Under One Roof: The Return of Multigenerational Homes

Enjoy your personal space? The space is about to get smaller -- and more personal.

By Geoff Williams, FrontDoor.com | Published: 5/20/2009

Pulling out the crystal ball

It's impossible to know exactly what future houses will look like in five years (most of them, of course, will look exactly like they do now, only five years older), but we'll give it a whirl, anyway.

• Expect more bedrooms. Only you may not see them from the outside. In fact, the builders of McMansions may have the last laugh. McMansions are perfect for adjusting to the trend of multigenerational families living in one household. For instance, Otteau predicts that it will become increasingly common "to see those large two-story entrance foyers done away with, as people have another floor installed above, to get another bedroom in the house."
• Fewer walk-in closets. "The goal," says Otteau, "will be to pack in more living space without increasing the price of housing."
• Amenities aimed at the multigenerational household. When the economy recovers, if the multigenerational home concept stays intact, as Otteau thinks it will, houses may borrow ideas from places like Telfair, a master-planned community in Houston. Long before the recession hit, these homes were set up for multiple generations. Damon Thomas, who handles the PR for Telfair, says that the houses feature in-law suites as well as casitas, which are small, detached but self-contained houses and apartments. Some houses, says Thomas, even contain up to seven bedrooms.
• Forget the living room -- or the family room? Otteau believes more homeowners are going to ditch one for the other -- and use the remaining space as an extra bedroom or two. Developers, he says, are already trending toward just building one living room or family room and not both.

Inside your house, now

A rise in add-ons and mother-in-law apartments is expected, but so far, with the recession, we're talking more predictions than progress. David Lupberger is a veteran home builder and spokesman for ServiceMagic.com, a Web site that hooks up homeowners with home improvement professionals; and he says that their network of 60,000 contractors has seen a decline in larger projects like bedroom add-ons but an increase in smaller repairs, like a 76 percent jump in awning installations.

Lupberger believes that homeowners are tackling minor repairs to improve their home because "they know they're going to be here awhile," but putting off the larger expenditures because, well, the economy isn't what it used to be.

"When we survey people, they say that they're going to do these larger projects, like extra bedrooms for their in-laws," says Lupberger. "They're just not sure when. People are thinking, planning, developing -- and sitting tight."

Thinking, planning and developing isn't a bad idea. It's not something you want to rush into. Lupberger saw that for himself when he started plotting the construction of a mother-in-law apartment for his brother. There were zoning issues.

The community planners were worried about mother-in-law cottages cropping up everywhere and later being rented out to strangers, all of which would bring property values down and change the character of the neighborhood, they feared. They finally agreed to the add-on when Lupberger's brother signed a waiver promising that only a blood relative would live in the add-on home.

Weaver certainly espouses the virtues of planning ahead when designing a house for yourself, your spouse, your kids, the grandparents or the unemployed uncle. "A lot of people who are bringing their parents into their home forget what they didn't like about living with them before they moved out," says Weaver. "So it's important to think about how you live your life and how it will be affected by another person living with the family."

More on FrontDoor:

• Search Homes for Sale
• My First Place Home Buying Guide
• Home Finance Guide
• The Tiny House Movement

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