2021 ᐈ

Projects for two-family houses are more difficult to design than a residential building designed to house members of only one family. Read about what you need to pay attention to when creating house drawings, how to work on the project and what is required for this in our study.

Project of a brick house for two families with awnings

Peculiarities

When building modern wooden or brick cottages, planning must be carried out especially carefully and correctly. This is necessary so that you can make the most functional use of the entire space of the room and at the same time feel freedom.

Before planning, you need to decide what the area of the house will be and how many floors it will have.

A feature of proper planning and construction is that it should take up little space on the site, but at the same time provide comfortable living, taking into account the wishes of all family members.

Nowadays, when planning, only new technologies are used to save space and other indicators, for example, energy costs. When planning a modern house, preference is most often given to rectangular houses with several floors. This way you can expand your living area by taking up less space on the site.

When planning, it should be taken into account that the most practical option would be with walls of the usual type without protrusions.

In addition, an attic is perfect, as it will save money on roof installation. Nowadays, a feature of the layout of modern cottages is that they are more and more often combined with garages. This will make you more comfortable because it will be easier for you to monitor the car. In addition, by combining buildings you can save area of the site.

In this case, the garage can be directly adjacent to the residential area, and if the area of the site allows, then you can make a small walk-through area for industrial purposes between them, equipping an installation office or something else there. In addition, you can place a living room above the garage, but you need to take into account that the garage must have separate ventilation.

It should be placed so that it does not interfere with the living space above. But it is best to allocate a terrace or other industrial premises when planning above the garage.

The location of all functional areas and rooms is calculated taking into account the cardinal directions. This way you can make the room brighter and warmer where it is needed. When planning a house, they think in advance about the possibility of expanding the living space so that the house can be built upward or to the sides.

The most undesirable, but acceptable option is to arrange the basement floor, where you can make your own gym or utility workshop.

Create a house plan in such a way that you do not have to do any redevelopment in the future. The layout will depend on the number of floors in the house, as well as its area.

The arrangement of a small house and the layout of the areas inside it will resemble a studio apartment, while the arrangement of a cottage can be more spacious and functional. One-story structures are cheaper than two-story ones, but they take up a lot of space on the site.

But two-story ones, although they save space, require that you think through your budget and the furnishings of all rooms in advance.

Any project of a house where a family will live must include a kitchen, living room, hallway, children's room, bedroom, as well as a bathroom, and more than one if the room has several floors. You also need to provide space for industrial premises, as well as for a guest room.

But the specific breading will depend on the composition of the family and how often you receive guests.

These zones can be divided or combined depending on the area of your home. When planning private houses, many abandon hallways, making instead a closed porch outside. This way you can make a more interesting layout and interior design.

Advantages of two-story houses

Most people, when building their own home, choose a two-story structure. There are several reasons for this:

The construction of two floors allows you to significantly increase the area of the house
Building a two-story house is significantly more economical than a three-story house
It is much easier to gather all family members, if necessary, from two floors than from three
All rooms in such a house are located within easy reach, so you don’t have to run from floor to floor
Such a house looks very solid and emphasizes the status of the owners
In this house you can allocate a separate room for each family member
Caring for and cleaning such a structure is much easier than in larger buildings

In addition to standard rooms, a two-story house can accommodate a large number of utility rooms. The layout of a two-story house with a garage will allow you to comfortably move into a car during the cold season, and the room itself for the car will not cause inconvenience.

On the ground floor you can also allocate separate rooms for:

Laundry room
Storerooms
Workshop
Music studio
Fitness room
Or for any other hobby.

Projects

A special feature of the layout of a private house is that you can independently set boundaries between rooms or even abandon them in some areas. But for this it is important to study the capabilities and functionality of some rooms, the rules for their location relative to each other.

Single storey

It is much easier and faster to build a one-story house than a building with several floors. In addition, you can choose absolutely any interior and layout, without adjusting to the number of floors of the building and without excluding a separate space for passage upstairs.

This is an excellent option for owners of large suburban areas, which is suitable even for a large family.

The most important part of such a house is the foundation, but it can have a lightweight structure, since there will be no floors other than the first. In addition, you will not have to strengthen the walls when planning, as is always necessary when planning multi-story structures. The choice of building materials will be limitless.

A one-story house can be easily extended to the sides if expansion is necessary. Therefore, it is considered the most universal design.

You will only need a staircase if you want to make a house with an attic, but at the same time it will be more compact and simple. Often the owners of such houses need to increase the area, but since not everyone has a lot of free space on their site, an attic is perfect. On it you can arrange a nursery, bedroom or dressing room with a storage room.

In addition, when planning, some consider the option of arranging the basement floor, where they place billiard rooms, storage rooms, a gym, and a recreation area.

You can even build a small house 7 by 8 m by making an additional area in the form of a basement floor. There may be a living area, but this may cause certain difficulties with lighting. Therefore, it is better to place a bedroom or even a kitchen there.

Some people, when planning such a small house, prefer to move all utility rooms to the ground floor. This breading option is suitable even for a small house measuring 4 by 6 m. For more spacious houses 10 by 12 m, you can provide both an attic and a ground floor at the same time. But for this, it is necessary to install a heating system into the premises and insulate them.

The attic does not allow you to use the area as functionally as possible, but you can place a living room, a library and even a bathroom there. Separately, a small garage can be built in such a house. A pantry or laundry room is installed in it.

In a one-story house, it is better to place all rooms sequentially in accordance with their purpose.

In addition, you need to properly implement communication systems. In this case, it is better to place the kitchen next to the bathroom. Wider spaces for imagination are provided by the layout and design of a large one-story house with an area of 100 square meters. m. Absolutely all functional areas can be provided in it.

An excellent solution for such a house would be to install panoramic windows, as they will fill the house with light and make its interior more elegant. Therefore, it is important to provide for their placement at the front of the house when planning.

Such a house will even fit a guest area and a study, and all rooms should be of impressive size.

It can provide a closed veranda or a terrace for relaxation. This layout of a one-story house will allow you to show creativity and make living in it more comfortable.

Double decker

A two-story private house should have some design features that distinguish it from a one-story structure. So, an important difference and feature of this layout is that it is necessary to find a place for stairs that will be located between two floors.

For large country houses, a spacious straight staircase of the classic type, made of natural wood, is suitable. But for a small country house it is better to use compact metal screw structures.

This staircase allows you to differentiate between the day and night areas.

In this case, the day zone is located on the first floor, and the night zone on the second floor. In addition, on the second floor you can place a dressing room and even a storage room. But if the inhabitants of the house are elderly people, then the bedroom in this case is located on the first floor, but the utility rooms are on the second.

In a 2-story house, you need to provide several bathrooms so that they are within walking distance from the central residential areas. Thus, they should be on both the first and second floors so that they can be conveniently used, including by guests. It is better to place bathrooms so that the entrance to them is not visible from the living room.

In addition, the bathroom near one floor should have a shower, and the bathroom on the second floor should have a bathroom. This way you can reduce water consumption.

The second floor bathroom should be located near the bedroom. The bathroom on the ground floor should have a guest character, that is, it is better to place a shower and some bath accessories, a sink, and a toilet in it. A similar room on the second floor can be larger and more spacious. It can accommodate a large bath and sauna.

In a two-story house, the main communication systems are located below. The boiler room is always located near the kitchen. But in some cases, the boiler room is moved to the garage if it is attached to the house.

The kitchen area is best placed below, as is the adjacent dining room. Near the kitchen there should be a small room for storing food - a pantry.

In addition, if the house has two floors, then there should be two dressing rooms: one near the bedroom upstairs, and the second downstairs, so that you can quickly get ready for work in the morning. On the second floor, next to the bedroom area, you can make a small laundry room, where you can install a washing machine, clothes dryer and ironing board. This way you can separate it and make it more invisible to guests.

Projects of houses sent for revision

Series of houses "Narostroy"

JSC Narostroy presented to the Architectural Council a series of panel houses in the form of a closed quarter. When designing, the architects-developers used the experience of their Finnish colleagues. But the members of the Architectural Council did not approve the project; some recommendations for improvement were given.

Features of the “Narostroy” series of houses

The facades are decorated in a restrained color scheme in three variants, with a non-standard geometric pattern, using Finnish seamless technology.
Reinforced plastic facades due to 50 mm insulation, which makes the facade visually more voluminous.
Different number of floors, 5 types of meridional sections: from 6 to 9 (step 3-330 m).
The entrances have dual entrance orientation: to the street and to the courtyard.
The balconies are glazed and protrude above the facade in a “column”; special boxes for air conditioners are located on them. If residents do not want to use this box for its intended purpose, they can simply use it at their own discretion.
This solution - placing boxes for air conditioners on the balcony, was critically assessed by the new member of the Architectural Council Valery Leonov, in his opinion this could interfere with the evacuation of people in case of fire.
Entrances from residential premises are oriented to the courtyard, and entrances to public premises are oriented to the street.
Joints of corner sections in the form of loggias (this design solution was borrowed from Finnish architects). According to Sergei Choban, this does not solve the problem of the uniformity of panel buildings, but is a clever design move that helps solve the problem of the massiveness of the corner. But developers must create either full-fledged corner sections in this case, or resort to more complex architectural solutions.
The yard is free of cars.
Variability in apartment planning can be achieved through openings in load-bearing walls.

Series of houses "LSR"

LSR LLC is engaged in construction based on its own production of building materials and components. And at the Architectural Council she presented her project of standard panel houses. But it was rejected, some critical remarks were made, and the project was sent for revision.

Features of the LSR series of houses

The use of seamless technology and an additional layer of insulation for facade design. This increases the level of sound insulation and prevents the formation of leaks. The facades themselves are varied due to the use of “false shutters” and their decoration with protruding rustications on the “wet” facade.
Variability in combining sections to form different building shapes: L-shaped, U-shaped or radial.
Rigid grid spacing with a value of 330 and 360 meters at load-bearing walls.
According to Andrey Bokov, the magnitude of such a step is rather a move backward in the design of the future; it is necessary to consider options for increasing the pitch of load-bearing walls. And in addition, he made the assumption that the development of rental housing is more promising in the conditions of the modern residential real estate market.
Different number of storeys of sections: from 7 to 25. Their typical variety: corner, meridional end.
The first floors are made in two versions: monolithic and panel with maximum glazing.
The presence of ramps and porches on the entrance groups of the first floors. This was critically assessed by Sergei Kuznetsov, because it contradicts the qualitatively new concept of designing panel houses, according to it, the lower floors with public areas should be without stairs/porch, which will help people with limited mobility to make it easier to enter/exit the building.
Fiber cement boards are used for false shutters, which makes the façade plastic more varied.
The upper floors are planned to be used for technical premises.
Transitional levels of balconies.

Transitional balconies with excessively bright color schemes of the facades do not help to increase the variety of architectural and design solutions in this series of houses, they are even redundant, and rather create the effect of oversaturation, according to Andrei Bokov. And Andrei Bokov did not see anything radically new in the presented project.

In addition, such houses, due to their operational characteristics, will be used until 2100, and literally in 10-20 years they are unlikely to be in demand. And the head of the Department of the Architectural Council, Evgenia Murinets, noted that multi-level balconies do not make the plasticity of the facade more diverse.

It became obvious that panel housing construction will be in demand for a long time, because it is in it that it is possible to achieve the necessary optimum in price-quality ratio when constructing comfortable housing, and its undeniable advantage is the construction period, which is incomparably shorter than when constructing a brick or monolithic house .

Over the past year, Moscow city planning authorities have had many complaints about the appearance of panel houses, which we have written about more than once. Among the approved projects, it is worth noting externally the houses of the DOMMOS and TA-714-001 series. The houses of the “RIK” and “NAD” series seemed boring in appearance due to their flat facades and evoked associations with panel houses of the last century.

The editors of the portal unanimously liked the stylish appearance of the Narostroy houses, despite the fact that the project was sent for revision. In any case, time and successful sales of apartments in buildings of a particular project will tell whether the new urban planning strategy is correct.

Which project of a new series of houses do you consider the most promising?

Design styles

Country houses are often decorated in a classic style. It involves a traditional design using calm, restrained shades and design solutions. For finishing it is better to use light colors and shades related to pastel colors.

Beige, sand, natural wood, milky, brown shades are perfect. For finishing it is better to use as many natural materials as possible.

Ceilings should be light to make the room appear taller. But it is better to finish the floor with natural parquet. In this case, you should use only classic prints or make the walls monochrome and decorate them with paintings. A striped print is acceptable for classics.

A special feature of this style is the presence of a large number of accessories. These can be paintings, elegant candlesticks, antique watches and beautiful figurines.

To decorate a room in an English style, you can use a Middle Ages theme. This is an excellent option for houses with a bay window or a round domed cottage.

From the outside, such a house should be elegant; it can resemble a castle. And inside everything should be filled with wealth and luxury.

This design option is more suitable for spacious private houses. In this case, large furniture with carvings and curly legs is used. To finish the floor you can use parquet, marble, artificial stone. For the walls, you can choose elegant wallpaper with silk-screen printing.

An abundance of accessories in the form of tall vases and large statues will fill the house with luxury.
Country houses are also decorated in country style. The design of such a rustic house interior may include a fireplace not only in the living room, but even in the bedroom. All furniture elements must be wooden. Brickwork is perfect for a fireplace. In this case, it is better to place it in the corner. It should resemble a large oven.
The beds are placed in the center, like the sofa in the living room. With this layout, most of the space is allocated to the bedroom and living room. Furniture should be simple and seemingly unfinished. It is better to use wood materials.

Private houses can be filled with light by decorating them in Provence style. It involves the use of shades related to pastel colors and light, unobtrusive patterns on floral themes. White should be used where possible.
A private house can be decorated in a modern avant-garde style. It is a combination of bright color accents. Zoning in this case is carried out with color. In this case, it is better to use as many glossy surfaces as possible.
It is permissible to combine rooms with different purposes into one and divide such a spacious room into different zones using floors of different levels. Moreover, the difference between them can be significant.
It is better to use interesting and quirky furniture; natural leather upholstery is perfect. In this case, the main color should be a light and calm shade, but it must be complemented by bright contrasts.

If you want to highlight a certain area, you can use coverings with geometric or abstract prints to decorate it, and in this case you can even use the ceiling.

It is better to decorate all rooms in the same style. This way you can create a harmonious layout and create a feeling of a single space.

The use of several styles, even in small quantities, within one, even a large house, makes its interior too colorful and visually reduces it. Directions can be mixed and combined, but then the resulting composition must be used in all rooms.

Exterior of houses

Photo: DSK-1 press service

The innovative high-rise buildings "DomNad" made stained glass entrance doors and windows of the first floors recognizable. Each of the houses has a variable external design, which is achieved primarily through the use of multi-colored tiles for cladding the external walls. However, the color scheme is moderate, and the upper part is made in classic white. The maximum height is seventeen floors, the minimum is nine. It is planned to build complexes based on the principle of variable number of storeys in areas where such a solution is considered appropriate.

As in many other modern buildings, there are separate places for installing air conditioners to ensure that the original aesthetics of the facades are preserved after occupancy. Otherwise, after a certain amount of time, the appearance of the facade would undergo negative changes as a result of the owners’ independent installation of air conditioners in random places.

Photo: DSK-1 press service

This is extremely important, because the main “highlight” of the series is often called the unique exteriors, which are distinguished by flat external forms, a variety of decorative elements and harmoniously planned loggias. A similar, but smoother facade can only be seen in new buildings from another series of the same company - “DomRik”.

The first floors of innovative houses, the height of which reaches 3.3 meters, have an interesting open layout, the so-called “mixed type”. There is a panel part with internal load-bearing floors, as well as a “monolith”, which allows you to easily plan retail premises, cafes and various public services. Stained glass entrance groups are created in compliance with the principle of a “barrier-free environment”, which significantly facilitates access to the premises for people with disabilities. Bulky railings and high steps cannot be found here - accordingly, there is no need for ramps.

There are loggias in the DomNad high-rise buildings, but they form a single plane of facades. Having abandoned the use of stained glass on balcony spaces (which were widely used in previous series), the DomNad developers decided to replace them with cold panels, which are extremely difficult to dismantle. This will help avoid inconsistency in façade design, traditionally introduced by particularly creative residents.

The developers of the series insisted on enlarged windows with low sills, which adds light and comfort, and also creates a feeling of wider space. To increase the variability of façade plastics, additional hanging balconies are used in some places.

Who is it suitable for?

Not only relatives should consider a duplex as housing. This option is suitable for friends or those who are ready to live in one apartment themselves and offer the other for rent. In addition, many families prefer to build two separate apartments at once with an eye on the future of their children, who are provided with housing in advance.

A huge house with many rooms does not have this advantage, and the construction costs are approximately the same as a duplex.

Preparation

Let's look at some of the nuances that need to be taken into account at the stage of planning a home.

There must be harmony and symmetry of both halves of the house, this will make the structure whole. Achieving this is not always easy, especially if buildings of different sizes and separate entrances are planned.
The common communications line, which is divided into two parts in the house, will require the coordination of future neighbors.
Layout. It is necessary to create a visual project that will show absolutely all the rooms of both apartments. A drawing version of the facade and adjacent area is also required.
Materials. Here it is important to come to a common decision; most often houses are built from SIP panels, foam and cinder blocks, timber, and brick. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, so even at the stage of drawing up the project, you need to agree on what the duplex will be made of.

Schemes and materials

An important part of the future project is the choice of materials from which the duplex will be built. Traditionally, the following materials are chosen for construction:

brick house;
cinder blocks;
wooden beam;
foam blocks;
SIP panels.

These materials have proven themselves well in the construction of residential buildings in different regions of our country; they are affordable and can be easily purchased. Each of the materials has its pros and cons. Let's take a look at some of the types that are gaining popularity among middle class consumers.

The simplest type of construction is a frame house. To make a house, wooden beams and sandwich panels with insulation are used. It can be placed on a regular columnar foundation, since the load on the base will be insignificant. The advantages of a cottage of this type of construction are that it can be assembled in a short time without involving qualified specialists.

Ready-made timber house project for 2 families

In addition, owners buy ready-made parts that manufacturers can customize to fit an existing project. Another good thing about a frame house is that it can always be completed like a construction kit. As children grow up and start their own families, it will be possible to add new rooms to the main premises.

Among the disadvantages that a frame house has, we note its relative fragility, in addition, the cost of additional insulation if it is located in an area with harsh winters.

However, this is the most profitable construction of an economy class house that 2 families with average income can afford. This type of construction, such as a house made of timber for 2 families, is also in demand among customers. Such a project and drawing of a house is more time-consuming in terms of assembly time, and also requires certain skills in construction. It is better to place it on a strip concrete foundation, since wooden houses are heavier than their frame counterparts.

Layout of a strip foundation for a wooden house

Having made a choice in favor of building from timber for 2 families, the owners need to take into account that the materials must be dried and treated with special compounds before starting construction:

from insects and pests;
from mold and fungi;
from fire.

Principles of room arrangement

In order to make the correct layout of a private house, it is necessary to take into account some important principles. So, first of all, you need to divide the entire interior space of the house into two large groups:

residential;
economic, non-residential.

The living area is divided into day and evening. After this, all these rooms must also be divided into children's and adults and guest areas must be separately allocated. According to this principle, the day zone should consist of:

corridor;
hallway;
living room;
dining room;
verandas.

The night zone should include:

bedroom;
dressing room;
additional bathroom (if the area of the room allows).

As for the non-residential - economic zone, this part of the house includes:

kitchen;
pantry;
garage;
workshop room;
toilet.

When choosing the right rooms and dividing them into day and evening zones, it is necessary to take into account the position of the sun and the placement of windows, as well as the view from the window. The next principle is to reduce the size and number of corridors and wide passages. This is due to the fact that the presence of large non-residential spaces reduces the cost of the cottage significantly.

It is better to get rid of them by creating walk-through areas or using a large room as one common room with different functional areas, introducing less pronounced zoning in it.

Based on this principle, you can make a study in the bedroom or living room, and combine the kitchen with the dining room or living room. If there is not much space in the house, this principle should be fundamental. That is, it is better to abandon the halls and make continuous rooms such as the kitchen, dining room and hall. Near them you can arrange an entrance hall with a small corridor.

Another principle of good planning is the allocation of separate rooms for couples and children.

It is also customary to arrange one common room where all family members could gather together. If you plan to accommodate guests, then it is important for you to allocate a guest bedroom in advance, which can serve as a study or relaxation room in your free time.

The next principle is to place the family separately in a house if several generations live in it.

It is better to provide for this purpose different bathrooms and bedrooms and separate entrances to these areas. This way you will correctly delimit a private house. In addition, it is important to consider that if elderly parents live with you, it is better to place them on the ground floor.

The next principle is the arrangement of two entrances to the house. One door should be central at the entrance to the site opposite the gate, and the second should be located on the back side of the house, where the terrace is usually located. It should only be used by the owner of the premises. This way you don’t have to go around a large house to enter it from the site.

If you do not want to comply with this principle, then you can make a separate entrance, placing it at the end so that you can easily enter it from any side.