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A Home for all Seasons … of your Life
Since the advent of the “not so big” house movement, homeowners have become more cognizant of the time and money needed to clean, maintain, heat and cool all that space and have become interested in how to design smarter with less space. For a growing number of homeowners who have invited their extended family into their homes, this becomes increasingly important.
For some cultures, multi-generational households* have always been the norm, but for many the thought of sharing a roof with your parents, a brother or sister, or even your post graduate children is horrifying. Homeowners may consider opening their homes to their extended family in order to provide care or assistance to aging parents or siblings with special needs. They may also do it just to combine resources and increase their home buying ability. With some careful foresight and planning, you can create a moderate sized space that allows everyone to have their privacy and also encourages invaluable family interaction.
Members of the builders association have been busy this year building homes with everything from complete apartments for their parents to main floor suites for disabled adult siblings. Creating a home that is functional and efficient under these situations must take into consideration not only the individual spaces for the extended members of the homeowner’s family, but also the common spaces they will share.
*The US census defines a multi-generational family as one with 3 generations in the same household, but for the scope of this article we will consider any household with adults from at least two generations in the household.
Designing the Individual Spaces
Not Just the Mother-In-Law Apartment
When designing an area for your parents there are certain features that you will automatically think of, such as a kitchenette (or full kitchen), private master bedroom with full bath, and perhaps a sitting area or private patio. If space is no issue, there are many things you can do to create a perfect living situation for your extended family members.
Mike Nagell of Nagell Homes took some time to tell us about a 9,000 square foot home he completed for a multi-generational family which included special spaces for everyone from the infant grandchildren to their grandparents. The home had a main level grandparents’ suite and owners’ suite. The lower level was finished off for the college age son complete with a second kitchen which could be easily converted to a large wet bar after he moved out. No detail was overlooked. Mike said “We even included a puppet theater for the children as well as a special reading nook on the upper floor where the grandmother could read to her grandchildren.”
Aside from adding square footage, there are some amenities that will make whatever space you are working with more comfortable.
A second laundry area would be nice, but if space doesn’t allow for it you might consider a single unit combo washer/dryer. If you haven’t seen one of these slick appliances before, they can run on a regular 110v circuit, require minimal plumbing and no external venting. Although the load sizes are smaller and the wash times take a bit longer, the small form factor allows them to be placed beneath a countertop. And since it is a washer and dryer in one, there is no switching machines during a load. Just put in dirty clothes, and take out your clean dry cloth
es.
Plan to wire your parent’s suite with a secondary phone line. You will both appreciate it. You may also want to consider installing a wireless intercom system so that you can let them know when dinner is ready or notify one another of who is coming and going without disturbing their privacy.
Home Sweet Dorm
If you have high school or college age children, you may want to consider designing a space for them to study. Free of the distractions in their bedroom and wired for all their needs, you may consider it an investment in their success and perhaps ultimately in your own retirement plan.
This is a great use of the flexible bonus space many builders offer above the garage. During construction make sure you wire it with Cat 5 cable for wired networking, phone/fax lines, or DSL. Also include coaxial cable for a cable modem and plenty of surge protected outlets for them to plug in their expensive laptops. Add a wireless networking hub as well – it can serve your whole home, but since your kids will probably be your built in tech support, you may as well design this area as the nerve center of the home.
A central desk space and work area is great, but you should also build in a couple cozy seating areas around the perimeter where your son or daughter can curl up with their laptop and crank out a paper or participate in their online labs.
Space for a compact refrigerator, a sink, and a coffee maker will be greatly appreciated during their final exam weeks.
Retreat, Retreat!
If you are sharing a home with your parents or adult children, modifying your home to carve out a fitting space for them will be the first priority, but don’t forget to spend some time upgrading your own master suite. Make sure it is equipped to serve as a sanctuary away from the family from time to time. Adding a sitting room with a small television and wet bar with fridge and coffee maker allows you time to catch up on the news, read the paper, and get ready for your day without yet being ready for your family.
Designing the Common Spaces
Successfully designing a home in which you will live with your parents (or even with your college age children and their new found sense of independence) is more than just about adding the areas of seclusion. Perhaps even more important is designing the common areas in such a way that it actually encourages the family to spend time together.
Kitchen
If you have ever hosted a party or holiday dinner at your home, you have probably noticed that despite your best efforts, your guests congregated in the kitchen. You could have a super bowl party and odds are good that by halftime most of the fans are ignoring the 60” big screen in the family room and are watching it on the 11” LCD in the kitchen while sitting on the countertops.
Don’t expect it to be much different with your multigenerational family either.
Make the kitchen big, and add a huge center island with an overhang for seating. If your mother isn’t preparing to bake on it, your son is probably doing his psych 101 paper on his laptop. Never mind that at some point you may expect to prepare dinner there too. A small prep sink with a disposal is nice to have in the island, but the key here is the large open counter space.
You are going to want to make sure you have plenty of storage for food. A walk in pantry allows you to hide away the disarray and keep enough supplies on hand. A large refrigerator and freezer is a must too. If your budget doesn’t allow for a commercial grade side by side, Kenmore offers single unit refrigerators (model #44723) and freezers (model #44733) with reverse door swings designed to be placed next to each other resulting in what appears to be one massive refrigerator/freezer unit – and it costs half of what you would pay for a Sub Zero of comparable volume.
You will probably need more than just one oven when cooking for a large family, but you can save money and space over dual ovens by installing a micro hood with built in convection oven. The smaller volume and convection element allows it to preheat quickly and use less energy than a second full sized oven.
Two ovens are nice, but you might find that having two dishwashers is even more important.
If you are living with your parents, consider their comfortable standing height when deciding on countertop height as well. A lowered prep area might be wise to allow then the leverage necessary to chop vegetables or roll out cookie dough.
Family Room
Take, note – this is called the family room and not the television room. When you are living in a multi-generational family home, that is a more necessary distinction than ever.
Design this space to encourage interaction. Do not make the television the focal point of the room or the seating configuration. If the only time you share with your family is spent silently staring at the television, it will make you that much quicker to become frustrated with the concessions you live with.
If your floor plan and budget permit, aim to create a large open area with plenty of natural light. Arrange seating around a large low 4’ square coffee table. Create the kind of environment that invites you to play games or put your feet up and talk about your day while you are facing one another instead of facing the television.
Fringe Benefits
If you are considering becoming one of the US Census’ reported 4 million US multi generational households, consider this: regardless of all of the planning and design, all of the family members will need to be extra considerate of one another. They will need to be vigilant about cleaning up after themselves, keeping music and television volumes in check, and respecting the privacy of a shut door. But if you can make it work, you might reap some unexpected benefits.
Your children may learn to be more respectful, responsible, and have a better relationship with their grandparents. In turn your parents will appreciate the chance to spend time with their grandchildren. In whole, your family may become closer than you could have imagined – that is as long as everyone remembers to pick up their wet towels off the bathroom floor...
Scott Hayne can be reached for comment or questions through his website at www.scotthayne.biz
Universal Design
Universal Design is a means of constructing your home to include products and structure intended to be functional for people of all abilities. Planning your home with some level of Universal Design in mind will not only make your home more attractive at resale, but you may find that even able bodied homeowners enjoy the benefits.
Here is a list of some elements you may consider including in your next home that make life easier for anyone in the household.
In the bathrooms:
Adding a door free walk in shower with no curb (step-over) reduces the likely hood of tripping and makes entry easier for those who normally use the assistance of a cane or walker. A grab bar is useful for even able bodied adults that may be a bit groggy at 5am.
Including multiple light fixtures with varying wattage bulbs on separate switches allow those with diminished eyesight the light needed for tasks such as putting on makeup and for those without vision issues to enjoy a more moderate level of light.
In the kitchen:
Including a pot filler spigot behind the cook top as well as a small prep sink adjacent to the stove limits the distance needed to move heavy pots of water.
Raise the dishwasher 8” from the floor and mount wall ovens at centered at comfortable reach height. Ovens with a side hinged door instead of the traditional flip down door are easier to access.
Use library style or “U” shaped pulls on your cabinets instead of hard to grab knobs.
Smooth top cook tops with electronic touch sensitive controls are easy to use, make sliding heavy pots from one burner to another simple, and provide good visual indication of which burners may be hot.
In the Garage
Minimize the height difference between the garage floor and main floor of your home. Include a ramp if the height difference is small. A 36” doorway makes it easier when carrying in groceries.
Install low curbing on the garage floor to indicate proper parking depth.
In the Laundry
Front loading washers and dryers are much easier to access than top load, particularly when they are raised up from the ground. Matching bases are available for most units and provide handy storage as well.
In the Entire Home
Use lever style door handles instead of traditional round knobs which require more grip strength to operate.
Substitute traditional light switches with large flat rocker style switches. Include infrared motion switches in entries from the garage or front door.
Minimize any height differences in transitions between rooms, particularly where carpet meets other flooring. Not only can it catch a cane or a walker, but it can trip up a child or even adult.
This is by no means a comprehensive list. There are hundreds of things that you can do to incorporate universal design in your home planning. The internet provides a wealth of information, but be sure to consult with your builder, they may have some great ideas for you as well.
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