Floor plan design single-family house - flat roof - 142 m²

Good day everyone,

after we were able to reserve our plot, we spoke with several construction companies. Some only offer the volume and want to draw a floor plan only after signing the contract. For us, that feels somewhat like "buying a pig in a poke."

One construction company approaches things differently and presented us with a concept after a several-hour conversation, which we would like to discuss here with you.

Here is the questionnaire first:

Development plan/restrictions

Plot: F 1.6
Plot size: 394 m² (14.7 x 26.8 meters), no slope
Building window: 8.7 x 12.0 meters (11.7 x 12.0 meters minus 3 meters setback on the east side)
Orientation: southeast to south
Floor area ratio / total floor area ratio: 0.4 / 0.8
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2 full floors (an additional recessed floor is permitted)
Roof type: flat roof
Energy standard: at least KFW 55
Energy source: photovoltaic system and air-water heat pump or brine-water heat pump

Requirements of the builders

The architectural style, roof shape, and building type are basically dictated by the development plan and are fine for us (otherwise, we would not have applied for the plot).

We (2 adults, 2 elementary school children) plan to build without a basement, with 2 full floors, and a 9-meter garage. We plan to use a brine-water heat pump as the energy source.

We need 1 bedroom, 2 children’s rooms, 1 office (for home office), kitchen, living and dining room, guest WC (without shower), bathroom (with shower and bathtub), wardrobe as a built-in closet, and of course a utility room. Additionally, we need storage spaces. We do not expect any overnight guests.

We plan (rather modern construction) with an open kitchen (with a peninsula) and a living and dining area (6 dining seats, without a fireplace) in L-shape.

Since we do not want a “normal” porch as entrance canopy, we desire a “modern” solution.

House design

The design comes from a medium-sized construction company (general contractor) from the region, which has its own project draftsmen and an architect.

We especially like that all our requirements were fully implemented with the first draft. Even gimmicks like a bench and an internal light opening, which we only mentioned incidentally, were considered. From our point of view, the entrance canopy was also well implemented, even though it costs a few square meters of living space.

In particular, the storage spaces (and the wardrobe) were very well implemented from our point of view. In the first draft, the bathroom was 2.5 m² smaller and had a storage room in front of it. Instead of the fixed storage room, there is now corresponding space in the hallway to optionally place a (built-in) closet or to remove it later if the children no longer live at home. This redesign made it possible to plan an additional window in the bathroom. Whether it is really needed is still an open question.

The kitchen and the living and dining area have also been implemented very effectively despite 42 m², from our perspective.

The WC is perhaps a bit oversized, but worse things exist .

The window in the office might look nicer in the center of the room. However, the window in the kitchen below makes implementation a bit more difficult.

The window in the bedroom behind/above the bed might also not be perfect. We have already considered a few variants and concluded that this is the best solution.

With 16 windows, the house feels like it has quite a lot of windows. However, we would not know which one to omit, except maybe the second window in the bathroom. Regarding the large window in the dining area, we are still wondering whether it really has to be that big.

What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?

Are there suggestions on what we could solve differently in the floor plan? Maybe you have one or two ideas regarding the windows (large in dining area, 2 floor-to-ceiling in bathroom, centered in office, and behind/above the bed in the bedroom)? Perhaps later we can also discuss the kitchen planning here or in a separate thread.

I like it. The kitchen is small but cozy. If you’re not planning to start a catering service right now, I still think it’s okay. The window behind the bed in the bedroom is also a kind of makeshift solution, but it wouldn’t bother me much. With 2 kids, I would consider planning a door between the hallway and the living room for more quiet.

I don't think the draft is bad either. Just a few small remarks:

- The kitchen is not big. Maybe change the door to a window and then make the countertop around the corner.
- Do you want the garage to be set back that far? 5-6 meters in front of the garage is enough.
- Floor-to-ceiling windows in the bathroom are, in my opinion, suboptimal. Especially the floor-to-ceiling window facing the street.
- Personally, I would generally find there is too little storage space.

I don't really like the OG.

Measure whether the office is deep enough. It works, just isn't generous.

The bedroom can't be done differently with the window. Any other solution costs closet space.

I don't like the closet in the hallway. It looks like a leftover piece.

Draw your actual furnishings to scale. You'll discover mistakes that way. Keep in mind your special items like books, grandma's farmer's cupboard, etc.

I also like Leiden. I would not want to do without the aforementioned windows, the bedroom window should be tolerated because of the appearance and lack of alternatives. I would reduce the bathroom window facing the street. But: in my opinion, the kitchen is way too small. We use about 60/70cm of the countertop for the KVA, boards, knives, and opened water bottles, etc. Sodastream on top. The kettle seems to be out nowadays, but with children you still have a fruit basket, possibly an electric kitchen helper (or two), all of which take up space. So where do you want to put or store things (dishes?, glasses?) Hanging cabinets are not planned either, right? So, we are two, have more, but it’s not enough. How is this supposed to be enough for you?

The OP just has the first draft in hand and here we are talking about wall cabinets? Then the floor plan can’t be that bad.

Reconsider the placement of the garage and refine details on the floor plan, e.g. the hallway at the staircase upstairs. Whether there is a cabinet there or not is up to you. The planner probably just wanted to "usefully" fill unnecessary space there.

A house for four plus an office on 140sqm is not so easy, where everyone seems to practice "think big." This has been well achieved here.
But, flat roof, no basement, and no additional storage rooms. Where should a suitcase or other large items go that don’t fit in any cabinet? There is also no more space on the property for that, provided a car is supposed to be parked in the garage sometimes.
At least under the stairs, it would be worth enclosing and providing a wallpapered door or something similar to put something underneath there.