Floor plan tips for a single-family house with a desired granny flat

The idea that they access the granny flat through our apartment is not desired.

But that's what they do? Or am I missing something?

It should remain a separate entrance.

Where is that supposed to be? There's only a window marked downstairs?

Price estimate according to architect/planner: 450,000

Not even close. I roughly counted a solid 225m2 of living space, which is about 563,000 euros, plus additional construction costs including above-average earthworks. There's easily a 6 in front... and nothing low behind it.

Regarding the floor plan: no idea what else can be changed, so whether is right, I have no idea. But the incredibly large hallway area, due to the straight staircase, is painful...

Why air instead of storage? Where do you store all the stuff that accumulates? I see neither garage nor basement storage room.

The two staircases on the ground floor naturally take up a lot of space, and for this house size, a straight staircase is not optimal. A straight staircase looks great, but we will also forgo it, as there are simply better solutions for an average floor area.

It is difficult to find a good solution that provides both parties with the necessary privacy while also saving space.

Would an entrance from the outside to the granny flat be conceivable? Then the straight staircase could be removed, and where the staircase to the granny flat is now, a landing staircase could be installed. This would open up the entire ground floor and the layout could be reconsidered. Of course, the upper and lower floors would also need to be addressed again.

But first, you should be clear about which path you want to take. Because the building application has already been submitted. Either submit a new one or leave it as it is.

The budget has already been mentioned. It is far from sufficient. So rethink this point as well.

About 25 percent of the floor area for air and traffic routes,…? You can do that in a 400 sqm villa. Through your planning, you have the usable area of a townhouse, with all the usual bottlenecks.

The question is really what you can and want to change at this point in time. Do you have a [GU Vertrag] with fixed costs? I also consider the budget extremely questionable or simply impossible. That would give me the biggest headaches. Otherwise, you will have a massive storage problem at the latest from the second child. The airspace is a luxury you cannot afford due to the size limitation.

What I also notice, what is poorly planned but can be changed by briefly moving walls and relocating doors: the corridor of the seniors in the basement is also used by you. I don't find that appealing – the seniors basically have no privacy. What if they want to go from the bathroom to bed in the evening while you are still working down there in the utility room? Overall, I would refrain from a "small change": a design stands or falls with the stairs. If there are still major changes, rough shifts, and so on, it will be disastrously worsened. Then nothing fits anymore, not even the structural integrity, which is also approved through the building permit. I would file a change request for the windows. This is usually approved without extra waiting time. Or you turn everything upside down (see budget). Then a year is wasted, but well invested. With the budget planning, I do not see the success you envision. Or are the seniors contributing something? Their apartment maybe?

Regarding the floor plan: no idea what else can be changed, so whether @11ant is right, I am at a loss. But the incredibly large hallway area, caused by the straight staircase, hurts...

Straight stairs cost circulation space, square floor plans produce empty-calorie living space, at least the top priority of symmetry was abandoned here. Nevertheless, a u100-floor-area "urban villa" is a very ambitious framework. Textures can generally still be adjusted during the approval process, yes, but: if nothing "remains standing" except the outer walls, the building authority will politely inform you that they can also fool themselves, and the approval process basically starts all over again.

The air space is a luxury you cannot afford due to the size restriction.

"Luxury" would be a enjoyment beyond means, but an air space in a "urban villa" size S is not enjoyment at all, but merely a guitar hole without strings. Builders with no knowledge of acoustics often think this symbolically very important "we rescued this into our means" dream house feature costs them "only" the lost storage room floor area. But as you can already see from the desired area exchange, you create a problem for yourself. By the way, for the effect of the dishwasher unloading concert, it makes no difference whether the sound comes from the left or from the right. What still doesn’t reach the teenager at his gaming console thanks to headphones is the call to dinner ;-)