Floor plan options single-family house 130-150 sqm, 1.5 stories, hillside location

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size - 680 sqm
Slope - hillside location, about 1.5-2m incline within the building window
Floor area ratio - 0.3
Floor space index - 0.6
Building window, building line and boundary - see picture
Edge development - none planned, neighboring plots not yet built on
Number of parking spaces - 2
Number of floors - 1.5 above basement
Roof type - gable roof 33-43º
Architectural style - classic single-family house
Orientation - as per plan, facing south
Maximum heights/limits: ridge height 8.60m at ground floor level
Further specifications: fixed ridge direction, ground floor level fixed in a 60cm window

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof form, building type: gable roof, classic, if possible untreated, weatherable wooden facade on ground and attic floors
Basement, floors: due to hillside location, a basement with an open south side is suitable; other sensible options (stilts?) have not been suggested to us so far
Number of persons, age: 2 adults, planning for 3 children
Space requirements on ground and upper floors:
- Ground floor: open kitchen-dining-living area, guest WC with shower, office (can be moved upstairs if necessary), balcony/terrace on the west (mixed due to slope)
- Attic: 3 or 4 bedrooms, family bathroom (shower + bathtub)
- Basement: open to the south, main entrance on the south (front of the house) with hallway, utility room, storage room, 2 expandable rooms (hobby and/or youth room - then possibly one less children's room upstairs can be planned)
Office: family use or home office? - home office
Guests per year - visits can come, but this can always be managed
Open or closed architecture - open, no completely separated staircase
Conservative or modern construction method - no idea what that means - lots of wood (wood beams) would be nice but usually ruled out due to price anyway
Open kitchen, cooking island - yes to both
Number of dining seats - 5+ (temporary solutions for visitors are acceptable)
Fireplace - yes, on the ground floor. The futility is acknowledged.
Music/stereo wall - a TV wall starting at 2.6m
Balcony, roof terrace - balcony with transition to terrace on the west side planned
Garage, carport - double carport if visually reasonable possible, but probably garage better due to slope
Utility garden, greenhouse: basically happy to have someday
Further wishes/special features/daily routine, also reasons why this or that should or should not be

Since at least one person spends a lot of time in the office in the afternoon/evening, we imagine it nicer if it is also on the ground floor – this is currently the case, with open doors, noise and smells from the kitchen do not disturb but rather promote the feeling of being together in the house. Hence also the desire for an open living-dining-cooking area. To what extent this area can/should still be separated from the open staircase by walls and doors is one of our questions: it looks attractive in the brochure to have the children "acoustically" nearby, but the practical value of sometimes having one instead of two doors between children’s room and living room cannot be denied.

House design
Who created the design:
- planner from a construction company
- architect
- do-it-yourself
A mix of all 3, finished designs do not yet exist

What do you particularly like? Why?
Open living-dining-cooking area, open staircase, entrance in the basement – living room should be allowed to be a family common area, acoustic and olfactory contact is allowed, entrance in the basement prevents annoying “walking around the house” and offers space for wardrobe

What do you not like? Why?
Price estimate according to architect/planner:
Depending on provider between 350k and 550k€ for the house without basement
Personal price limit for house, including fittings:
For a living basement we estimate 100k, additional construction costs another 100k, then the house ideally max. 400k + 50k€ for fittings/some outdoor facilities
Preferred heating technology:
What is financially sensible: underfloor heating with near-surface geothermal heat would be nice, but hard to find offers without electric heating, so probably mainstream air-to-water heat pump.

If you have to do without, which details/extensions
- you can do without:
Office on the ground floor, if it is worth it for a larger living-dining-cooking area – until really 3 kids are there maybe find another solution (possibly in the basement).
The north exit to the garden on the ground floor including porch area – could be omitted to save sqm, but is usually automatically included in more affordable series houses.
The pantry can also be omitted – but often the small technical room is used for it, which would be in the basement for us.
Maybe even basement is dispensable if there are sensible alternatives.
- you cannot do without:
Fireplace. :)

Why did the design turn out the way it is now? e.g.
A mixture of many examples from various magazines..., after first price insights scaling back special requests, room requirements...

What makes it particularly good or bad in your eyes?
Good: orientation to south/west, no walking around the house, essential rooms in a nice south-west location.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
- Opinions and arguments on the variations on the ground floor: where to place the office, KEW area around the corner or in a line, wall/door to KEW?

Thank you very much for your honest input, if I can specify or clarify anything better, please just ask!

if possible untreated, weatherable wooden facade on the ground floor + attic

Better / preferably not with a *ahem* "economy" house manufacturer :)

Due to the hillside location, a basement with an open south side is feasible; other reasonable options (stilts?) have not been suggested to us so far

Stilts also do not sound like a reasonable option; I would now assume my basement rule is known (otherwise searching helps). Show the plot!

I find the layout more than confusing.

I also don't understand how in EG Var. 2 the kitchen is supposed to be closer to the terrace.

If I look over it (unfortunately all plans lack dimensions or height points, etc.), then the plot rises from south to north?

Better / rather not with a *cough* "economy" house manufacturer :)

We have also noticed that regional timber construction companies can offer this "almost" cost-neutral (it’s their field, saving on plastering, relatively maintenance-free, etc.), while conventional providers a) don’t want to do it, b) inquire and say "we’ll clarify that later," or c) charge exorbitant prices, but with overall differences of 150-200k€, c) doesn’t weigh that heavily – and the pure craftsmanship isn’t really rocket science – at least that’s what I think as a layperson (or how do you come to your statement?).

Stilts also don’t sound like a sensible option; I would now assume my cellar rule is known (otherwise searching helps). Show the plot!

I haven’t found an original, but clearly take cellar from the posts – anything else would have surprised me as well.

I find the presentation more than confusing.

Text or floor plans? I can understand the text, but as a newcomer, I wanted to follow the template 1 to 1... sorry! Floor plan questions might be clearer by hand after all; when I have something, I’ll update it.

I also don’t understand how in ground floor variant 2 the kitchen is supposed to be closer to the terrace.

The terrace would be in the northwest (back left), access via a balcony – the walking meters might be similar, but mentally in variant 2 the kitchen is directly next to the terrace (or looks at it through the window), while in variant 1 the kitchen is in the middle south and the terrace is directly next to the living room.

If I look at it (unfortunately all plans lack dimensions or height points etc.), the plot rises from south to north?

My mistake, I thought I was doing great with the contour lines, but of course forgot the direction: each line corresponds to 1 m, higher in the north (top), lower in the south. Nice view downward into the valley.

To put it differently: It’s not about exact details, it’s clear that somewhere in the northwest (i.e., top left) the "less important" things like guest WC, potential pantry, and potential exit to the north garden will be located.
What’s exciting for us now is whether there are good reasons from experience for a certain arrangement of the kitchen-dining-living area:

[*]Var 1: Living northwest, dining southwest, cooking mid-south.
[*]Var 2: Cooking and living swapped
[*]Var 3: All three along the entire south front, but possibly giving a more "corridor-like" impression?
[*]Var 4: As an example of a variant that is completely open to the stairs
-

I have not found an original, but I clearly gather from the posts that it is a basement – nothing else would have surprised me.

I cannot comment on this, as I am not familiar with your property; for the rule, see recently here:

We have also already noticed that regional timber construction companies can offer this "almost" cost-neutral (it’s their expertise, saving plastering, relatively maintenance-free.. etc.), while conventional providers a) don’t want to do it, b) ask about it and say "we’ll clarify that later" or c) charge exorbitant prices, but with total differences of 150-200k€ c) doesn’t really weigh that heavily – and the pure craftsmanship is actually not rocket science – that’s what I think as a layman (or how do you come to your statement?).

I assume it’s supposed to be something similar to – only basically in the "Patina Edition". From my point of view, there are only two construction methods for such an appearance if you don’t want to invite building damage: namely 1., a stone house where you can screw the battens of the substructure in place; or 2., a carpenter who already considers the special facade design during the construction.

The timber frame panel series manufacturers "can’t do that," so the nominal surcharge (although quite generous in itself) is still just a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of building damages. Their wall construction usually assumes a plaster carrier as a preliminary almost finished surface, on which final finishing is then done in the form of plaster. With lathing and then site-made cladding, you will already *ahem* overwhelm an "Economy" manufacturer logistically in construction. In the series production sector, you might possibly get that from Gussek Haus (their hybrid wall is basically similar, just with facing), or also from the "Swedish house" providers; normally you would probably be better off looking at the premium brands of the Baufritz-Regnauer-class and the like. Or you just go directly to the shrub carpenter / : or did you also trust Wirlebenhaus with that?

Another alternative would be to put such a "Maybach from Dacia" on the cutting list ;-)