Making Space in High-Traffic Homes
A vibrant family home is a reflection of the richness of our lives. It supports the journeys of each family member. It contains the objects that represent your memories and support your needs. When designed well, your home gives your family a safe and comfortable environment in which to nurture one another.
However, a bustling home presents unique design challenges. This is particularly the case when you have multiple generations living under the same roof, a situation that is four times more common now than in the 1970s. This results in many people moving around your home, each with various personal belongings. It’s easy for everyone to feel as though they’re frequently stumbling around on top of one another.
We’re going to run down a few considerations for effectively making space in high-traffic homes.
Photo by Mark McCammon
Design to Your Family’s Needs
Living in a multigenerational household can be beneficial, as it helps to strengthen bonds and provide a diverse income for family finances. However, one of the key hurdles in this situation is each person will have varied needs and wants. Without finding ways to address these different priorities, conflicts can arise quickly.
Among your first considerations should be whether your house is fit for purpose for each occupant. Your home may be in line with current architectural trends, but if it doesn’t meet your family’s needs, it isn’t functional. This means it’s worth looking at how you can redesign elements accordingly.
Take the time to speak to each member of the family and understand their needs and preferences. Younger children may be able to share bedrooms for some time. Teenagers will almost certainly require some privacy from their siblings and parents. A key design tool to utilize in these circumstances is partition walls. You can apply these to more efficiently transform shared rooms into private spaces. They also have the added benefit of being adjustable should a member of the family move out or you want to perform further redesigns on the property.
If you’re planning to live with your adult children or senior parents, you may need to go further than this. Not everybody has the room or resources to create what amounts to a separate apartment on the property, but you may be able to provide studio-style spaces in your home with ensuite bathrooms. If you have a garage, creating an extension on its roof can be a practical way to adapt the building.
Utilize Your Outbuildings
Many multigenerational families have an outbuilding on their property. This may be a shed in the yard, a pool storage space, or a garage. Unfortunately, these areas tend to very quickly become areas just to discard items and gather various clutter. It’s worth reexamining these spaces to understand how you can better utilize them to suit the needs of your family.
For example, garages are frequently used for storage and aren’t well-organized. With better organization, you can make the space work better for your family. Consider whether you have items that can be recycled, disposed of, or sold. You don’t want to move them to another area of the house, as this just relocates the issue. You can then adopt a more organized approach to storage using shelves and boxes. Another option is to convert the outbuilding into a play area for children or a creative space for teenagers and adults to share.
Think Vertically
When considering redesigning aspects of your home to make space, there’s a tendency to think horizontally. Adding extensions doesn’t suit everyone’s budget and an open floor plan often isn’t best suited to multigenerational homes. As such, it’s worth taking a step back to consider how you can better utilize your vertical spaces.
Particularly if you have a taller home with vaulted ceilings, you can create additional mezzanine-style floors. Utilize computer-aided design (CAD) drawings to incorporate key components for this such as stairs, collapsible ladders, and the mezzanine floor itself. Depending on the space you have free, this could function as a separate bed platform or a type of walk-in closet.
Get Creative With Storage
You may be making extra space for your family, but your storage solutions don’t need to be drastic or unsightly in a purely functional way. Remember that you and your family are building memories in your home and deserve to have a pleasant space to coexist in. Consider the more creative storage solutions at your disposal.
Storage solutions go a long way in entryways and hallways, as these areas often gather a lot of clutter. Entryways, for instance, can get cluttered with shoes, coats, and other items people use when leaving and entering the home. But accent furniture items can double as a tool to clear this up. Use benches with lift-up ottoman-style seats in which to store some items. You can place tables here too, but you aren’t limited to using the surface areas alone. You can place storage boxes underneath and hide them with soft furnishings like a small curtain or false paneling.
Turn your creative eye to other areas of the home in this regard. Look for likely nooks and crannies that can be fitted with storage bins or drawers. This doesn’t mean you have to turn every table in your home into a cupboard, but you should see what you can adapt in a way in keeping with the flow and decor of your home.
Conclusion
A multigenerational household can be a positive family experience, but there can also be space challenges. Take the time to understand what your family member's needs are so you can make appropriate adjustments to your home’s layout. Make better use of the vertical spaces and outbuildings. Remember that getting creative with your storage spaces serves a practical purpose while maintaining the positive aesthetic of your home. With some planning, consideration, and a little investment, you can ensure all family members have the space they need to thrive together.
Author: Miles Oliver
