"What is the benefit of a multi-generation home?"

IDEAL HOME'S RESIDENT ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER CHARLIE LUXTON SHARES HIS DESIGN KNOW-HOW

The current and historically high cost of housing is causing a shift in the way we live. Whether it’s boomerang kids leaving and then returning home for years on end, or the cost of social care making living with ageing parents a necessity, the multigeneration home is making a comeback.

For thousands of years, as it remains in many parts of the world, large inter-generational homes were the norm. Sharing resources, from food and income to childcare and manual labour, made everyone living together more cost effective and, in the past, was the only option for all but the wealthy few.

It’s becoming increasingly common for families these days, too. It is estimated there are over 1.3 million households that have a grandparent living with them. A recent survey found that houses with three generations of adults living together has jumped 50% in five years. One day, we may well look back at the nuclear family home of the late-20th century as a blip in the long arc of human history!