Family dynamics change. People come and go, relationships change. Sometimes it’s not easy to admit or embrace, but that’s what family is: constant change.
With that in mind, Dan Swift, president of BSB Design, talks about the importance of a multigenerational home. He says they aren’t a fad or a trend, rather, they respond to the way people actually live. He designs homes to flex and adapt to homeowners’ ever-evolving needs and to embrace the changes that every family has to face.
The reNEWable Living Home project offers a flexible format that can change to suit adult kids and their families, aging parents, or any other combination. Flexibility and multipurpose spaces are what every family needs, because as Swift says, that is how people live. “Housing just hasn’t caught up with it yet,” he says.
Research by The Farnsworth Group for the reNEWable Living Home project says that more than four out of five primary householders would see their houses as multigenerational homes for either “a few years” or indefinitely. The bottom line is that homes that meet this need are ones that can adapt to other household compositions.
The research also says that 73% of homeowners plan to remain in their home, highlighting the importance of flexibility. Once the multigenerational components are no longer in use, that space will need to adapt to a new purpose.
Swift explains that as the design needs to flex, rooms that need to adapt are placed strategically in the floor plan to accommodate for multiple functions. For instance, the reNEWable Living Home has a “Fonzie flat” that can easily house an adult child or caregiver and give them the independence of apartment living.
Homes that can’t adapt don’t feel like home. After all, who wants to go home if they don’t feel like there is a comfortable place for them?
Watch the progress of the reNEWable Living Home online at www.builderonline.com/renewable.
