature and also very "special," so I can well understand the many critical comments. But I would also find it boring to write here – we fell in love with the catalog house XY from provider Z, what do you think of the floor plan... Again about the construction costs. Our estimate does not include the optional pool, the optional elevator in the stairwell, the photovoltaic system, and incidental construction costs. We live very rurally and work with local companies where we get fair conditions. In addition, we do not expect construction to begin before 2024 and naturally hope that the market has calmed down somewhat by then. We should really consider a 2nd bedroom and include it in the further planning.

I can well understand your concerns regarding the infatuation with your own design; we really have to be careful to remain open to changes here. And it is also clear that we need professional help for the interior design, especially when you do not want to build something off the shelf. This also applies to the bathroom design, etc.; the idea of the cabin for the toilet was just an idea, but in the end it should of course not look like a public restroom. We have actually already leveled the site ourselves once to determine the height profiles; the representation in the views is quite accurate, of course the real course is not completely linear but the corner points are correct.

The local building authority has so far given the verbal approval for construction (there is no development plan as it is currently farmland). We only have to participate proportionally in the development costs, but that is okay for us.

If you not only read along here for a while but also browse back, you will find numerous comparable examples here that "close only counts in horseshoes." It's almost a running gag that someone thinks it's easy to turn their property into building land because you can spit over to a building area from there. From the previous descriptions, I cannot clearly see what constellation between "outer area" and planned or unplanned "inner area" we are dealing with here. If there is a §34 area adjacent, you will have to accept the insertion requirement; if an area with a development plan is adjacent, the expansion of its spatial scope will go faster (not quickly!!!), and presumably its framework requirements will be adopted (possibly the plan might also be changed on this occasion). So unfortunately, I see a high probability that first, your project will be at least a five-year plan, and second, the unusual roof shape will fall by the wayside.

Architects are popular in the forum, the costs are often set very high, and if someone says the floor plan is too complicated, another says they love the angles. If you want to plan "for later," someone writes, "then better build the next house later."

Architects are viewed mostly positively here, but especially people with opinions specifically about the architects' estimating skills tend to be more skeptical. Here, about houses for "later," it is not just anyone writing but usually in favor from the perspective of the building consultant—mostly me—and with the background of having built a second time myself (but not retirement-near) and - I don't count here because she would likely have stayed loyal to the previous house without relocating several hundred kilometers. By and large, I would say the faction strengths of preparers and object changers are roughly balanced here (and the motives mostly individual—the almost general recommendation to change therefore comes almost only from me).

As I have already written, we will definitely work with an architect, but we also have to tell them what we want, and for that, I find a DIY preliminary planning with all the ideas we have important.

Good gracious, preferably not that!—even professional planning does not fully immunize against infections by images. So better steer the planner’s creativity onto no slippery ice at all. For yourselves, your own sketches—especially when conflicts become apparent—may help you clarify things, but better not show them to the expert (because of the poison magic of images). You will be happier with a joint draft, primarily developed by the expert, than with the approach of trying to "optimize" a self-made plan. The greatest danger is not even for the laypeople with their botched attempts, but explicitly for the drafts that are (allegedly or even "objectively") only in need of refinement.

And one should not burden it with just one architect's design but obtain several.

I think that's a good idea. I haven't gone that far. If I assume that intensive discussions should already precede these designs, and that the design result corresponds roughly to the level of detail of the DIY design (because that's what we laypeople understand):

[*]Has anyone among you ever had that done? [*]Is that approach okay from the architects' point of view? [*]if yes: what costs roughly arise per design (we can gladly stick to the example here)?

I do not see barrier-free design apart from marketing language. The corners, doors, arrangement, the roof back to the beginning, a colorful jumble. Create an exact room program - not a plan - and seek a conversation with architects, prefabricated house companies, even their draftsmen can have reasonable approaches in their tower build. Have you looked at the floor plans of @pagoni and ? Both should have elements that suit you.

@ypg I can well understand your concerns regarding falling in love with your own design, we really have to be careful to remain open to changes here.

Aren't you already not anymore: this roof, inspired by hall construction, has captivated you so much that you've idealized the view with the two crooked peaked caps.

but we also have to tell it what we want

Saying yes, but not showing.

preliminary planning DIY

These two are quite different things. You are conveying now, - that you place no value on the plot and the connection between house/garden, - that you want an office space difficult to reach, where only one person can fit. - that an expensive custom-made bedroom closet is acceptable, - privacy is a foreign word - wellness is unnecessary, only sauna - windows and light are overrated, preferably everywhere lowered loophole windows and/or windows through which you cannot look (double casement windows), which only give light to the roof slopes, not to the room. In your drawing you are conveying something quite different from what you write. I see zero barrier-freeness and many obstacles that cannot easily be modified either. What is the architect supposed to make of that? Whatever he does, you compare it with your drawing and always find your own better, because it comes from you and you had something in mind and put so much heart and soul into it ;)

I think that's a good idea.

I think nothing of it. Quantity over quality. An architect’s design is not made in one day but is worked out over weeks, together with the client and planner. That costs energy and enthusiasm, ultimately also a good fee. An architect has a signature, a style, a philosophy. How is that supposed to work? That then the client wants to combine the entrance area from A1 (rather conservative) with the open-plan room from A2 (rather modern) from A3, because this one staged the roof so well? Munch’s scream is topped with Rembrandt’s golden helmet… well cheers :eek: