Is there such a thing as the perfect floor plan?
Salvador Dali once said: “Don’t be afraid of perfection – you’ll never achieve it” and the Spanish surrealist was not completely wrong. After all, striving for complete perfection sooner or later wears us down. In the end, everything can always be optimised. We would like to point out that this is, of course, always a subjective matter and can at best be philosophised about. However, we are not dedicating this article to philosophy, but to house building, or rather to the perfect floor plan. And as we know, quite different parameters count here. Mankind agrees that mathematics is used for the floor plan.
Nevertheless, we have to ask ourselves the question: does the perfect floor plan exist at all? Yes, it does exist, at least in terms of the floor area of the entire living unit. This should ideally be rectangular to square. Because a good floor plan does not waste space, but uses it optimally. After all, we have nothing to give away in terms of expensive land area.
What factors should be taken into account when planning?
Essential for the creation of the floor plan is first of all the development plan (if given), in which the room for manoeuvre is clearly defined. When it comes to the orientation of the house, the compass direction and especially the orientation to the sun play an important role. North, east, south and west – the orientation of a house is a factor that is often underestimated when planning the floor plan and thus for optimal habitability or use of the building. Sunlight in the morning or in the evening? This question is crucial. If you are an early riser and want to be tickled by the sun at breakfast, the dining area should be oriented towards the east or southeast. If you prefer to dine in the evening sun, then you cannot avoid positioning the dining room towards the southwest. In general, it is advisable to orient the dining room towards the south, as this makes it easier to use the sun’s energy in the bitterly cold winter months. If there are large openings facing south, static shading should be provided to prevent the rooms from heating up excessively in summer.
Morning person or night owl?
If you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning but have to get up early, you should orient your sleeping area towards the east. And if it is possible to sleep in at the weekend, shading systems play a significant role in this case, and not only in terms of cooling. A few points should also be taken into account when planning the kitchen. How will the kitchen be used? Only for cooking or also for eating or cooking together with family members or friends? For the latter, there should be enough space, possibly also for a cooking island. Bathroom and entrance area are often regarded as stepchildren, but these two areas in particular require special attention. A bathroom must be able to withstand the morning rush without causing annoying waiting times. Two washbasins and a guest WC are recommended for this purpose. At the latest with four residents, two bathrooms with WCs are needed.
A second hub in daily house traffic is the entrance area. Its importance is often underestimated and seen as a waste of living space. Yet the wardrobe needs space, especially if you like to have friends around or change winter and summer clothes. The heart of the house is often the living room. If you only have a limited amount of square metres available, planning is all the more important. On the south and east sides, it is advisable to have large windows. On the west and north sides, they can be smaller. But an open floor plan is also becoming increasingly popular with builders, especially when the kitchen, dining room and living room merge together.
With Archibrix to the perfect floor plan
Standardised floor plans would be an easy choice. But then you miss the ideal opportunity to design your surroundings according to your own needs. You should seize this opportunity and take the time to do so. It doesn’t cost much, but it brings with it the most important thing: quality of life. Nevertheless, it is important to consult an expert and work on it together. After all, architects deal with the perfect floor plan every day and there are many of them on our online platform Archibrix.
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