Floor plan, please provide your opinion and suggestions for improvement

Hello,

I am planning to have a "two-family house" built without a basement. The plot is 560 sqm in size.
For the roof, I have planned a hip roof (pyramid roof 22°). All roof designs are permitted.
My mother is to live on the ground floor and my two children, my wife, and I upstairs.
Thank you in advance

Thomas

Briefly, what I notice: T in the bathroom on the ground floor is not senior-friendly. How old is your mother? What age of children are we talking about? Furniture does not have a real size - some proportions are off, e.g., depth of the children's closets, sofas (no one can sit on them :eek: OG: I find it problematic to place the bedroom door in the middle of the living room if two children still live in the house. Suggestion: remove the WC on the right, allocate space to the living area (kitchen corner), then a dining table will fit. Use the bathroom door to enter the second hallway, from which the WC, bathroom, and bedroom branch off.

Furthermore, I notice that all your doors are set against the wall, so no furniture/cabinets can be placed behind them. The windows also do not look particularly elegant. With the 2-story building, symmetry between top and bottom can very quickly look boring. A bit of variation wouldn't hurt. Do you have exterior views as well as the house on the site plan or on the plot?

I actually think it's quite well done. The only thing I miss a bit in the upper floor is some storage space for everyday items like vacuum cleaner, broom, shopping basket, drink crates.... I would also plan the balcony more generously, so you don't always have to go down the stairs to grill. Maybe you could also consider connecting your balcony to the garden with an outside staircase. Because if you can only get to the garden through the front door, that's just too inconvenient – that was the case for us in the past as well ;-)

It would also be convenient if you could go from the room where the washing machine is to the garden, so you can hang laundry outside sometimes or the kids can take off their muddy stuff, rain boots there and not have to go through the "nice" front door. Do you have extra space? Basement? If not, then I might rather make a gable roof that you could access either through the stairwell or through the upper floor.

I have another idea regarding the living room because I see a lot of unused space there. I've marked it for you, maybe it's something for you: I would put the couch in front of the window and the wall unit/TV opposite, that way you would have more space in the dining area when guests come.

A sensible zoning is hardly recognizable, the efficiency moderate, the adaptation to the property probably not better either.

A living room as a passage room combined with a bedroom as a trapped room is very unfavorable: one partner has visitors, the other is sleeping and wants to go to the toilet... not good.

The living-dining-cooking area is inefficient. For eating and cooking a greater room depth is needed, which then remains "left over" in the living area without real use. Square floor plans always require good planning of the (preferably) natural lighting of the corridors in the middle of the building.

Since the implementation of the users' requirements can hardly have succeeded, it is questionable whether the shape of the floor plan does justice to the inhabitants, the property, and the other requirements.

WD

@ all
Thanks for the quick responses

@ ypg

How old is your mother?
From what childhood age are we talking?

My mother is 60 and the children are one and three

Furniture has no real size

You are right, will be changed :)

Suggestion: Remove the WC on the right, give the space to the living area

I very reluctantly decline because of the kids and visitors

Use bathroom door for access to 2nd hallway, from where WC, bathroom and bedroom branch off.

I don’t quite understand you

T in the ground floor bath is not senior-friendly.

Will be changed

@ Manu1976

I would also plan the balcony more generously

I have already considered it, but from a width >1.5m the balcony has to be supported, which I don’t want

Outside stairs

Worth considering, depends on the additional costs

Do you have spare rooms? Basement?

Utility room and storage room around ground floor, no basement

If not, then I might rather do a gabled roof

Gabled roof looks ugly with the square floor plan, imho

I have an idea regarding the living room because I see a lot of unused space there. I sketched it for you; maybe it’s something for you: I would put the couch in front of the window and the wall unit/TV opposite, so you would have more space in the dining area when visitors come.

The living room becomes even smaller because of that :(

A sensible zoning is barely recognizable, the efficiency mediocre, and the adaptation to the plot probably not better.

A living room as a through room combined with a bedroom as a trapped room is very unfavorable: One partner has visitors, the other is sleeping and wants to use the toilet... not good.

The living-dining-cooking area is inefficient. Eating and cooking require a greater room depth, which then remains “left over” in the living area without real use. Square floor plans always require good planning of the (preferably) natural lighting of the corridors in the middle of the building.

Since the implementation of the user requirements hardly could have succeeded, it is questionable whether the shape of the floor plan meets the residents, the plot, and the other requirements.

WD

Unfortunately, I have to make sure the house remains affordable for me, and therefore I have to accept many compromises. Cost/benefit

Best regards
Thomas