Floor plan design of a single-family house on a large plot

When replanning, I would also remove the guest room from the 1st floor. Put it in the attic (there is already a bathroom) or the basement with it. And then you have more room for a nicer layout. Next, don't put the master bedroom next to a children's room—they don't want to hear you... As for the rest... I won’t say anything until you upload a new plan ;)

We will probably need to seek legal advice on this. We would get the plot of land for free. Probably gift taxes will even apply.

It is important that the plot of land on which the house stands really belongs to you. Otherwise, if I am not mistaken, the owners of the house are your relatives.

No, we would not use the full width. Yes, the house would be extended. On the side of the house there is only one basement window; that could be bricked up.

That would mean that you could not have any windows on the entire west side? Especially there is the nice midday and afternoon sun.

However, I see the biggest problem with the rooms on the west side. You have no windows at all in the guest bathroom on the ground floor, no daylight bathroom. Not very pleasant. Also, an appropriate ventilation system would be urgently needed there.

Next is the bathroom upstairs for guests and children. Again, no daylight bathroom and therefore rather uncomfortable.

In the dressing room upstairs there would also be no window possible. That would be a darkroom with less than one meter of space between the two wardrobes. Rather unpleasant.

I actually find 3*7 meters fairly usable, see example furnishing. Admittedly, the guest room is modestly laid out. We couldn't come up with anything better. What does an average interior wall have? We took the standard that the program specified, I think just under 10 cm. Exterior walls are 30 cm here.

Lay out these 3 x 7 meters on the floor with a red string and then place some boxes or similar as furniture with their measurements inside. That will certainly have a different effect on you.

Interior walls have 16 cm or 24 cm depending on whether they are load-bearing or not. Thinner is sometimes possible, but just for sound insulation I would not go below 16 cm.

You are absolutely right. That is actually too big. We thought from the ground floor perspective, the living room had to fit our ideas and then it just got quite large. Maybe it can still be intelligently reduced. According to my calculation, the living area remains about 260 m², which is still a lot. So with the footprint minus walls, that should be about 100 m² each on the ground floor and upper floor and 60 m² in the attic. But still actually too much, that’s true.

As it looks to me, the basement is planned with normal height walls and also to be habitable, right? I assumed that because of the hobby room and the basement room. Then you would have to add these square meters as well.

We considered how many square meters we need on the ground floor for our ideas – about 100 – then we set the dimensions according to the possibilities in the building plot – 12*10 meters less walls is about 100 m² of living space.

And how did you come to 100 sqm that you need on the ground floor? Especially if you still plan another 3 floors. How many square meters do you have now?

I would also be interested whether you absolutely want this spiral staircase. Sure, it saves space, but especially with 400 sqm it is not really understandable. Try to bring larger items up to the 3rd floor in your studio via such a stairwell. If they can be transported at all via the stairs.

Regards Michael

My son has a 5x3m room. It works, but you have to be a bit creative to make the room cozy. Because of the narrow space, only limited furniture can be placed along the long sides. However, this also makes the room quickly look bare.

When re-planning, I would also remove the guest room from the 1st floor. Put it in the attic (there would already be a bathroom) or the basement. And then you have more space for a nicer room layout. Next, don’t put the master bedroom next to a child’s room – they don’t want to hear you... As for the rest... I won’t say anything until you post a new plan ;)

We now want to try with a reduced floor area (10*10m), the study on the ground floor and the guest room on the upper floor will be removed, the balcony on the upper floor will also be removed. The balcony is the reason why the master bedroom has to be on the south here. But that actually doesn’t make much sense. Let’s see what comes out of it.

Would that mean you can’t have any windows on the entire west side? Especially here the nice noon and afternoon sun comes in.

That’s not quite true. Only if you build in line with the existing building and not deeper than 10m. The building envelope is very large so that you could shift the house up to 5m forward or backward. Then windows on the west would at least be possible up to half the depth of the house. By the way, this is also a question we would like opinions on; how should the location of the house be? In line? Shifted forward or backward?

The biggest problem, however, I see with the rooms on the west side. You have no windows in the guest bathroom on the ground floor, no daylight bathroom. Not so nice. Also, a suitable ventilation system is urgently needed here.

Next is the bathroom on the upper floor for guests and children. Again no daylight bathroom and therefore rather unpleasant.

In the dressing room on the upper floor, no window would be possible either. That would be a dark room with less than a meter of space between both wardrobes. Rather unpleasant.

As I said, that depends on the exact location on the plot. That would need to be considered again. But we are open to advice.

As it looks to me, the basement is planned with normal high walls and also as a living area, right? I assumed that because of the hobby room and the basement room. Then you would also have to add these sqm.

Yes, livable is correct, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be legally considered living space. Hobby and basement rooms should also have heating and windows in a reasonable amount.

And how did you come up with 100sqm you need on the ground floor? Especially when you plan three more floors. How many sqm do you have now?

We calculate at least 50 m² for the living room if we want these four parts. Then 15-20 m² for the kitchen. And then hall, WC and so far also the study.

I would also be interested if you definitely want this spiral staircase. Of course, it saves space, but especially with 400 sqm it’s not really understandable. Bring larger items up to the 3rd floor in your studio on such a staircase. If they can be transported up the stairs at all.

The staircase here is more of a placeholder for a double-bent stair. The program doesn’t have anything else.

My son has a 5x3m room. It works, but you have to be a bit creative to make the room cozy. Because of the narrow room, furniture can only be placed to a limited extent on the long sides. That makes the room quickly look bare.

I even lived in 9 m² as a child. That didn’t harm me either. And a—let’s say—12 m² children’s room would also not be a deal breaker for a house. But if you plan freely, the child can have a proper amount of space, after all, it doesn’t just sleep in the room but spends a large part of its life there—at the desk, playing, meeting friends, later with a girlfriend...

Regarding the 3x7m discussion, I want to say that 3m are difficult to furnish on the one hand. On the other hand, the format of the room is simply terrible, having one side more than twice as long as the other. It feels like a hallway, and no one will want to spend time in it.

The staircase is too small if it is not really supposed to be a spiral staircase as the symbolism suggests - but no one willingly chooses that. However, the diameter is also unsuitable for that.

Overall, I estimate about 290sqm plus 115sqm underground. In total over 400sqm. Since I assume that you do not expect click laminate at this size, the budget in my opinion is several hundred thousand too small. If this doesn’t end up being seven figures.

Get professional help :-) Overall, the idea shown is pretty shaky. And think about what you really want to fill the 400sqm with. Size alone doesn’t make it (search on youtube for Michael Wendler and Das Perfekte Dinner, you can see his house from the inside, then you’ll know what I mean :D).

Oh yes, forgot: Is it even allowed to build three stories there?

If you are wondering about the total area, keep in mind that you have planned four floors here, even if the attic is not full-floor. Considering the size, the height difference to be overcome, and the necessary budget, an elevator is almost mandatory in the equipment for me.