Custom Homes Include Features for the Whole Family
Residential architecture trends change over the years, but what doesn’t is classic design. And when you consider the long history of multigenerational housing across global cultures, you can’t fail to discuss the value of custom homes that allow for families to reside together.
In fact, multigenerational housing transcends trends and instead considers timeless home features. With a little advanced planning, home shoppers can opt to partner with an architect to design a custom home that meets all their needs now and in the future.
What Is Multigenerational Housing?
Families can care for one another and share a living space in multigenerational housing. Families can live with elderly parents; adult children can return home; or other extended family members can reside under one roof.
How Popular Is Multigenerational Housing?
In recent years, the popularity of this living arrangement has increased. Last year, the National Association of Realtors collected data that showed multigenerational home-buying is at an all-time high of 14% of all home purchases, up from just 11% in 2021.
Who Is Most Likely to Share a Home?
Multigenerational housing allows families to spend time with aging relatives or enables individuals to serve as family caregivers, including for young children, without the stress of distance or individual housing expenses.
When it comes to multigenerational housing, aging in place is often cited as a reason for the lifestyle change. Aging in place is the ability to live in one’s home or community regardless of age.
Why Are Custom Homes the Right Solution for Multigenerational Housing?
Working with a residential architect near you to design a custom home for multiple generations to live under one roof provides an easy solution for families seeking to adopt this lifestyle. Large, multigenerational families no longer need to spend long hours searching for the right existing house, and can instead work with an architect to design the house of their dreams.
Similarly, skilled architects can design additions for existing family houses, ensuring the finished product – a custom home – meets a family’s needs.
Residential Architecture Features for Multigenerational Custom Homes
For multigenerational families under one roof, a custom home can include features designed to make living easier and more comfortable. These same features can add to a home’s resale value in the future and offer flexible spaces suitable for other uses.
- Mother-in-law suites, also called accessory dwelling units (ADU). A dedicated apartment within the house, a mother-in-law suite or guest suite provides a separate place to live for multigenerational families, affording privacy and space.
- Recreation rooms. Recreation rooms become gathering spaces for entertaining or getaways from other household common areas.
- Private staircases. Physically divide your home for multiple generations under one roof. Private staircases allow access to certain parts of the house, or provide a secondary route to other floors to minimize crowding and maximize traffic flow.
- Open floor plans with large rooms. When it comes to many people residing together, square footage and flow are key. Smartly designed custom homes include spacious floor plans that accommodate a variety of simultaneous activities. And truthfully, rooms like these are popular even for lake houses or primary dwellings for smaller families, too.
- Accessibility. For families adopting the multigenerational housing model to help care for aging relatives, accessibility is an important feature of a custom home. Even if your loved one doesn’t need any particular mobility equipment, smart residential architecture accommodates future updates should they become necessary. Planning for how your family may grow and change when you meet with a residential architect near you enables you to remain in your home for years longer than you may have before.
How to Design a Custom Home with a Residential Architect
If you’re ready to design a custom home for your family – regardless of whether you’re considering living multigenerationally under one roof – your first step is to contact a residential architect near you to kick off the process.
Be prepared to discuss design fees, estimates for the build, and the features you need in order to fall in love with your home and achieve the function you desire. This can be a long conversation, so come to it with ideas and questions to ensure you get the information you require and that you can share your requirements with your architect.
To help with gathering ideas, consider browsing portfolios of custom homes from residential architects near you. If you find that you like a particular architecture firm’s work, contact them directly about your project.
