Floor plan improvement suggestions for a single-family house on a south-facing slope

Hello everyone,

after we bought the plot in February last year, which was fully developed at the end of last year, we have been getting inspired and planning for some time now. Despite the increased costs and interest rates, we are looking forward to building the house including some DIY work.

Development Plan/Restrictions
Plot size: 669 m²
Slope: South slope 3.90 m diagonal (approx. 7.3 ° gradient at the street side)
Floor area ratio: 0.4
Floor space index: 0.7
Building window, building line and boundary: 3 meters respective setback areas
Edge development: Garage
Number of parking spaces: two per housing unit in front of garages at least 5 meters
Number of floors: 3 full floors (basement, ground floor, upper floor)
Roof type: Gable roof 35° - 45° (if basement is not a full floor then 15° - 25°)
Style
Orientation: see draft sketch
Maximum heights/limits: Wall height 6.50 m measured from FFOK-ground floor to the intersection of wall/roof outer surface
Other requirements: Garage roof as flat roof and greened, min. 40 % photovoltaic

Client Requirements
Style, roof type, building type: no decision yet whether wood or stone (affordable ecological)
Basement, floors: 2 + basement suitable as living space
Number of people, age: 2 each 26 years old
Space requirements on G/F, U/F: see draft sketch
Office: Family use or home office? Home office
Overnight guests per year: few
Open or closed architecture: rather open
Conservative or modern construction: rather modern
Open kitchen, cooking island: both desired
Number of dining seats: 8 preferably expandable
Fireplace: would be nice but too expensive
Music/stereo wall: no
Balcony, roof terrace: roof terrace on garage for drying laundry, terrace, in living-dining-cooking area like balcony but with garden access
Garage, carport: double garage (if possible later)
Utility garden, greenhouse: yes (greenhouse at least initially not planned)
Other wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be

House Design
Who designed it: Do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why? No bay windows, no winding stairs, enough space in entrance area, garage-house access in entrance area, garage roof/laundry room access on upper floor, level access to ground floor in the north and basement in the south, sight lines
What do you not like? Why? Staircase not adjacent to living area, small main bathroom

Price estimate according to architect/planner: not yet obtained
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment:
Preferred heating technology: Heat pump (underfloor heating possibly as air conditioning ceiling)

If you have to do without, which details/extensions
- can you do without: reasonable m² (unused), basement under garage or terrace
- can you not do without: basement with large hobby workshop

Why did the design turn out the way it is? e.g.
Standard design from planner? No
Which/specific wishes were implemented by the architect? No architect, tried ourselves to implement our wishes in as small a space as possible without it feeling cramped
What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?

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

Do you have suggestions for improvement? What would bother you? Do you have tips to do some things similarly but cheaper?

The plan for the basement is not finalized yet. Since besides the utility room, storage room, possibly a bathroom (for quick dirt wash-off and for a potential later granny flat), a space-intensive hobby is also to be accommodated, we are considering whether to basement the garage or terrace or both. If you already have tips or rough price estimations: please share.

If you need further information, just ask.

Thank you!

Inda

For 2 people 3 * 75m² = 225m² living space + basement garage...
This does not fit either "tried to implement our wishes on the smallest possible space" or "fireplace too expensive."

I hope you understand that this design on the slope somewhere in the region ranges from 700k€ upwards.
In addition, the extra costs from the slope will come to you. Before we dive deep into the floor plan discussions: how high is your budget?

First of all, good evening and thank you for your quick response. Our budget for the house is around €650,000. However, the basement will initially not be developed as living space during the construction of the house. Accordingly, we hope for lower costs there than the average price per square meter. The costs should be reduced mainly through a lot of personal effort. (Tools and experience are available to some extent) Regarding the fireplace, that is one of the points we have already eliminated in the designs. A basement under the garage, however, as far as we know, can make sense especially on a slope due to the soil conditions and is not possible to add later, unlike, for example, a garage or a fireplace.

Are the 650k purely for the house (could be about right) or for the project including earthworks, slope stabilization, etc.?

In the latter case: plan anew, plan smaller.

This is a typical design where the living space is planned around the staircase. The position of the staircase is unfavorable, which results in all rooms on the upper floor being impractically laid out. I would forget about this design. You are investing a lot of money and should therefore focus on the functionality of the rooms, not the staircase, which is just a means to an end. Let go of the idea that everything has to look like what you see on [Social Media], that stuff will end up costing you a lot of money and you will have to "squeeze" through the rooms. Rearranging the furniture is almost impossible in these spaces. A rectangular floor plan is actually the most efficient to plan, with a half-turn staircase placed as centrally as possible on one of the long house sides. It may be unspectacular but efficient.

The house lacks depth. The children's room and living room are too narrow. With this budget, it is best to build with a basement and omit the cellar.