Floor plan of a single-family house approx. 200 sqm with basement - rear development

Hello everyone,

After much silent reading along, we would now also like to draw on your experiences and expertise and ask you for opinions and criticism of our project. We are still in the early initial phase and are currently tinkering with floor plans to visualize our ideas and be prepared for later discussions with various general contractors. Before I come to the questionnaire, I would like to briefly describe the initial situation:

The plot is about 1600 m² in size; at the front there is already an old building with two apartments. Two small garages with a shelter are located on the northern boundary and there exploit the boundary development there. We are currently not planning a division, so for the new building, considering the “used up” site occupancy index by the existing building, about 700 m² are still available as a building gap. The rear part of the plot is separated from the front by a high hedge. The sightline into the garden is “most beautiful” to the south due to the hedge and neighboring buildings. Therefore, in our planning, we have placed the new building as far north as possible and oriented the living/dining area to the south.

Please have a look and give us feedback – we look forward to new ideas and opinions.

Many thanks

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: approx. 700 sqm
Slope: no
Site occupancy index: 0.3, site occupancy index overrun of 50% allowed due to driveways
Floor area ratio: no specification
Building window, building line and boundary: no specification
Edge development: no specification
Number of parking spaces: no specification
Number of storeys: 1 full storey (Lower Saxony Building Code)
Roof shape: 35-48°
Style: no specification
Orientation: no specification
Maximum heights/limits: ground floor max. 80 cm above street level
Further requirements: boundary development already fully utilized by existing

Client requirements
Style, roof shape, building type: single-family house, gable roof, clinker brick facade
Basement, storeys: basement, ground floor, upper floor
Number of people, age: 4 persons (34, 34, 3, 1)
Room requirements on ground floor: kitchen, living/dining area, study, guest WC/bath
Room requirements on upper floor: master bedroom, dressing room, 2x children’s rooms, bathroom
Office: home office
Number of overnight guests per year: 2
Open or closed architecture: open
Conservative or modern construction: conservative outside, modern inside
Open kitchen, cooking island: island or peninsula
Number of dining seats: 10+
Fireplace: optional
Music/stereo wall: not required
Balcony, roof terrace: not required
Garage, carport: garage: single garage
Utility garden, greenhouse: not required
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be:

House design
Who is responsible for the design: do-it-yourself
What do you particularly like? Why?: We like the ground floor due to the open layout
What do you not like? Why?: We are unsure about the room sizes on the upper floor (large children’s rooms, relatively small bathroom), also about the usability of the kitchen.
Price estimate according to architect/planner: not available yet
Personal price limit for the house, incl. equipment: €600,000
Preferred heating technology: ground source heat pump, air-to-water heat pump

If you have to dispense with, which details/extensions
-you can dispense with: air space, guest room upper floor, seating lounge on ground floor (winter garden replacement), fireplace
-you cannot dispense with: basement, house-garage access (we are already accustomed to it and would reluctantly want to miss it), shower on ground floor

Why did the design become what it is now?
After numerous doubtful floor plan attempts, the design presented here is primarily inspired by the Bien-Zenker Concept-M 172.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Feedback on the floor plan, possibilities for optimization. Can the room program be implemented more efficiently? Are there major planning errors, did we plan any no-gos? Would you place the house completely differently?

Where should one start? First of all, 200 sqm + basement, ufff....

600,000 € for 200 sqm + basement will probably only work with a lot of personal contribution. If you use the rule of thumb now (which is probably rather optimistic given current prices):
- 2,500 € x 200 sqm = 500,000 €
- Basement: 80,000 €
- Additional costs: 50,000 €
- Outdoor facilities: 25,000 € to start with
- New furniture/kitchen: 40,000 €
Total: 695,000 €

And that is rather standard. My opinion on this: Why build so big? Why 21 sqm rooms for children? Aren't they supposed to move out and not just stay in their rooms? Why aren't 15 sqm enough?

Then the lounge. For what purpose? Isn't the garden or the living room primarily used? And how is the basement supposed to be used?

So, basically it is doable: walls are aligned for the statics, nice layout, etc. The only thing I would criticize is the too small bathroom for 4 people, where you probably wouldn't feel comfortable because it is simply mini in proportion.
I also find the U-shaped kitchen in the large room rather cramped than successful. The wardrobe for 4 is also relatively too small.
It looks as if the house became so big (just adjusted the length) to somehow stuff in everything that is possible: air space, straight staircase, aquarium, dormer… by the way, the fireplace does not have enough space… yes, it is very, very cramped furnished, I would say.

But we don't need to discuss, because it is no art to draw in all wishes on a large area and keep expanding the external dimensions again and again; the art is to create priorities and make do with what is feasible. Here with 600,000€.

2,500 € x 200 sqm = 500,000 €
- Basement: 80,000 €
- Additional costs: 50,000 €
- Outdoor facilities: for the start 25,000 €

There is truth in that.
However, I would estimate the basement higher, after all, it is almost 140 sqm floor area… for Lower Saxony then the house a bit smaller.
For outdoor facilities, there will be an expensive access road, right? So it will be more Dream House or castle in the air.

Edit: I took a look at the Bien-Zenker 172: that has a completely different class inside.

Hello Doh-Nuts

I also had an aquarium 180 x 70 x 70 until a few days ago. I gave it away due to lack of time. Do wastewater and supply water (preferably via an electronic flow heater under the aquarium. Electricity as well. The technology in the basement. A Malawi tank would be suitable. Robust fish, easy to care for, and nicely colorful. Don't forget the Fryeries. Otherwise, the stock will explode.

Steven

Is there any feedback yet ?

Any feedback coming ?

Sorry, I was a bit under pressure, hence the late response.

Why 21 sqm rooms for the kids?
Then the lounge. For what? Wouldn't the garden or the living room be used primarily? And how is the basement supposed to be used?

The large kids' rooms are more a result of the floor plan extension ypg mentioned than a deliberate decision. And since I suspected that a window facing west or east might be a bit dark, I planned a dormer there. I'm totally with you that 15 sqm is enough for the kids as well.
Regarding the lounge: we currently only use the living room in the evenings for watching TV, so I placed that in the potentially dark northwest corner. To still have a brighter, cozy seating area, there's the seating lounge, basically a winter garden substitute.

The basement would be used for technology, supplies, hobbies (sports, aquarium), and if the project runs out of money, possibly as a small home theater. I'm aware the basement is a massive cost driver, but I currently would not put it up for discussion. We clearly belong more to the "collector" faction than the "this doesn't need to be kept anymore" one ;-)

600,000 € for 200 sqm + basement probably only works with a lot of personal contribution. If you apply the rule of thumb now (which is probably rather optimistic with current prices):
- 2,500 € x 200 sqm = 500,000 €
- Basement: 80,000 €
- Additional costs: 50,000 €
- Outdoor facilities: initially 25,000 €
- New furniture/kitchen: 40,000 €
Total: 695,000 €

And that is more standard.

Well, for 2,500 €/sqm I would expect a bit more than standard, after all the house is not supposed to be in Bavaria ;-) But I admit, 600,000 will probably be tight.

Don’t you have an expensive access road for the outdoor facilities? So it’s rather a dream house or castle in the air.

Yes, about 25m x 3m should be the size.

Edit: I took a look at the Bien-Zenker 172: that one definitely has a whole different class inside.

If I now approach the hypothetical task of making the floor plan single-storey with minimal changes, i.e. putting a pitched roof on, I see the following problems:

[*]The kids’ room windows facing east/west would likely be quite small due to the roof slope, as they have to be closer to the ridge -> dormer with a south window as a solution?
[*]Bathroom would probably only work with a dormer as well
[*]Apart from that, the kitchen in the original is presumably less fussy. Besides that, I would still install another window there to have a view of the garden while cooking; I think after the fifth time pulling the food processor out it would annoy me that the kitchen doesn’t have a fixed practical place for it. But you have to swallow that pill for such a designer kitchen :)

The probable result is that the BZ 172 floor plan is not suitable for a pitched roof/single-storey and I better start again from scratch :)

A Malawi tank would be a good idea.

Only saltwater would go into the aquarium.