Looking to self-build a multi-generational home? Here are a few factors you’ll need to consider when it comes to the design process...
One of the best benefits of multi-generational homes is that they provide the space to bring your family together where it counts. Keeping communal areas, such as the kitchen and main living area, open plan can help everyone to feel connected. Incorporate different levels, add countertops to the kitchen, and use room dividers to break up the space.
Multi-generational homes shouldn’t mean you’re living on top of one another. As well as providing rooms to spend time together, you’ll need spaces for privacy. Along with bedrooms, it can help to have additional “retreat rooms” for family members to enjoy their own company. This could include separate living spaces for different generations, as well as a playroom for children.
If you’re living with or caring for elderly relatives, multi-generational homes need to be made accessible for all. Ensuring there is a larger-size, ground-floor bathroom with a walk-in shower and grab-rail for elderly family members to use is an absolute must. Go for extra-wide doorways and staircases, with room for stairlifts, if needed.
Bedrooms for elderly relatives should also be on the ground floor. This not only makes the rooms more accessible, but also more distant from the noise of children's bedrooms and playrooms on other floors.
When you’re living with multiple generations of your family, it’s only natural that a little bit of compromise will be required. For one thing, you’ll need to be flexible about how you make use of space. Different generations will have different needs, and to avoid going over-budget, it can help to create multi-purpose rooms within the home. That might mean your reading room also doubles up as Grandma’s crafting space, for example.
Every family member will naturally have different ideas about what they’re looking for in a multi-generational home. That’s why it’s important to stay in close communication with your architects, so you can work together to finalise a design that suits everyone.
Don’t lose sight of the potential of your outdoor spaces too. Garden rooms and offices can provide extra opportunities for space and privacy in a multi-generational home. If you can obtain planning permission, you could even build an additional dwelling in your back garden for relatives to live in.
Extending your communal space outdoors also makes your indoor living space feel more open, especially when you link the two via large windows and bi-folding doors.
Ready to self-build your own home for multi-generational living? First, you’ll need architects who understand how to create show-stopping homes that every generation will love.
That’s where CODA Bespoke comes in. As award-winning, RIBA-accredited architects, our Sheffield team are best-placed to create the home you’ve always dreamed of. To embark on your self-build journey, contact our expert team today.
