Floor plan single-family house ~165m² plus basement

Hello everyone,

my wife and I purchased a plot of land last year and now want to start the construction project. Over the past few weeks, I have spoken with 4 general contractors and obtained offers. In the coming weeks, I want to commit to one general contractor; currently, 2 are shortlisted. Several floor plans have been created, and I have uploaded the one we like best here. The floor plan is still without furniture, but as soon as we have decided on a general contractor, I would finalize it with the general contractor/architect unless a better floor plan appears.

Of the 2 general contractors shortlisted, one offers a planning contract for the HOAI service phases 1-4. The other unfortunately does not offer this, so we will commission a separate architect. (HOAI 1-3)

Since I have been following several discussions in the forum for a while, I am interested in your feedback on the floor plan. This is our first time building; I have gathered experience through seminars from the Homeowners Protection Association and the House Building Forum.

Development plan/restrictions
Plot No. 194
Plot size: 680m²
Slope: yes, falling about 1-1.5m from the access road
Site coverage ratio 0.4
Floor area ratio N/A
Building window, building line and boundary: see blue line in development plan, probably 12.95m x 20m
Edge development 3m
Number of parking spaces 1 to 2
Maximum number of floors 2 full stories
Roof shape no specification in the development plan

Requirements of the builders
Style, roof shape, building type: single-family house, gable roof as a purlin roof if possible
Basement, floors: 2 full floors plus basement
Number of people: 5 people, of which 2 adults and 3 children
Office: home office room
Overnight guests per year: none or at most 1 to 2
Open kitchen, kitchen island: yes, open kitchen but kitchen island not necessarily required.
Number of dining seats: 6
Fireplace: no
Balcony, roof terrace: not necessary
Garage, carport: single garage to be placed on the east side and at least 2 additional parking spaces on the northwest side of the property

House design
Who designed it:
- Design by a prefabricated house provider

What do you particularly like? Why?
We think the look of the house with the bay window is chic. Overall, we find everything we need, e.g., pantry, relatively spacious dining area with living room, 3 children's rooms and an office.

What don’t you like? Why?
The staircase could be somewhat farther from the entrance but is acceptable. The bathroom design still looks unfinished.

Price estimate according to architect/planner: €620,000 excluding incidental construction costs (without price negotiation)
Personal price limit for the house, including equipment: €650,000 excluding incidental construction costs

If you have to do without, which details/expansions
- can you do without: the things we can do without are already removed, e.g., dressing room and storage room.
- cannot do without: 3 children's rooms, pantry, office, half-landing staircase, basement

Why did the design turn out as it is now? For example,
Design by planner according to the following specifications:

[*]House with basement:

- 2 full floors or 1 1/2 with a high knee wall (e.g., 180)
- We are flexible about the roof, gable roof with purlins is nice or also hipped roof or flat roof
- Ground floor + upper floor should be 165sqm to 175sqm

[*]Ground Floor:

- open kitchen + living room + dining area
- guest bathroom with shower
- entrance area should be usable for 5 people (closets for shoes)
- pantry
- study that can later be used as a bedroom in old age
- dining area close to the kitchen
- kitchen and dining area should be near the terrace

[*]Upper Floor:

- 3 children's rooms (2 rooms at least 15sqm and 1 room at least 12sqm)
- bedroom with dressing room or without, depending on what fits better in the floor plan
- possibility of a laundry chute would be great but not mandatory
- preferably no children's bathroom
- bathroom at least 10sqm, better 12 to 14sqm depending on the floor plan

[*]General:

- staircase should not be located in the dirty area of the entrance. Comfortable stairs would be great, so the best would be a half-landing staircase
- space for a single garage on the property, i.e. no double garage
- access from the garage to the pantry would be nice but not mandatory
- no gallery
- no winter garden/glass extension
- dry access from the garage to the front door is not necessarily required

What is the most important/fundamental question about the floor plan summarized in 130 characters?
Can the staircase be placed farther from the entrance?
What do you think about making the windows narrower in the bathroom, master bedroom, and office? (Sill height)
Are the basement windows well placed, especially at the terrace?

Attached is the cut of the house.

Very simple, which does not have to be a disadvantage. I personally find the entrance a bit narrow. That wouldn't be so bad, one can live with it. However, one should be aware that the wardrobe niche is only 40 deep and therefore no wardrobe fits in. For a neatly nice hallway, however, a wardrobe would be very advantageous. Unfortunately, there is no room left for a chest of drawers. As a perfectionist, the shifted line of sight from the stairs, dining area, and bay window bothers me. In the upper floor, I would personally enlarge the hallway a bit in the bedroom, where I currently don't see space for a 3-meter "family wardrobe" spontaneously, and also for that reason. That does not immediately create a tight space upstairs, plus it then offers a wardrobe niche in the bedroom. However, I wouldn't know how you want to place the bed. The floor-to-ceiling window interferes with that. The bathroom has potential. I would neglect that for now. I am interested in the other drafts. Show them to me. Maybe we see much more potential for optimization?!

So I have to ask a really silly question: Where did the slope go? Can you give more precise information about the terrain? Many federal states offer geoportals where you can also query the contour lines for your property.

This is a solid design for a flat plot. So I first assume that the general contractor is filling it in. When building with a basement, it’s a pity about the lost light option. Also expensive and the house often doesn’t fit well into the plot. Of course, it depends on how the building site behaves. On top of that, he placed the basement windows by the terrace here. That’s somehow clumsy or still undeveloped. Understandable if it’s just about an initial selection process. Therefore, I’m not sure if it makes sense to start the floor plan discussion with this design.

I wouldn’t have the "Monk-pains" regarding sight lines from Yvonne. What bothers me more is the slalom from the front door to the kitchen. When a wall appears that stands uselessly in the room, something is usually wrong.
I would also find more closet depth in the wardrobe important. If you don’t want to give up width in the house, I would probably make the staircase a bit narrower and push it along the walls until the 60 cm closet depth fits.
But all that is obsolete if it’s more sloping than expected and you build with the slope instead of against it.

So I have to ask quite simply: Where did the slope go?

True. I have omitted the slope because of the simplicity of the floor plan. It is no longer visible in the section either. It will probably be filled in? The origin would be interesting, maybe the basement could be used better.

A full-size wardrobe must definitely fit into the niche in the hallway, 5 people need storage space for shoes and jackets. I didn’t notice that it’s only 40cm. Thanks!

You’re right, we should first clarify whether we build with the slope or against it. My neighbor (plot 193) to the west is definitely filling up, and his garage is not on our west side. So if I fill up my west side like that, we have a nice free area, but overall it is quite a steep hill. I took some pictures of the property for you and the others where you can see how much my neighbor is filling up, with us it should be only minimally less. I also tried to visualize the slope on a sheet of paper, I hope it helps a bit. I know how to access the geoportal but not where to find the contour lines there, can you or someone else help me with that?

If it’s okay with you, I would first not show the other floor plans because of the slope issue. By the way, the slope is not visible in the section because it was only about an initial selection process. Basically, the floor plan is a marketing drawing. Overall, I find it very difficult to find good floor plans with 3 children’s rooms, so I was already glad to have this one.