Creating A Multigenerational Home - Video

Posted By Roger Holloway @ Oct 14th 2017 10:23am In: 55 Active Adult Homes

Charlotte NC Multigenerational Homes and Living

A long time ago, families tended to live together. A building could house you, your kids, and your parents (if not other relatives as well). Somewhere along the line, this changed. It became normal for your parents to live separately, even if that meant a nursing home or retirement community. And your kids are not supposed to come back to live once they move out.

While there are advantages to this arrangement, things are beginning to change back. Many families are starting to find the advantages of a multigenerational home. But this is more than just your parents and kids living under one roof. Read on to learn more about multigenerational homes and how you can create one.

Why MultiGenerational Homes Are Popular

To put it simply, a multigenerational home is one where more than one generation lives there. Technically, just having your kids at home means it’s multigenerational. However, this term has come to mean having more than two generations. This often means your parents live there too, but it can mean uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, or nephews as well.

However you define it, everyone resides in the same house. They’re not staying for a few weeks. Instead, your place becomes their home for however long it needs to happen.

Why are these homes on the rise? The New York Times reports that it’s often due to the economy. As people lost jobs and savings in the Great Recession, they needed a way to save money. For young adults, that often meant moving back in with mom and dad. But as seniors were hit by the economy just as hard, many also moved in with their adult children.

What Your Floor Plan Should Include

If you want to create your own multigenerational home, you’re going to need more than just invitations. It can be hard having three generations under one roof, which is why you need to focus on a floor plan.

ArchivalDesigns.com explains that you will need some flexible spaces in your home. That means rooms with several uses depending on your family’s needs. For example, a home office can also turn into a bedroom, a reading room, or a private place to watch some television depending on who needs to use it.

Beyond that, you also will need bedrooms for everyone. You’ll probably want to have more than one bathroom as well since you’ll be having more people living in the house. And if your kitchen is small, you might look into expanding it.

Safety Tips When Renovating

As you think about the available space in your current home, you are probably thinking about renovations or even adding a new room. That can be a great way to turn your house into a multigenerational room. Before you do anything, US News & World Reports recommends answering four questions about home additions:

Get a consult from an architect before hiring builders. You need to make sure the addition is structurally sensible before making it.
Discuss the costs with your spouse. As a rule, a home addition will cost $200-$600 per square foot.
Explore different places to add a room. Adding one to the ground floor can save you money on the addition.
Talk to everyone about how noisy and inconvenient it will be before it’s complete.

You can do some of the work yourself, but be careful. DIY projects can be dangerous, which is why Redfin has an excellent article explaining some DIY safety tips like:

Wear the right clothes: Use eye protection, avoid loose clothes, etc.
Make sure a first aid kit is nearby.
Be careful when using a ladder and always keep is secure on all four feet.

Your Home Can House Them All

Having a multigenerational house can be hard at times, but there’s a reason why more families are having them: They work. Start by exploring different floor plans, and consider building a new addition to house everyone. This way, your whole family can live there and love it.

Guest Post by JIM VOGEL of Elder Action