Are we seeing a return to the days of multi-generational living in the UK?
It gets more and more difficult these days for young people to leave their parents’ home and get themselves on the property ladder because of continued property inflation over the last couple of decades. At the other end of the scale, people are living longer – well into their 80s and 90s – because of better living standards and healthcare. Some current forecasts suggest that the number of homes containing two or more families will rise from around 1.5 million to well over 2 million by 2025.
If you are parents with children in their twenties (and even thirties) still living at home, space can become an increasing problem. If you are lucky enough to have an ’empty nest’ in that respect, you maybe find yourselves having to take in elderly parents who are struggling to cope on their own. Or maybe you have loved ones living with you at both ends of the scale! If you are all able to get along in the same house as one big happy family, our latest design “The Bridstow” may be just what you are looking for. The Bridstow has a large living area and a sizeable open plan/kitchen dining area. There is the advantage of a ground floor WC and the four bedrooms upstairs, three of which are double rooms, have the use of a large bathroom. The master bedroom has its own en-suite.
It is a much easier proposition to pool finances together and construct a new purpose built home for multi-generational living than having to consult with local authority planning/building control officers about converting an existing home (i.e. by adding in multiple bathrooms). And, if you wanted to build a small home in your garden for a family member/members you would find that a lot of planning authorities simply will not allow this – although they will happily allow a garden room or studio/office provided that no-one lives in it!
The Bridstow, like all of our plans, can be adapted to your personal needs – for instance, if you feel some sort of ‘private space’ needs to be added to the design. The Bridstow is our latest design in larger homes but we have no less than 14 five- and six-bedroomed designs, so if multi-generational living is something you’re considering, hit the browse button and take a look at our range.
To learn more about multi-generational living and how to make it work, read this excellent article by architect and Channel 4 Presenter George Clarke.
