ᐅ Is this floor plan suitable for a multigenerational house?

kbt09 schrieb:

Exactly, bicycles also came to my mind. There could well be at least 6 for all residents. It’s important to plan how to store them properly. … If necessary, an external cellar entrance with bike sliding rails.

hanghaus2023 schrieb:

I would like to see the architect’s initial design before the builder made cuts.

There should definitely be a site plan included as well.

I also built with an 80m2 (860 sq ft) granny flat. With a partially below-grade basement that has now become a training room. Nobody really wants to live in a basement.

And you don’t want that either.

If you have to save money, the basement is the first place to cut. That easily saves around 100k.

When moving, sell or get rid of anything you haven’t used in the last 12 months. That really saves a lot of storage space.

Arauki11 schrieb:

A basement remains a basement, and regardless of the permit situation, it’s not really easy to rent out. I also think that, just like with furniture, you should start planning more carefully now so you don’t end up building unnecessarily expensive space just because you might need it at some point or somehow.

The background information would be interesting.

Then it’s time. You can make it comfortable down there; sloped ceilings are no obstacle and can even add to the charm.

That alone doesn’t tell much. For example, I’m already a bit beyond that stage, and yet not everyone is the same age. I understand and hope the parents want to have a nice living space, too. If you want two truly attractive apartments in one house, it requires better planning than a classic single-family home since you need to avoid overlapping issues, respect privacy on both sides, and at the same time create some shared spaces.

That doesn’t necessarily require more space but imagination about how to create nice areas for everyone within limited space. The situation with children will also change eventually, and then you shouldn’t be totally unprepared.

Nobody wants to live in a basement like that, nor should they. I would reconsider everything repeatedly and see how both sides can live comfortably, whether on the ground floor or upper floor. For example, I would have preferred my parents’ apartment on the upper floor with exposed roof beams and a roof terrace, so the upper floor isn’t necessarily the losing side if you don’t make it so by poor planning.

These are already some key factors that make it more difficult. I think both points can be reconsidered. Everyone needs storage space, but it should be planned and clarified what MUST be in the house and what can be stored in a garden shed or better yet, discarded altogether.

I would like to see the calculation example. A private house should also be as private as possible, and with multigenerational living, both sides have enough challenges and joys to review; there is no need for an unrelated roommate. I would never consider that (again).

In my opinion, there is a fundamental mistake here. You will never rent something like that successfully as a holiday apartment or other rental; these are often just general ideas that don’t hold up to serious scrutiny. Maybe it just feels good to have such space mentally because of the currently “missing” storage? I could understand that, but those are very costly thoughts that limit you elsewhere and in your actual living space, often leading to less attractive solutions. I can somewhat relate since I have lived multigenerationally. My father already struggled to part with things, as did some other family members. In the end, you need your money much more urgently for your living space, controlled mechanical ventilation, air conditioning, nice flooring, external blinds, and so on, a nice separate place for the parents in the garden, and maybe a roof terrace or outdoor seating area. I would not spend the money on a basement for that.

I understand that, but this is also something that will change over time. You should be careful not to overreact to current issues. Living on the 3rd floor of an apartment building is one thing, living on the upper floor of a single-family house is another. For example, you can drive directly up to the house, and the family lives under the same roof. As I said, we had the same issue and I wouldn’t see it as so extreme, because that is exactly where the multigenerational house can show its strength—in togetherness; such things can be clarified and firmly agreed upon.

I would break that down again. I think she mainly wants to live stylishly, and there are many options she may not have thought of yet. For example, we had the living room as a staggered living level, and that alone can create a very different feel in the living area.

ypg schrieb:

He writes here:

However, I have to say that in a detached house with a larger kitchen, pantry, storage room, and well-planned built-in cabinets or partition walls (which are usually more than in an apartment) and a smaller “basement substitute” room next to the technical equipment, you can manage very well: sufficient cloakroom space so that you don’t need a separate shoe cabinet in the basement, supplies and a second refrigerator in the pantry, everything exactly where you need it, tidy children’s rooms... the rest can be disposed of as bulky waste or sold in classifieds.
An external storage space can of course be used for heirlooms or document storage, but that can really be kept in boxes in the attic.
I would reconsider that!