Remodeling Your Home for Multigenerational Living

In today’s generation, it’s not uncommon for multigenerational families to be living under one roof. 

Over the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in families moving in with each other. Adults are taking in their aging parents to be able to provide them with better care and spend more time with them. Young couples are moving back home as they try to save up for a home. Young adults are staying home longer as a way to save money as they finish their college degrees. New grandparents are moving in with their adult children to help them navigate through the early stages of parenthood. As the housing market begins to increase, families are opting to move in together into a new home to be able to afford a larger home. With multiple generations living under one roof, your home can quickly become crowded if you don’t have enough space or the right use of space. However, with a few key design solutions, every generation can enjoy living together.

When you have multigenerational families living together, you need to have the right balance of space. For example, an open concept floor plan is a high priority for most homeowners’ wishlist, but you may want to avoid an open concept floor plan if you have all your family living together. If you have family members that enjoy watching TV at the same time your children are trying to do school work or while you’re working from home, you might run into some problems if you have an open concept floor plan. You need to have separation and privacy so that the person who’s watching TV isn’t distracting anyone else as they’re working on schoolwork or attending to office matters. 

Instead of having an open concept floor plan, consider widening the openings between rooms. For example, if you have a formal sitting room, living room, formal dining, and kitchen all within the same space, consider widening the case openings between each room instead of removing the walls to create an open concept floor plan. This will allow each family member to all be in the same space but still have a sense of privacy and separation to do what they want or need to do. Widening the openings between rooms will also give your home improved sightlines to make your home feel as if it has an open concept while having the right balance of compartmentalized rooms. 

In multifamily homes, you also need to consider multifunctional spaces or in-between spaces. If you have two living rooms in your home, you can convert one of your living rooms into a home office and gym studio. You can split the room into two small spaces by adding a divider or some french doors. One part of the room can act as a small home gym and the other part can act as a home office or homework space for your children. You can also add custom storage solutions for office supplies or your children’s workbooks and other school supplies. 

Another area you can use as a multifunctional space is a breakfast nook in the kitchen or in between your kitchen and the main living area. You can create a cozy sitting area with a small table and built-in benches that also double as additional storage to hold office supplies or school supplies. You can add cabinetry storage adjacent to the breakfast nook to store easy to reach snacks or drinks as you’re working from home or as your children are working on their school work. When the breakfast nook isn’t being used for work, it’s the perfect space for snack time or to eat lunch. A breakfast nook is also a great example of an in-between space where someone can sit and be a part of the action in the kitchen or living room, but still be in a separate space to read a book or be on their phones. Another example of an in-between space is a window bench with storage shelving on each side of the bench. This is a great place for someone to watch their shows on laptops or tablets or have a quiet moment to themselves. 

The kitchen is always an important part of the home, but it’s even more important in a multigenerational home. With multiple cooks in the kitchen, it’s important to have work zones to minimize bumping into each other. For example, the stove, refrigerator, and oven should be close to each other so that the cook doesn’t have to move too far and risk dropping any food. The kitchen should have a zone with a second sink where all the ingredients can be prepped for the stove or the oven. An island is a key part of a multigenerational kitchen design because you can add more storage and have a second under-the-counter fridge for more food storage. The island can also have a two-tier design so that the lower half can act as an additional seating area and so little hands can help out in the kitchen. For the kitchen cabinetry, it’s important to have pull-out storage for spices and cooking utensils. It’s also important to have deep pull-out drawers to hold pots and pans to minimize reaching into deep cabinets,  bending down, and for better overall functionality. 

When designing the bathrooms in multigenerational family homes, the two key factors to keep in mind are relaxation and storage. The bathroom is one of the few places you can close the door and have a quiet moment to yourself. To ensure the bathroom is a relaxing oasis, it’s important to have a steam shower with multiple shower heads, a rainfall showerhead, or a soaker tub to maximize relaxation. With multiple people using the same bathroom space, it’s also important to have plenty of storage so that each person has one spot to store all their hygiene and style products. 

If you have multiple family members living together in your home, fighting for bedroom space can become an issue. Maybe your children don’t want to give up their room or have to share a bedroom, but everyone deserves to have their own bed to sleep in. It’s also important that everyone has a space that’s just for them when just about every other room in the home is a shared space. One way you can ensure everyone has their own bedroom space is by building a room addition. You can add a room addition to your home to create a second master suite for elderly parents or children from college who need more privacy and independence. You can also convert your garage or attic space into additional bedrooms that would be perfect for younger children to share so that grandma and grandpa can have their own room. If you have an upstairs loft, you can also convert that space into an extra bedroom to help accommodate more family members in the home. 

Another important area in your home is your outdoor living space. If you don’t have a second living room or a second dining room, your outdoor living space can help to compensate for those spaces. You can create a comfortable outdoor living room with a covered patio with fans, outdoor sofas and chairs, and an outdoor TV. You can also extend your covered patio to make room for a large outdoor dining table. If your outdoor dining space has large fans, you can comfortably enjoy a meal outside with your family. Having an outdoor dining room and an outdoor living room will give family members more variety of lounge spaces and dining spaces in your home. 

Being that KM BUILDERS is a family-owned company, we understand how important is to take care of our family members. If you have a household with multiple generations living under one roof, we’d like to help you make your family a little more comfortable. Call our team at 210-680-5626 and we can help to design your home to suit all your family’s needs. 

 ---KM BUILDERS is San Antonio's premier remodeler specializing in kitchens, bathrooms, and room additions. We boast the largest in-house staff in San Antonio offering architectural design, interior design, and cabinet design for all your remodeling needs! ---