Not here, the house is too small for that. Here I would switch where you planned the landing.
Yes, of course you can consider that. Replacing the landing staircase with a half-turned one provides a bit more space around the stairs without significantly changing the character or room layout. By the way, here is an excerpt from my clever low-budget construction book about stairs. Including traffic areas, interestingly, the quarter-turned staircase even takes up more space than the landing staircase if you don’t completely cover the ceiling opening (which of course you can do, so perhaps the graphic only tells half the story).
Yes, the wardrobe is really tight. The straight staircase indeed takes up a lot of space. If you turn it around and go up from the living room, then there is also space for the wardrobe. But that opens up the floor plan much more radically. The long paths upstairs remain, of course, and it’s also further to the front door.
Oh yes, good idea. I’ve seen that sometimes too. I somehow find it cozy when the staircase is connected to the living space, so I will definitely try that! Wardrobe then under the stairs.
Taking a staircase here as an eyecatcher is fatal. You are not working out for yourself that your children become independent and contribute not only to family life but also gain their own dynamic. They should also feel a personality inside the house.
Um, well, I think my children’s personality development is influenced more by genetic disposition, our upbringing, and further socialization through friends, school, etc. than by the orientation of the staircase in our house . But maybe I didn’t quite understand you correctly?
Sometimes a 30 cm closet is enough for you, now it is not. If you only have 2 jackets per person, that is enough. ...
I have planned more than 2 m of wardrobe closets with 40 cm depth in all floor plans. Part of it as a shoe bench (80-100 cm), the rest as tall cabinets. Only in the floor plan with the straight staircase is there no wardrobe at all, because I simply didn’t know where to put it. Just placing it next to the stairs looks ugly... but turning the stairs around would definitely be an idea!
I don’t want to talk you down, but if you want it generously airy and that on a small space, you need storage area to keep some things out of sight and untidiness hidden. Airiness doesn’t help if everything is messy everywhere. A free wall brings more openness than a free corner piled with junk!!!
My list ( )
But what do I want to get at here? At the other everyday things.
And therefore you need storage space for living in a house for:
Brooms, mop with bucket, vacuum cleaner, hand vacuum, window cleaner, laundry dryer rack for wool/sports/handwash, dirty laundry bin (some have three!), space for ironing board + iron and basket with clean laundry, washing machine, dryer (that can also be stacked), cleaning agents, electrical kitchen appliances (fondue set, roaster, fryer, baking molds, clay pot, champagne cooler), empty + filled canning jars, freezer or beverage cooler, shoe cleaning kit, recycling bag, beverage bottles (case water, beer and juice) a few supplies like onions and potatoes, bags and sacks for shopping or gift wrapping, decorative stuff (2 boxes Christmas decorations, 1 box Easter, 1 box general), wrapping paper, office binders, stationery, office supplies, kids’ crafts stuff (window paint, acrylic paint, brushes, jars of color), red light lamp, medicine, photo equipment, hobby stuff (badminton set, fishing rod and such must stay outside), manual tools, drill, cordless drill, a few paint buckets, white paint, brush and roller, electrical stuff, light bulbs, batteries, vases, spare cutlery and dishes, picnic basket, small/large step ladder, 2-3 flowerpots and fertilizer, empties, dog food, cat litter box, 15 liters emergency water, sewing machine, fabric scraps, sewing basket, plant sprayer, suitcase, travel and sports bags, cooler bag, carpet and tile scraps, etc.
You can probably scratch off 2-3, but very likely I forgot something.
Wardrobe:
Man: work jacket, safety jacket, sports jacket, garden jacket, usual jackets for all seasons (biker jacket, all-door jacket, blazer, winter jacket, leather jacket, various shoes, headwear (cap and co)
Child: fewer jackets, but rubber boots, outdoor boots, sports shoes, indoor shoes, 2 pairs change shoes, sandals, ballerinas,...
Woman: winter jacket, winter coat, transitional jacket, summer blazer, summer coat, cardigan, fleece and garden jacket, going out jacket, etc... (Shoes one better not start here...)
Seasonal things like scarves and hats for all
Bags: see storage, plus sports bags for all residents, backpack, work bags, shopping bags, and the woman’s handbags...
Well, I think we simply have very very different opinions about storage and openness. Totally fine, to each their own. I am even fascinated by how different lifestyles there are on this topic. I don’t know how many of you, for whom storage is so important, have already lived in big city apartments. Usually you have much less space there and still manage everything. From the list above, we don’t have a lot and will never have it (champagne cooler, fryer? emergency water? spare cutlery and dishes?), everything else is naturally mentally planned and distributed in the floor plans. I’ve said it before, at the moment we have all cleaning supplies, old and deposit glass, shopping bags, flowerpots, tools, cordless drill, sander, stew pot, bike accessories including floor pump, electric grill, cat litter and accessories in a built-in closet measuring 1.40 x 2.20 m. All camping gear including 3 sleeping bags, 2 tents, 2 sleeping mats, dishes and stove is in a bed drawer. Our travel bags lie flat on the upper shelves of the wardrobes. So you can hide quite a bit nicely away . And of course I also want it tidy. I believe, à la Marie Kondo, you can combine both: don’t accumulate much useless stuff, regularly declutter, organize stuff well.
I just attached once again as an example the floor plan from my architect friend’s house in Lokstedt and two photos of the stairs. It has approx. 140 m², depending on whether calculated by DIN or WoFV. So it is definitely possible. And we are not the only ones who cope with less storage space.
Since the desired house is supposed to be rather elongated: how about tidying up a semi-detached house floor plan a bit?
Yes, I have already thought about that, but in semi-detached houses the garden side is usually the short side, but for us it is the long one. Therefore most floor plans cannot simply be transferred.
For me, none of the floor plans would do, since the hallway upstairs is bigger than most rooms and the bathroom is quite small.
Shoe piles in the entrance ruin every generous floor plan.
With only 2 pairs of shoes per person that is 8 pairs.
The house won’t be a villa and therefore one has to swallow some frogs. I would reduce the rooms and work with custom-made furniture.
For example staircase cupboard, office cupboard and sewing cupboard. There are nice examples on Pinterest.
Large sliding door between dining and living, so that 2 rooms can be created if needed.
Ground floor wardrobe, utility room, stairs, all-purpose room separable by sliding door. At least 1 additional function like sewing
Upper floor 2 children’s rooms, bedroom with possibly 2 additional functions, bathroom, possibly with washer/dryer
Take a look at Fingerhaus in Langenhagen/Hannover. Too big, but entrance/stairs/cooking/dining are almost one unit. Feels very open, inviting and the living room offers retreat without being sealed off.
The Fingerhaus really has a nice floor plan, I like it a lot. But it is way too big. I don’t know if it can be implemented 30 m² smaller. We also want to avoid front and rear recesses because of the higher costs.
The hallway upstairs is indeed very large, and I would like to reduce it in favor of the rooms. However, I can’t manage that so the doors from the hallway still work... maybe I have a mental block there. A large bathroom is also not particularly important to us. For us it is more of a functional room, which should of course be designed with nice materials so that you feel comfortable. With the large hallway upstairs, there is of course some free space for a potted plant and my boyfriend’s yoga mat .
But exactly, if anyone has concrete suggestions where storage can be cleverly integrated and walls can be shifted without losing the open floor plan character, I am very grateful. But I would really be glad if no more comments like "you have way too little storage" or "I wouldn’t want to live so openly" come up. I have already explained several times that we want the character like this. Maybe someone who also likes to live more openly can give us tips?
Currently we are strongly leaning towards the floor plan with the landing staircase next to the front door (attached again). My boyfriend doesn’t want anything behind his back, apparently the sound system in the living room bothers him.
