Floor plans for a two-family house

Hello Kaho,

Thank you very much for your effort!! Your proposal is quite close to the version we were pursuing in parallel. (By the way, below is almost exactly south.)


My parents then slightly preferred the other version, which is why we had it developed by the architect. They were especially taken by the living room shape with the slanted southwest glass front.

I have to admit that I am not yet 100% convinced. Your concept also brings a few quite different variants into play that we will consider. Definitely good ideas, many thanks!

I would also be interested to know what fundamentally speaks against slanted walls. Is it purely a matter of taste, or are there also objective arguments? The situation in OG2 is similar. There, besides the slanted solution, we also discussed a rectangular variant:

As well as a semi-angled one:

The architect then decided on the completely slanted wall, which I would have actually chosen last of the three options.

By the way, my parents don’t need a tub in the ground floor bathroom, but want to accommodate a washing machine and dryer instead. However, for potential future rental, the subsequent installation of a tub should be possible. This could work, for example (corner tub):

Although I almost like your solution better.

Best regards,
Jim

too small, can it be bigger?

My parents slightly preferred the other option, so we had the architect develop it. They were particularly taken with the living room shape with the slanted SW glass front.

A matter of priorities. When I’ve tripped over my shoes for the hundredth time, the vacuum cleaner is constantly in the way, and I can barely get through the door past the winter jackets, eventually I don’t care about the glass wall. I think you can install something like that once you’ve already stored everything and still have space left. But of course, that’s totally subjective. If the dream is the slanted glass wall, then I’d build it that way. Who knows if the opportunity will ever come again for your parents. But maybe you could achieve a similar effect with a conservatory? (Oh dear, that keeps getting more expensive ) Your parents should live on the ground floor, right?

I’d also be interested in what is basically against slanted walls. Is it purely a matter of taste or are there also objective reasons?

No idea. Possibly just a matter of taste. For me, slants are always a compromise because of lacking space. Especially with doors. With slanted walls, furniture can’t easily be pushed all the way into the corner. In any case, the doors often bang into something or block pathways. Floor space often gets reduced as well, and all that stuff has to go somewhere. You can’t put everything in the basement.

Oops, it somehow got reduced. New attempt...


Building on your approach, one could fit a small pantry in the north of the kitchen and move the kitchen downwards. The entrance area would then actually be very large. A cleaning closet would certainly also fit there. Alternatively, the pantry could be converted into a guest WC (possibly later, with access then of course from the cloakroom). Something like this:


Since we plan to rent out the ground floor apartment later, it's not just about personal taste for me, but also about a sense of what is generally desired and what most people can do without. (Large entrance area? Bathtub? Pantry? Utility room on the same floor instead of the basement? Guest WC?)

As long as only my parents live on the ground floor, the entrance area is less critical. Firstly, their current one is similarly small and it doesn't bother them. Secondly, we can still install a coat rack in the stairwell, which we can for example use together as a coat rack when there are many guests (e.g. extended family)...

Oops, it somehow got reduced. New attempt...

So here the entrance area is too narrow for me. I also find the washing machine in the bathroom annoying. Overall, the bathroom is very small and not exactly a place to relax. The kitchen is also quite small, but pleasantly sized.

Here the entrance area is comfortable, but the kitchen is again a narrow corridor. Personally, I would also prefer a generous utility room. Yes, I know you have space in the basement for mops and so on, right? But no one likes to constantly go up and down for every broom, especially since you have to go through a "public" staircase.

Since we want to rent out the ground floor apartment later, it’s not just about personal taste to me, but also about a feeling of what is mostly desired and what most people can rather do without. (Large entrance area? Bathtub? Pantry? Utility room on the same floor instead of the basement? Guest toilet?)

So my ranking would be:
1. Large entrance area
2. Utility room on the same floor
3. Guest toilet
4. Bathtub
5. Pantry
Why don’t you do a survey? Let’s see what others say.

As long as only my parents live on the ground floor, the entrance area is less critical. First, their current one is similarly small and it doesn’t bother them. Second, we can still install a coat rack in the staircase, which we can, for example, use together as a coat rack for many guests (e.g., joint relatives)…

Hmm, yes sure. But remodeling later is annoying or very difficult. It’s better to find the best solution right now.

What I just thought of, since you have the stairwell running continuously, if you shift the furniture and windows a bit at the very top, you could relatively easily extend a chimney all the way through. Then you could even install a nice fireplace both downstairs and upstairs. That would be a "nice to have" for the upper floor as well.

Have fun with the architect!

What I also wonder is whether the door chaos on the 1st floor can be curbed by placing the door down in front of the stairs. Something like this:


Then at least one door and a few walls could be omitted, gaining space, air, and light. However, the sound insulation of the wall by the stairs would have to be considered.