Floor Plan Discussion: Single-family house on 630 sqm plot

Unfortunately, the architect keeps drawing in that counter, which is complete nonsense.

I don’t know why the architect chose such a strange furnishing.

But I absolutely share your opinion that the current furnishing in the bathroom is total nonsense.

An architect’s plan (or whoever is doing the planning) is there so that you engage with the measurements and your own furnishings. Everyone has to copy the draft or do it some other way in order to then template their own furniture in. However you do it. I recommend tracing everything larger to scale (millimeter paper or on the PC) and furnishing the plan with your own furniture templates. You have to deal with it. Also with your daily work.

All walls should be used effectively as cabinets or work surfaces

But then the kitchen will lose even more ergonomics.

The pantry should be reached by a hidden entrance (visually so that you think there is a kitchen cabinet there) Regarding access to the pantry: That is not supposed to be an airlock. It should only be possible for me to get the groceries into the pantry from the hallway after shopping and also to access it from the kitchen while cooking. You should only go through it in an absolute emergency. Is that enough for that?

Is that enough for that?

No! It remains as before: it is too small, too inefficient for a pantry, it remains an impractical airlock, even if you want something different. Personally, I am not a fan of these pantry kitchen cabinet doors either: if I am carrying a baking sheet, I am already about 80 cm wide with my elbow width... and no, my clothing size is 36/38 :)

Could you please also take a look at the loggia? Does it work so that a whirlpool with 2 lounge seats fits on it?

The question is why you plan a whirlpool behind the bedroom. You have a child, you cannot supervise the child then. You want a second child, the same applies. The thing will be used almost once and then never again. Bet on it! Why don’t you plan the whirlpool in the garden, where every family member benefits? A loggia or balcony is overrated in a house with garden/plot anyway and only costs with little added value.

The architect has now drawn a 30 cm parapet height at the window. I only just noticed. It’s actually supposed to be nearly floor-to-ceiling accessible... Is that possible?

That is a shell construction dimension and due to the screed and insulation. It will be less then. From what I have experienced in recent years, it is a major annoyance for many balcony lovers that they get a trip hazard there. Whether it can be planned differently and still cost-effectively, I do not know. But there must be a reason.

What is that approx. 2.x sqm room on the right side of the bedroom supposed to represent? => Honestly, I don’t like it at all. The architect drew it that way to bring lighting to the upstairs hallway. But I can’t think of anything better to realize it either.

To be honest, I find this solution to bring light into the darkness, i.e., the stairwell, quite good. It creates an eye-catcher through a simple solution. The rather plain house also needs a small wow effect.

Bedroom shell dimension 300 cm, the adjoining dressing room thought of is basically still too narrow, it will just be tight. 180 cm mattresses usually also have a bed frame. There remain about 50 cm left and right. Even if someone has a leg problem and has to get to bed with crutches, it becomes simply impossible.

The problem is that you hardly have capacity along the length of the house to do it better. You actually have to start over. Still, here is a simple kitchen/pantry idea, which is not possible like this but can serve as an inspiration. [ATTACH alt="Screenshot 2024-04-20 at 13.15.44.png"]85339[/ATTACH] Not possible because of the staircase (you can see the wall offset). The staircase shouldn’t be the structure that you have to walk around to reach the kitchen in the house, as Katja already said. It itself also creates this bad feeling of “circling around yourself” when you want to go upstairs. I think it separates more than it connects. Personally, I think stairs should also adapt to the size of the house. 2 x 2 (2.4) meters is already a tight fit and more often found in row houses. Since up there with dressing room, bedroom, and children’s room, as well as down there with the freezer room, everything is a bit cramped, and one might also consider whether a kitchen far from the terrace is well placed, I tend toward a complete redesign.

Well, I don’t think the draft is bad; it’s workable. The weak points have already been mentioned but in my opinion are easy to fix:

[*]The kitchen / pantry situation is nonsense and hardly usable at all. And of course you want to get from the hallway to the kitchen and not have to run a marathon through the living room first. My solution would be something like this:

Thanks for your concrete suggestion! So do you think it only becomes a sensibly usable room if the pantry is made bigger? We would just like a room in the kitchen where, for example, an ugly freezer can be stored, but also canned goods and other non-refrigerated food can be kept.

I assume a flat roof here and would therefore plan a light extravaganza into the hallway on the upper floor.

Personally, my quality of life would be affected by constantly having to circle around the stairs. Kitchen and living area are arranged basically in a circle around it. The chill-out corner is actually a passage room, or not really chill at all. Ideally, you enter the living spaces through the dining area, so that A you don’t have to pass through the kitchen and B not through the chill-out corner. Here it is exactly the other way around and that would bother me and unfortunately would be a deal-breaker for the draft. Still, the thing is not totally bad if you ask me.

Why would the constant circling around the stairs affect you so much? Do you mean the route is too long for you because the stairs are so centrally located? I’m just trying to better understand the concern because I hadn’t really had that on my radar as possibly being suboptimal.
The way to enter the living room – that was also repeatedly an issue with the architect. He also thought it was bad.
I would also rather enter the dining room. But there should be an L-shape formed, with the living room to the right on the plan, the dining room on the left, and in the shorter part of the L then the kitchen. Why? So that when sitting on the couch you don’t see dirty dishes and the messy kitchen + at the same time have maximum sunlight in the dining area + the kitchen is located in the east/southeast. Do you have another idea how to achieve this anyway?

I also see the statics as problematic regarding partial overbuilding of the garage.

Do you mean problematic in the sense of somewhat more expensive or rather in the sense of barely feasible? I know that it’s not quite usual. But due to our wishes and the requirements of the plot it’s hard to implement differently. At least after planning back and forth we don’t see a good solution.

Thanks!!

Thank you for your concrete suggestion! So, do you think it will only become a usefully usable room when the pantry is bigger? We would just like to have a room in the kitchen where, for example, an ugly freezer can be stored, but also canned goods and other non-refrigerated food can be kept.

A pantry normally does not have 2 doors, because then it is a hallway. In your case, also an extremely important hallway with very high frequency. You go into the kitchen more often than, for example, into the bedroom. That means the walking zones are definitely not storage space. That leaves only the space under the stairs, which, as already mentioned, is rather tiny. If a pantry with appliances and stuff is desired, then plan a proper room and no desperation under the stairs.

Why would the stair circulation control you like that? Do you think the path is too long because the stairs are located so centrally? I'm just trying to understand the concern better because I didn't really have on my radar that this might not be optimally solved.

The entrance into the living room – that was repeatedly a topic with the architect. He also thought it was bad.

If the architect himself has already noticed it and you both are bothered by it, then there is definitely something wrong. Don’t whine about it for too long, crumple it up, and try again with a different staircase in another location.

I would also prefer to enter into the dining room. But it should have an L-shape, so that on the right side of the plan is the living room, on the left the dining room, and in the shorter part of the L then the kitchen. Why? So that when sitting on the couch you don’t see the dirty dishes and the messy kitchen + at the same time have maximum sun in the dining area + the kitchen faces east/southeast. Do you have any other idea how to achieve this anyway?

The arrangement of the rooms can basically remain as it is, only the stairs have to go away from there, so the whole thing becomes more pleasing.

Do you mean problematic in the sense of somewhat more expensive or rather in the sense of hardly feasible? I know it’s not quite common. But because of our wishes and the conditions of the property, it is difficult to implement otherwise. At least after planning back and forth we don’t see a good solution.

An exterior wall should not "hang" on a ceiling without a supporting wall underneath. Depending on the length, the effort to carry the load would then be disproportionately high for a room as unimportant as the garage. Often, supports are then placed in the middle, which can become annoyingly tight when opening doors. That’s why either a wider span with an intermediate wall is planned right away, or the garage is placed obediently next door.

The architect has now drawn a 30cm parapet height at the window. I only just noticed that. Actually, it’s supposed to be almost floor-to-ceiling accessible... Is that possible?

It’s actually quite normal for a step to arise here. The floor construction in the bedroom is usually lower than on the loggia because proper insulation to the living area above is required there. If you want everything on one level, then the floor construction on the entire upper floor has to be higher, and possibly the staircase longer.

Does it work that a whirlpool with 2 lounge seats fits on there?

Does your planner also know that a whirlpool is supposed to go there, because quite a lot of load comes onto a small area.

The hot tub on the balcony is, as someone already mentioned, nonsense. One might as well say that a balcony with a garden is rubbish. No one stays there in a detached house.

The whirlpool on the balcony is, as someone already mentioned, nonsense. You might as well say that a balcony with a garden is ridiculous. Nobody spends time there in a single-family house.

Are you really so sure about that? We imagine it differently. I see the whirlpool in the garden unused in winter with wind and cold. The whirlpool, which I can reach from my bedroom with dry feet and reasonably protected, I use even in bad weather. Am I completely off track here? I agree with you that otherwise balconies are not used. But the whirlpool created the practical value for us.

Regarding the passage from the kitchen to the hallway: We actually didn’t want any passage at all. The fact that we now have access from both sides is thanks to a reshuffle in the plan. I’m still trying to understand: why do I need the direct passage? Many open kitchens often don’t have that either? It worries me if there’s an additional real door in the kitchen because that leads to “unrest” and of course less space for furniture. Hence the solution with the hidden pantry. Which scenario am I overlooking that makes the direct and easily walkable passage to the kitchen so indispensable?

Thanks!!