Urban villa 11.31x10.21 - 173 sqm

We had another meeting with the overall planner and overall site manager, and the opinion leaned towards too little utility room / too little storage space. We considered adding a basement or making the house somewhat larger. The preference is rather towards a larger house, and here is the current rough plan. Due to the development plan, we are forced to have a roof ridge with a minimum length, so a 25°/32° hipped roof will be placed on top. The whole structure will be designed as a simple truss construction and will serve as an additional, uninsulated storage space accessible via a floor-insert staircase. The staircase is a concrete staircase and will be closed off towards the utility room (above the stairs). The area underneath is fully usable as storage (top landing height approx. 2.21m, so just under more than 2m room height). Regarding technology, if interested, it is planned to have a brine heat pump + adjacent hygiene storage tank + controlled residential ventilation + insulation to achieve KfW55 standard. Washing machine/dryer are in the utility room; drying rack if needed in the guest room. A stroller should also be able to fit in the utility room if necessary. Whether garage or carport (space: next to utility room/living area) is still uncertain (or whether just a parking space and that’s it).





The upstairs bedroom and bathroom windows are rather intended as light strips. We are still unsure whether to have a window in the dressing room or not. All windows facing south are floor-to-ceiling windows.

The plot is a corner lot in a traffic-calmed zone (play street; no through traffic possible). Entrance side (north) as well as study/kitchen/dining area (east) are street sides. To the south there are 11m to the property boundary. On both sides of the property boundary there is a 2m planting zone (so from 9m to 13m from the south side), then (probably) a neighbor’s garden. To the west there are about 9 meters to the property boundary. There is no planting area there, so theoretically the neighbor’s garage could be located there (or on the other side). On these 9 meters, if needed, we can also arrange our garage/carport (development plan: garage/carport behind the building line of the house).

Roof in anthracite (concrete + coating) with a 40cm roof overhang plus titanium zinc gutter, window/door/side entrance door anthracite possibly a shade lighter towards gray, facade "modern beige", so very light but officially not white. Window sills aluminum anodized, terrace door/entrance threshold granite Crystal Padang. Base plaster/splash protection. Electric shutters everywhere, no venetian blinds.

There will probably be a laundry chute if it fits in the floor plan. The staircase will have side spots. The door has a side panel, this is also included in the floor plan.

Opinions on the floor plan are welcome. :)

Haven't we already discussed the floor plan? I don't particularly like this type of house - maybe I've just seen too many ;) The distance from the kitchen to the utility room is quite far, I find the cloakroom inconveniently far inside the house. I don't like the living room - the sofa is so extremely TV-oriented. Otherwise, it would be nice.

The sofa the other way around and there is no space for the lowboard. But we will probably plan power outlets/TV sockets on both sides or on all three sides.

What do you mean by "this type of house"?

Regarding the wardrobe: shoes would probably find their storage space between the WC door and the utility room door. Of course, the entire wardrobe could also be planned there... hmm....

Square, two-story. I just find square difficult. I think I would at least do it so that the TV wall is flush left - whether to provide everything everywhere, I would consider... 8 sockets, LAN and antenna are quickly around ~400 €. Alternatively - why not simply a window element flush left? (would also fit with the upper floor) I would not put a wardrobe in the center of the house - you do bring quite a bit of dirt inside and if you have children, five times as much and repeatedly. No one takes off their shoes at the door anyway (at least ours don’t).

I find the floor-to-ceiling windows right behind a sofa such a nonsense. Therefore, I would already consider whether not to place the TV wall on the left side and use the sofa as a room divider. It also separates the dining room a bit better.

Otherwise - it's fine. Partly tight and dark, but you just have to make compromises.

In the BEF, I wouldn’t even try anymore if I were you. Nothing sensible comes out of it anymore. For that, you are too easy a target for the DIY city villa haters.

Floor-to-ceiling windows behind the sofa are also a compromise, partly of course due to the symmetry from the outside. On the other hand, I can't imagine having "empty" space and the dining area behind me when I'm on the couch. Another idea would be to place a smaller (1 meter, single-leaf) window on the left and right and a very large window element in the middle.