Floor plan design for bungalow with basement - 140 sqm - slight slope

Hello everyone,

I have been a silent reader for some time, but now our construction project is slowly becoming concrete. Therefore, I would like to post our floor plan here to get feedback from other sides as well. After days of drawing, discussing, etc. within a small group, one becomes a bit "operationally blind" and perhaps sometimes no longer sees "the essentials." One note: the furniture, kitchen, shower, WC, etc. shown in the plan are only symbolic placeholders and do not correspond to our planning.

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 644 sqm - 23m x 28m
Slope: yes, sloping from south to north. approx. 2m height difference.
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Plot ratio: 0.4
Building window, building line and boundary: 5m to the north, 3m to the south
Edge development: -
Number of parking spaces: -
Number of floors: single-story
Roof type: gable roof, hip roof, flat roof
Style: -
Orientation: ridge direction east-west - parallel to the street
Maximum heights/limits: 5.5m
Further requirements:

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof type, building type: bungalow with hip roof
Basement, floors: ground floor with basement
Number of people, age: 3 people (45 / 40 / 5)
Space requirements on ground floor, upper floor: approx. 140 sqm
Office: family use or home office?: home office
Overnight guests per year: 4-6 times / year
Open kitchen, cooking island: closed kitchen, no cooking island
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: no
Garage, carport: double garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: no

House design
Who created the plan: The first draft was made by us; the builder has made numerous changes together with us according to our wishes.
What do you particularly like?: All our wishes have been implemented so far.
What do you not like? Actually, we like everything so far.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: €560,000 - including special requests (sanitary, electrical, blinds, etc.)
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: €600,000 excluding incidental construction costs, garden, etc.
Preferred heating technology: ground source heat pump / air-water heat pump

If you have to do without, which details/extensions
-can you do without: actually nothing
-can you not do without: closed kitchen

Why did the design turn out as it is now?
Our requirements for room sizes and layout have been implemented as we wished.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
- We would like to use the forum discussion to identify "weaknesses" in the floor plan in advance.
- Has anything important been forgotten?
- Where do you have concerns?
- What can still be improved?
- Suggestions/criticism are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

I find the long, dark hallway to the living space (Living room) really, really awful. In combination with having to turn three times around the corner, it’s somewhat questionable why you don’t see this discrepancy yourself. The house is not inviting. I wouldn’t want to buy the house like this, possibly only if the partition wall can be removed. I would make more use of the basement than just storage space... are the rooms placeholders? I don’t read anything about needing a workshop... the basement has much more potential. The site plan is missing. And try drawing in the furniture yourself; then you often see the shortcomings for yourself. You can see that the planner just finalized a DIY floor plan. The planning finesse is missing. The highlight of the house is a... basement staircase... :confused:

I also have severe problems with the hallways. Would it be possible to simply extend the recess as a long wall? That way you get a rounder hallway and more space upstairs.

By the way, I would recommend placing the utility room upstairs and rather parking the office downstairs. Because if you already have a bungalow, it would also be nice to be able to process the laundry on one level.

Oh, and I would skip the door of the wardrobe. It just takes up space.

After 2 years of experience with [Bungalow] and [Windfang], the [Windfang] door and wardrobe door and the short wall can be removed, with underfloor heating the house does not cool down quickly, and the whole feels spacious, the kitchen wall to the living room and to the dark hallway can also be removed

Thank you for the initial feedback.

I find the long, dark hallway to the living area (living room) really, really awful.

We are aware of the hallway to the living room, but we do not find it "really, really awful" ;) The house is primarily meant to be functional for us and not just to look "nice." Everything we have received so far from general contractors, architects, etc. was not something we felt comfortable with, or where our wishes regarding room sizes/layouts, etc. were implemented. (Maybe we have just been with the "wrong" people so far.)

I wouldn’t want to buy the house like this, maybe only if the partition wall can be removed.

That could be done ... ;)

I would make more out of the basement than just storage space... are the rooms placeholders? I don’t read anything about needing a workshop... the basement has much more potential. The site plan is missing. And try drawing the furniture yourself, then you often see the shortcomings.

I don’t have the site plan electronically at hand right now. The street runs to the south. To the east and west, there are undeveloped plots of about the same size. To the north, there is a 5m buffer to the adjacent property (building line). Behind that, at the neighboring property after about 20m of garden, there is also a bungalow. I forgot the workshop in the questionnaire above. It should be a room where smaller tasks can be done (painting, crafting, photography, working on the PC, etc.).

Just to clarify: the three basement rooms to the north will get normal windows because of the slope and thus receive a bit more daylight. The two basement rooms in the southwest are currently planned only as storage rooms (possibly also as one large storage room).

Would it be possible to simply extend the protrusion as a long wall? That way you get a rounder hallway and more space upstairs.

What exactly do you mean by that?

By the way, I would recommend placing the utility room upstairs and rather put the office downstairs. Because if you already have a bungalow, it would also be nice to be able to process laundry on the ground floor.

That is not an option for us. We want the office on the ground floor. The office is used daily and the daily "up and down" from the office to the living area is already somewhat annoying today. Even after the "Corona time," the office will be used frequently.

Oh, and I would skip the door of the cloakroom. It just takes up space.

That’s something to think about...

the windbreak door and wardrobe door and the short wall can go,

The idea behind it was that jackets, coats, shoes, etc. "disappear" from the immediate entrance area, but a somewhat more open design at this point is worth considering.

Kitchen wall to the living room and to the dark hallway can also go

We do not want an open kitchen.