Option no 1 :Classic bricks and mortor construction . 

Option no 2: Contemporary , timber or light steel  frame construction 

Before starting, it is important to clearly state the brief.

THE BRIEF is “to design a one-bedroom house that can be easily added onto at a later date.” This may be when funds become available, when you start a family, or when your circumstances change.

Many young couples would like to enter the housing market as early as possible, but simply do not have the financial means to build a larger home from the outset. A well-designed one-bedroom house can provide a practical and affordable starting point, while still allowing for future expansion with minimal disruption to the existing building.

This first blog focuses on the design and construction of that one-bedroom house . The aim is to create a small, well-planned home that functions efficiently on its own.

This approach may also appeal to those who are retiring and looking to downsize into a smaller, well-designed home that incorporates modern building methods, technologies, and appliances.

In this series of blogs, I will work through all aspects of designing and building your own one-bedroom house. Each room will be examined individually, with careful consideration given to room sizes and layout. As a general rule, the larger the house, the more expensive it is to build. For this reason, the focus will be on achieving the optimum size for each space, rather than simply making rooms as large as possible.

For the purposes of this project, it is assumed that the house is located in the Southern Hemisphere and is therefore designed to face north.

I will begin with what I consider to be the most important room in the house: the bedroom.

 

Now , Lets have a look at the bathroom .

 

The bathroom will have a 1800 mm long bath , a basin cabinet , a toilet and a shower with a minimum size of 1000 m x 1000 mm.

The width of the bath is critical here. If the bath you choose is a little longer , then the room will be a little wider . Because the size of the house is important here , I will work with the 1800mm bath and so the bath will sit snugly between the three walls .

You will notice that the dimensions of the bathroom are 3,595mm x 1800mm. That length is the same length as the bedroom dimension and I have done that on purpose. It would have been almost the same as the bedroom , but for ease of construction , I have made them the same.

The total area of the bathroom is 6,470 square meters.

 

Now lets put the bedroom and bathroom layout together . You will notice that the north to south interior wall,  runs in a straight line . That means it is easy to build and that will be important a little later on .

You will also notice that the bedroom has direct access to the bathroom and the bathroom is also accessible from the living area . This all means that there will be a bathroom en-suite but the bathroom is also accessible to guests through its own door .

The total area of the bathroom and bedroom combined is 19,910 square meters.

 

 

Now we need to think about the kitchen, dining and living area . The width of the house has already been determined , so we are going to work with that dimension .

The kitchen is going to be positioned opposite the bedroom wall and the kitchen will accommodate a 600mm x 600mm gas hob and oven , an extractor fan, a microwave oven a double bowl stainless steel sink and a dishwasher .

Now lets see how that will all fit in .

Note that we are restricted to the length of the eastern wall which is 2.700mm. That is because of the length of the wall in the bedroom , but there is no restriction on the length of the southern wall .

We will start in the corner with a 900mm x 900mm corner unit . The 600mm x 600 mm gas hob , oven and extractor fan sit next to it . Then we have a 700 mm 3 x pot drawer unit . With the space we have left , will allow for a 450mm pull out waste bin .

The microwave will sit on a shelf above the corner unit .

Remember our brief ! So I am not going to put any above counter units in at this stage .

Now going from east to west , I have put the 600mm x 600 mm dishwasher next to the corner unit , then there is a 900mm cupboard which will accommodate a double bowl sink . Then I have put a pull out 300 mm. I have worked on a 600 mm wide fridge . The height of the fridge will determine the design of the top units which we will look at , at a later stage . Then I have put in a 450 mm pantry unit .

I have tried to make this kitchen as compact as possible , knowing that we can add to it later.

With that all in place we have a wall length of 3,750mm.

Now lets look at the kitchen dining area.

 

The dining table will be as you would expect in a farm house kitchen and it will accommodate six to eight people bearing in mind the expected expansion later on.

 

Now lets look at the living area .

 

 

Before we do that, we have to consider the focal point of the room. That might be the TV or it might be the view outside , if you are lucky enough to have one . These factors will determine the position of the TV and the size of the couches and other seating .

For the purposes of this drawing I have made the focal point of the room the TV, with the secondary focal point, the view outside.

We also have to bear in mind the position of the house relative to the sun . Remember this is a north facing house in the southern hemisphere.

Note that I have drawn in a storage area next to the bathroom wall. This also now provides a screen wall to the bathroom , so that the interior of the bathroom is not visible from the kitchen/ living area. It will also serve another purpose at a later stage .

We now have space to position a work station off the kitchen area .

There is an outside door leading to the utility room, which will be shown on the next drawing . The front of the house has two large sliding doors leading onto the covered patio area .

The front door is positioned on the west wall which will be where the carport will be in the next drawing .

Now lets look at the Utility Room .

The purpose of the Utility room is to provide space for the washing machine and tumble dryer as well as an area to store the Lithium Iron solar batteries and the electrics that go with it . It will also be an area to store ” Stuff ” .

Now lets add the Utility Room to the main house .

 

 

You will notice that I have added the utility room next to the work station area . This means that you will be able to walk into the room from the main living area . I have also added a patio door off the living area to a back patio area . This will probably end up being where the cloths line will be , of where you will be able to sit and have evening drinks and watch the sun go down . Having a patio area on two sides of the house is always a good idea as it allows you to hide away from the the wind , the sun or your neighbors . This all depends on how the house is eventually position on the property . I have drawn in a carport at the side of the house , next to the front door .

TOTAL AREAS

MAIN HOUSE = 90,00 SQUARE METERS

COVERED PATIOS AND CARPORT = 59,00 SQUARE METERS

TOTAL FLOOR AREA – 149,00 SQUARE METERS 

That brings to an end this first blog . In the next one , we will look at construction and material options  and positioning the house on the property . 

Have fun!