ᐅ Idea Generation / Discussion for a House Suitable for a "Weekend Patchwork" Family

Hi,

I plan to build a house together with my new partner.
We have a child together (4 years old) and I have two children (10 and 12 years old) from my previous marriage. The two older children stay with us every other weekend.

As if it wasn’t complicated enough, now the discussion has come up about how much space we should or have to plan for the two older children.

Of course, I would like each child to have their own room. She thinks it’s unnecessary to plan so much space for the 4 to 7 years when the children will still be with us only part-time. In a way, she is not wrong.

That’s why I wanted to ask here if anyone has “smart” concepts for this kind of situation or if someone has built a house with a similar family setup.

We already considered a granny flat / accessory dwelling unit, but our lot is as flat as a pancake.

What about converting the attic later and possibly renting it out? We actually wanted a flat roof… well, you can’t have everything. However, just like with the granny flat, parking space will be tight. The lot is only about 19 by 19 meters (62 by 62 feet).

Should we just build something suitable now and sell later to build again? When I see how hard it is to get building land / a building permit / planning permission… phew.

Looking forward to suggestions and discussion.

Klaus

Klaustal schrieb:

We thought

Klaustal schrieb:

Convert the attic into living space and maybe rent it out later? We originally wanted a flat roof... well, you can’t have everything.

..I think trying to kill ants with a hammer is pointless.
You want to “save” some living space but are contradicting yourselves by talking about a granny flat / accessory dwelling unit...
Of course, you don’t have to build three full-sized children’s bedrooms now. But two small ones separated by a drywall partition, which later can be used as a gym, library, sewing room, or sauna, don’t take up more space than an average house with two “full-sized” children’s bedrooms.
Full-sized refers to the size.
Maybe you could simply involve the two kids in the planning... if they are both boys or both girls, a shared bedroom might work. If an attic conversion is an option, they might even participate in the conversion... whichever way: two rooms of 8 sqm (86 sq ft) each add up to 16 sqm (172 sq ft), which Diekmanns can make good use of.

I would plan for two smaller children's bedrooms as ypg suggested, which can be later combined.

Think about how the children would feel. Dad is building, and they have to sleep on the couch in the study room.

At first, I also thought it was such a waste of space for just a few years.

But I really like the idea of two separate 8m² (86 sq ft) rooms divided by a drywall. In the end, you’ll simply have one kids’ room and one guest room later on, which is quite common, and there’s always some use for the second room ;-)
My parents built their house when I was 11. Fortunately, no one ever said it was a waste of space for the few years a child still needs a room with the parents.

But you don’t need 15m² (161 sq ft) just for every other weekend.

I have planned a large room for three kids. Not every child needs to have their own separate room (although that would be nicer).

Thanks in advance for your input. I’ll go and have a talk with the kids.