13 Ways to Design Your Home For Multigenerational Living
What is Multigenerational Living?
It’s no secret that multigenerational living is becoming more common. This refers to a living situation where three or more generations of a family reside together. This could mean living with aging parents, adult children, grandchildren, and even partners.
Many families are discovering the benefits of living together under one roof. It’s important to design your home to accommodate everyone’s needs in a multi-generation household, ensuring that everyone has their own space.
From sharing expenses to providing emotional support, multi-generational homes can foster a sense of community and connectedness. If you’re considering designing your home for multigenerational living, here are 13 ways to get started!
1. Create a Common Area
One effective way to foster a sense of community in your multi-generational home is by establishing a shared space where everyone can come together. This area could be a living room, a family room, or even a designated spot in the kitchen. Having such a space will promote interaction and provide a central location for people to gather, socialize, and spend time together.
2. Customize Your Spaces
It is important to consider that each generation has its own needs and may desire its own living space. Design each space with a specific purpose in mind. For instance, consider having a separate TV room for the adults and a playroom for the kids. To ensure privacy and peace, create private living spaces for each generation.
This could involve a separate suite or apartment for elderly parents, as well as smaller bedrooms and bathrooms.
3. Add More Entryways and Exits
If more than one generation lives in your home, consider adding extra entryways and exits to make it easier for people to move around without disturbing each other. You can add a back door or side entrance that leads directly into the kitchen so that guests can enter through this room if they prefer not to use an interior door inside the house.
Additionally, creating multiple entrances from outside, such as sliding patio doors leading into different parts of your multi-generational home, can provide everyone with their own space and access when necessary. You could even add another set of stairs leading up from downstairs so that multigenerational families don’t need to use one staircase.
4. Make Your Home Accessible for All Ages
A multigenerational home must be accessible for people of all ages. This means adding ramps or railings in appropriate locations and removing any obstacles that could cause tripping hazards. You could even consider installing an elevator if your home has multiple stories.
The living space should be easy to navigate for everyone, whether they’re young kids or older adults with mobility issues, or both. It’s also important to ensure there are plenty of lighting options available.
Lighting can impact how people feel inside their own homes; make this area light up when it’s dark outside for a warm and welcoming feeling.
Have you considered smart lights?
These types of lights can be controlled remotely by phone or tablet, which means multi-generational families don’t need to worry about getting up at night to turn off the smart lights.
5. Create Separate Areas for Sleeping and Living
Create separate areas for sleeping and living; this will help avoid conflicts between family members and give everyone their own space.
You may want to consider having different floor plans or room layouts for each generation – this can be as simple as giving the kids their bedrooms on one side of the house while the older family members have their own bedrooms on the other side.
If you are short on space, try using dividers like curtains or screens to create more privacy in shared spaces.
6. Include Plenty of Storage Space
Another key element when designing multi-generational homes is adding plenty of storage space; this will come in handy for all of the extra stuff that comes with having more people living under one roof! You may want to consider adding built-in storage units or even just installing more cabinets and shelves.
Having plenty of storage space will help keep your home organized and clutter-free, which is always a plus, especially when multiple generations live together.
7. Create Outdoor Spaces for Gathering
One of the best things about multi-generational homes is that they often have plenty of outdoor spaces for gathering; this could be a patio, deck, porch, or garden where everyone can relax and spend time together.
These spaces are perfect for hosting barbecues, parties, and other get-togethers—it’s like having an extra living room! Plus, they’re a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather when it’s nice outside.
8. Think About Your Home’s Aesthetics
Consider your home’s aesthetics. It doesn’t mean that everything has to be matchy-matchy or super formal. Try to create a cohesive look throughout the house.
You might want to use the same paint colors in different rooms or choose furniture with similar styles. By doing this, you’ll help make your multi-generational home feel like one unified space rather than several separate areas.
9. Add Separate Spaces for Working and Relaxing
In addition to creating separate spaces for sleeping and living, you may also want to add separate areas for working and relaxing; this could be a home office or an extra living room where people can escape from their busy lives.
These additional spaces can be used for different purposes; the home office can be a place for older adults to work on their laptops, while the extra living room can be used as a playroom for kids.
Having these separate spaces will help keep everyone’s areas of the house distinct and organized.
10. Think About Your Home’s Layout
It’s important to consider the layout, which includes the number of floors and available rooms. Open floor plans can make it easier for everyone to move around.
If your home has multiple floors, consider designing living areas on one floor and bedrooms on another to make it easier for older family members or those with mobility issues to get around.
11. Make Sure There are Plenty of Amenities
Make sure there are plenty of amenities, adding things like a kitchen, dining room, laundry room, and bathrooms. By having these essential rooms in your home, you’ll make life much easier for everyone who lives there!
Plus, having a few extra amenities like a pool or hot tub to enjoy when the weather is nice is always nice.
12. Consider Your Home’s Climate Control Needs
When designing multi-generational homes, it is important to consider your home’s climate control needs. This means considering how much heat or air conditioning you’ll need throughout the year and where these rooms should be located.
For example, an upstairs bedroom might not get enough sunlight during the winter months, so installing windows on this side of the house could help keep things warm inside while letting natural light come through as well!
You may also want to install ceiling fans in areas that tend to get hot, like kitchens or bathrooms, because they won’t circulate cool air as effectively without them being present.
13. Make Sure There are Plenty of Bathrooms
Ensure there are plenty of bathrooms in your multigenerational home; it ensures everyone can use the bathroom at the same time without having to wait for each other. Plus, it’s always nice to have a few extra amenities, like a pool or hot tub, to enjoy when the weather is nice.
Final Thoughts
Creating a universally accessible home for all family members can be challenging, but strategic planning can transform your living space into a functional and comfortable environment. Consider multigenerational aspects in the design phase for adaptability. Design options include duplexes, townhouses, or triplex styles.
A common layout features a single-story structure with two bedrooms and an open living area on the ground level, while the upper floor includes a master suite and guest bedroom. Opting for a three-story layout can benefit families with children by providing a designated play area. Positioning room entrances towards the exterior maintains clear pathways.
Embrace multigenerational living to enhance your family’s experience.
