Floor plan design for a 185 sqm city villa

Hello everyone,

my girlfriend and I are currently deep in the planning of our new build (city villa, approx. 185 sqm, without a basement). The plot (521 sqm) is available, a developer (Heinz von Heiden) has also been found.

The actual architect consultation for the concrete planning will only take place next year. At the moment, we only have a draft that we have put together with the sales representative.

We would be happy to receive feedback from you about whether there are any major mistakes in the planning or if there might be some minor suggestions for improvement.

Basically, our considerations are as follows:
- Living/dining/kitchen area should be connected and not too tight (~53 sqm)
- Gallery in the entrance area as a small visual highlight is important to us
- Master bedroom with a relatively large walk-in closet on the upper floor
- 2 children's rooms
- smaller office on the ground floor, which can also be used as a 3rd children's room if necessary
- large bathroom for parents and children on the upper floor, but also shower/WC on the ground floor for guests and as an alternative option when the children get older
- attic will not be converted (25° roof), but only used as storage space (pull-down stairs are available)
- utility room with 11 sqm should be large enough to accommodate air source heat pump, water tank, ventilation system as well as washing machine, dryer and water crates

However, we still have the following open points:
- Set up a concrete staircase with storage space underneath?
- Place a pantry next to the kitchen (and thus sacrifice part of the hallway)?
- Is the hallway on the ground floor too large at nearly 21 sqm? Where could space be usefully gained?

Many thanks and best regards
Julian

Here is an addendum, as I had overlooked the post about the structure:

Development plan/restrictions
Size of the plot: 521sqm
Slope: no
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Building window, building line and boundary: present, but irrelevant for the floor plan here
Edge development: no
Number of parking spaces: none
Number of floors: 2
Roof shape: none
Architectural style: none
Maximum heights/limits: 2 full floors

Requirements of the builders
Architectural style, roof shape, building type: city villa
Basement, floors: 2 full floors, no basement
Number of people, age: 2 (27 & 32)
Room requirements on ground floor, upper floor: 5 rooms
Office: not intended as permanent home office, sleeping option should also be available
Guests per year: 5
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: modern
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen not yet planned
Number of dining seats: 6–8
Fireplace: yes, location not yet decided
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: yes, garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no

House design
Who designed it: planner from a construction company
What is especially liked? Gallery, large bathroom on upper floor, large dressing room
Price estimate according to architect/planner: 370k EUR pure construction costs
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: 400k EUR
Preferred heating technology: air-to-water heat pump

If you have to forgo, which details/extensions
- Hallway on ground floor could be smaller

Why is the design the way it is now? e.g.
- Standard design with minor adjustments made by us

The house is too big for your budget.
The offer also includes [Aufmusterungen]
all costs borne by the builder
all costs not mentioned
ancillary construction costs

The house is too big for your budget.
Additional upgrades will be added to the offer
all costs on the construction side
all unspecified costs
incidental building costs

We have planned 135,000 EUR for everything apart from the construction costs.

55,000 for the building application, earthworks, connection costs, surveying, construction power/water
15,000 garage
22,500 painting and flooring work
15,000 upgrades
20,000 outdoor facilities
7,500 furnishing

We are kindly receiving the kitchen as a gift from our parents. The KfW grant of 26,000 EUR has also not yet been included. With that, we actually feel very comfortable.

We have planned 135,000 EUR for everything aside from the construction costs. 55,000 for the building permit, earthworks, connection fees, surveying, construction electricity/water 15,000 garage 22,500 painting and flooring 15,000 upgrading 20,000 outdoor facilities 7,500 furnishings The kitchen is kindly gifted to us by our parents. The KfW subsidy of 26,000 EUR is also not yet included. With that, we actually feel very comfortable.

Sounds solid :) Unless the soil is catastrophic, those are well estimated figures :) But I can hardly believe the price of the house. With 12x10 we are talking about approximately 200 sqm of living space. Even at an extremely “cheap” 2000 €/sqm you’re at 400,000. And for the house size, 15k is rarely enough for the upgrading. You can almost spend that just on the electrical work :/

It seems to me that you are still very much at the beginning and have not dealt enough with the topic of the floor plan. A few rough things that immediately stand out (does Heinz von Heiden really offer such a floor plan?):
+ if the guest room on the ground floor is to become a children's room, it is much too small. With 8sqm it is anyway not really furnishable as a guest room
+ utility room only accessible through the kitchen - do you really want to carry the laundry through the kitchen every time? The door also massively interferes with the kitchen
+ staircase directly at the entrance: consider whether you want this, the issue of carrying mud directly upstairs (this becomes especially relevant with children and their friends)
+ the same applies to the toilet on the ground floor: dirty shoes are left in the wardrobe and then you have to go through every time to the toilet
+ bathroom on the upper floor is very, very large, for that storage space is missing
+ if you have to go to the toilet at night, it is quite a journey
All this now just quickly, my tip: look at many other floor plans again, with this size much is possible!