Floor plan design of a single-family house with garage and roof terrace

Our architect, father of 3 children, on the subject of children's bathroom. "Do you like cleaning so much that you spend money on it?" First they are too small and the bathroom collects dust for years. Then they use it maybe 3 or 4 years and then they move out.

There is some truth to it. So far, we would have cleaned for 10 years for nothing. A washing machine on the sleeping floor is nice and worth its weight in gold. Diapers leak at night, diarrhea or vomiting, everything briefly over the hallway. Even the regular laundry piles up upstairs and can be washed with short distances.

I forgot to mention, it was my first thought: a stretcher from the ambulance won’t fit around the corner with a width of 1.80 meters. We have an open corridor of 2 meters, but not the entrance in the corridor. We have white plaster, so it’s bright, but as I said: no overhead cover. For occasionally carrying a ladder or furniture, it’s too narrow in the long run. Especially for strangers or families who meet or stand in front of the entrance and wait to be let in. Beverage crates or strollers also need to be brought around the corner sometimes. Something else would be nicer.

I think @roteweste has 150 sqm with 3 kids.

No, not quite. 174 square meters. Update will come again when the shell is up. ;-)

[*]Do you have any ideas on how we can sensibly integrate the missing office without losing the spaciousness of the design?
[*]Could the entrance area become too dark because of the covered solution?
[*]What do you think about the decision to orient the eaves side towards the field side instead of the gable?
[*]Are there sensible alternatives for better accommodating the washing/drying area?
[*]Do you see possibilities to better tailor the room program to our needs without blowing the budget?

Since you are publishing a design without an office, you probably do not really need one. Think about what 1 sqm costs and come to the conclusion that it’s worth simply forgetting about it. Retrofitting an office into an existing design is not worthwhile. Either leave it out or rethink the design. Sometimes I smile when people invest a net annual salary or more out of their own pockets just to be able to work from home.

Clearly, the entrance area will not get much daylight. But that doesn’t matter because your house concept obviously doesn’t intend the hallway as a living zone. I wouldn’t worry about that if you otherwise like the design. Like , I would rather think about the width and what does and doesn’t make it through.

I can’t assess the orientation without knowledge of the terrain. The overall width of the building pretty much fills the width of the plot – so that might pose a problem for approval. What somewhat amuses me is that you on the one hand appreciate the view of the terrain and on the other hand position the sofas with their backs to the windows. Surely there is a good reason for that.

The washing/drying area in the technical room is okay if you like the design overall. The path from the closet to the laundry and back to the closet is not optimized but does not significantly impact quality of life when you consider the location of the rooms in which people spend most of their time. Without throwing the existing design overboard, I can’t think of anything better.

We are trying to create a modern, well-thought-out home that fits our needs – with a realistic budget and self-help where it makes sense.

That is a good approach. I hope you can clearly distinguish in your decision process between room descriptions (which you describe in your text) and needs (besides the preference to cook often and look out onto the field, there is little). Only when you know how you want to live and what contributes to your quality of life does a custom house build really make sense. Unfortunately, the question “for what purpose” is often considered too superficially and quickly turns into the question “in which space.” To build something well-thought-out, you have to carefully consider the real goals. Were I an architect, I wouldn’t pick up a pencil before fundamentally understanding how you want to live. The architect’s task is to design the right shell for the clients’ life. You are the experts for your wishes, habits, and longings. Focus on those and then let the architect come up with ideas and present them. It goes against the impulse, but when the process is set up properly, an excellent result is practically guaranteed. Those who do not want to commit to this are usually just as well served with a standard design and save a lot of money.

I think your heartfelt wish is nonsense. You only need roof terraces and balconies with multi-family houses.

This is exactly the point where our opinions regularly diverge. Whoever builds what “one” needs is not even trying for an individual design. There are now plenty of proven standard solutions.
If it is a heartfelt wish to be able to look in a certain direction from an elevated position, it has the same value as a temperature-controlled wine cellar or a well-equipped kitchen. Of course, these wishes should be questioned during the decision process – but that doesn’t work with immediate judgments.

Hi,

a lot of concrete points have already been raised – and it feels like even more questions have been raised than were clarified in the draft anyway. This is meant as a compliment: You think about many details, but at the moment you actually get lost in some areas and still avoid the crucial improvements in traffic routes and everyday practicality.

Above all, the floor plan on the upper floor is actually strikingly impractical – eternally long distances, an enormous floor area and unfortunately still neither flexibility for office/guest nor a convincing concept for private and communal areas. The bedroom as a distribution center between bathroom and dressing room is always a sore point among those willing to plan. At the same time, the children's bathroom will probably not be used for a long time and reduces flexibility and future viability.

Regarding the omission of the basement: Have you dealt intensively with the topic of storage space and space for house technology in everyday life? The garage as a replacement for both is hardly suitable in the sketched form – especially if an outdoor WC is also planned there. Are you aware of how high the additional effort and costs will be if more elaborate sealing/hygiene regulations become necessary for garage-integrated sanitary rooms? In conjunction with the roof terrace, that is already a chunk.

The size you have planned for the technical room – is that a value confirmed by the house technology company taking into account all installations and maintenance areas? Photovoltaics, ventilation system, heat pump, storage, possibly central water softening, IT – all properly accessible? Too often this is calculated far too tight and then there are bicycles and e-scooters standing in front later.

I would really recommend that you don’t let the criticism of the arrangement and connection of the rooms on the ground floor discourage you, but rather question deliberately: Could the circulation areas in the floor plan be reduced to a reasonable level with a clever replanning of kitchen/pantry/hall, maybe even gain another room and create a bright, open entrance? Maybe try exchanging freely with planning software – and check at the same time whether the pantry is sufficient as a pure storage room and you would rather gain a practical access instead of two.

By the way, I would coordinate the house technology questions (type of heat pump, sensible room layout with utility room etc.) closely with the respective manufacturers/installers before you continue drawing. There are significant differences from state to state as to which installation areas are approved.

Honestly: These many rooms and areas bring you as little in everyday life as a never-used kids' bathroom or a roof terrace, if at the same time the zoning and brightness on the ground floor are not right. Maybe you simply prioritize once without regard to the current grid: What will be just as important to you in 10 years, and what has simply become a basic standard in the neighboring houses? And do you already have an idea how to make the beautiful view to the east and still the south side on the ground floor as inviting as possible?

Good luck!

Binding oneself to a construction company is still far too early. Reaching the fourth draft already and still missing entire rooms is a very clear sign of a maximally wrong approach: skipping the conceptual planning, drawing straight away. The effect is dissatisfaction with the "result," but this is no bad coincidence, rather a causal connection. This is not construction planning, this is lead pouring (so long before New Year's Eve?).

Children not yet ready for school like to do it this way: listing all kinds that they have already liked or whose names they recently learned. The ice cream sundae then not only cost a fortune, but an upset stomach would also be guaranteed, and even the largest bowls would require two so that all scoops fit. Too expensive? – hmm, so leave out the cream or maybe rather the waffle?

So the order form is crumpled up and a new wish list begun. Now the fourth one, which still doesn't fit, and therefore won't be the last. Maybe a lifeline, yes, call grandma, damn – answering machine.

A friend who helps with drawing the little house, unfortunately only an architecture student. Then a construction company is supposed to refine it for a building permit, for that you just have to "get engaged" to the construction company. Lord, throw brains from heaven (in BY they would say "Maria help"), oh dear. Waking up is probably the only cure against this nightmare – and then do it all again like adults:

Create and qualify the room program, virtual wireframe model, preliminary design. That means letting the dough rest and setting the course, during which the budget is roughly calibrated. All this with a freelance, already graduated architect.

The choice of construction method derives at the earliest from the course setting, then the architect either matures the preliminary design used for the inquiry round or an alternative proposal (i.e., one of the answers to question 2 of the course setting) into the pursued design. Only in this are the windows given opening directions and the facade a material – not before.

Amateur designs regularly turn out about 20 percent too large (and therefore too expensive), having an architecture student co-draw does not cure this phenomenon. And general contractor building-permit finishers only debug what would be an approval obstacle – they do not bring the hoped-for improvement from the professional’s sewing box into the planning. If your bank goes along, the construction company will gladly build the house too large. Even more so if you are willing to finish the house yourself at the end of the money.