Floor plan for a single-family house 150 sqm - window and bathroom planning

Dear members of the forum,

soon the detailed planning for our new building (solid house) as a single-family home for 4 people (2 adults, 2 children) will begin. Since I have often read along in the forum and consider every opinion valuable, I would now like to upload our overall design and describe the details below in the questionnaire. Basically, we tried to manage with as little total area as possible due to the high construction costs and the size of the plot. The basic room layout and house dimensions are no longer changeable. However, we are overall very satisfied with the location of the house and the orientation of the rooms on the plot (a 90° rotation of the house was tested but discarded). Therefore, our main concern is the interior and facade design.

In terms of cost-benefit consideration, the design basically seems to us to be a good compromise that implements the most important aspects for us.

I would like to ask if anyone sees any fundamental problems with the design? We are aware that on the ground floor the separation of the living area from the cooking and dining area restricts movement space, but the separation is indispensable for us – we have experience with an open living/dining area as well as with a separation of the cooking area from dining and living, and for our lifestyle a separate living room fits best. The straight staircase was originally not an absolute must but is the preferred type of staircase.

We are particularly unsure about the window planning, which is still completely open – starting in the upper floor in the master bedroom. Here we would like to have the option to place the bed against the northwest or southwest wall, but we do not know how to best plan the windows, as a as symmetrical view of the house from the street (northwest) is important to us. It is basically okay for us if the bed stands under the window in one variant. How large would the window have to be approximately in order to bring sufficient light into the room with a sill height of 120cm? Or would you in any case plan a window on the other wall (that way the bed would be under a window in both variants)? How would you then plan the other windows on the southwest side of the house (dressing room, children’s room)? Do you have completely different solutions? Currently, in the upper floor in the two children’s rooms on the southeast side, windows with a sill height of 55 cm are drawn – we would probably set these to standard sill height in favor of placement options. The upper floor will be shaded with roller shutters.

On the ground floor in the living area there is, in addition to the terrace door, another floor-to-ceiling element – we would also set this to standard sill height since a sofa will surely be placed in front of it. In the kitchen, the window is to be positioned differently than shown in the plan, at countertop level, meaning the countertop will run into the window. In the dining area we are still completely uncertain about the window planning. The ground floor will be shaded with venetian blinds. From our point of view, the lift-and-slide door does not make sense because the opening cannot be fully utilized. I am attaching two ideas for the window planning in the dining area: (1) two terrace doors and window fronts, (2) one terrace door with window front and one window with a sill height of 55cm (usable as a seating window). How do you like these ideas?

Another point is the bathroom planning: The architect and two bathroom planners recommend the T-solution with a bathtub on the northwest wall (window above). However, the limited storage space bothers us (no space for a tall cabinet). Do you have any ideas/remarks regarding storage space or even alternative floor plan ideas for the bathroom?

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 490sqm
Number of parking spaces: 2
Number of floors: 2

Client requirements
Basement, floors: Basement + 2 full floors
Number of persons, age
Room requirements on ground and upper floor
Office: Home office for 1 person
Fireplace: no, but laundry chute
Garage, carport: Garage with carport

Other wishes/particularities/daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be:
In the basement we wanted: 1 mandatory technical room with washing machine and dryer, 1 workshop and storage room, 1 additional storage room as well as a hobby room (with underfloor heating)

On the ground floor we wanted: 1 office for home office (alternatively usable as a bedroom for 1 person), cooking/dining separated from living area, living/dining/cooking arranged in an L shape, kitchen with peninsula, guest toilet with optional shower possibility and storage room, the final ceiling height on the ground floor will be 2.60m.

On the upper floor our wish was: family bathroom (T-form recommended by the architect and two bathroom planners), small storage room, 2 children’s rooms, master bedroom, dressing room (access via the hallway is deliberately chosen and preferred)

House design
From whom is the plan: architect of a construction company

What do you especially like? Why?: Basic wishes considered; good use of space, orientation of rooms, small “circuit” on the ground floor (hallway, kitchen/dining, living) possible, little hallway space on the upper floor, equally sized children’s rooms, corner terrace possible; laundry chute
What do you not like? Why?: Bathroom planning, concern about too small room size in the dining area, current window planning:
-
Preferred heating technology: air heat pump

If you have to do without, which details/extensions
-can you do without: T-solution in the bathroom, high window sill heights
-can you not do without: separation of the living area

Why did the design become what it is now? e.g.
good space utilization, good orientation of rooms, above-mentioned wishes

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
What storage solutions or alternatives do you see for the T-solution in the bathroom? What ideas/suggestions/recommendations do you have regarding window planning?

We look forward to your suggestions, recommendations, and opinions!

Soon the construction planning for our new build (solid house) as a single-family home for 4 people (2 adults, 2 children) will take place. Since I have read along in the forum several times and consider every opinion valuable, I would now like to post our overall design and describe the details below in the questionnaire.

First of all, many thanks for showing the entire house for such a question and not just the bathroom floor plan. As shown on the overview plan, I like the house well, and I also find it okay in the floor plans. However, the colorful views seem to deviate quite significantly – is that still possible at all (without causing delays in the approval process)? – I interpret "construction planning" as completed submission planning, and the variations in window sizes and partially also positions between the two drawing variants seem to me to go beyond the scope of usual textures. I would probably not let the "staircase window" go so high, i.e., place its lintel at about the ridge height of the garage (as the only deviation from the facades in the overview plan version).

Thank you for the feedback. According to the information from our building authority, changes to the windows are not a problem as long as fall protection etc. are observed and we - literally - "do not double the number of windows."

Concern about too small room size in the dining area

Justified. I also consider it too tight, especially because the separated living and kitchen areas are too large. If separating, then only the kitchen separately. I also find the entrance area with the "zigzag run" and the stair access "bad." When the detailed planning is imminent, possible changes (outside) are anyway only cosmetic.

Another point is the bathroom planning: The architect and two bathroom planners recommend the T-solution with the bathtub on the northwest wall (window above). However, the limited storage space bothers us (no room for a tall cabinet). Do you have any ideas/comments regarding the storage space or even alternative layout ideas for the bathroom?

Perhaps simply use the following approach for this:

- What "items" do you need in the bathroom that should be directly accessible there (towels, cosmetics, care products)
- How much space do these usually take up?
- What type of access/access restriction is sensible (medications, for example, should be kept out of reach in higher places if there are small children)
- What storage needs arise from this?

In principle, I am a fan of integrated solutions that can, for example, be incorporated into drywall construction (one should use the visual social network with the term bathroom storage here).

Specifically, this could look like installing a ceiling-high partition at the head end of the bathtub and building shelves between the newly created partition and the existing exterior wall of the bathroom (with a door, you can also cover the whole thing).

Maybe one more constructive thought about the toilet:

By design, it takes up quite a bit of space with access and associated walls, but without a door it probably does not fulfill the desired purpose (the bathroom can be used simultaneously). Either you install a door here – if not already planned (simple sliding doors don’t do the job, I’ve learned this repeatedly from encounters in hotel rooms ;)) – or you do without the small “poop corner” and plan the bathroom layout independently of it.

I would swap the entrance and the WC. Then the entrance will be covered.