Most people who are in the market for a new house these days build homes for the purpose of having a permanent place to settle down with their families. With the fast-paced lives that people live these days, it’s no surprise that most people are looking to settle down in a place where they can have roots and start a family. Families go through stages too, and a little foresight while planning the construction of a house can help living spaces become flexible enough to accommodate these stages.
Flexible & Interactive Floor Plans
Open floor plans are designed to have living spaces connect to a central space as a hub of interaction. Study rooms, dining rooms and kitchens can open up to a family room so that children and parents can still interact while in other rooms. For example, parents can still interact with children in the family room while preparing dinner. Families tend to struggle with fitting in quality family time as they grow older and everybody becomes busier.
Homeowners can consult with designers to create a flexible space in any part of the house to accommodate the family’s other needs as well. For example, an eating nook can double up as a sun room for the family to have coffee together or have a place to play board games or do homework together. It can be expanded to accommodate some bookshelves, a window seat that can also function as a storage area, and a few additional seats or reading chairs.
Playrooms for children can convert to a den or home office once the children get older. Just install heavier French doors to offer some sound proofing.
The kitchen can be a great focal point for family interactions. A long center island can be a great place to have family dinners or it can serve as a buffet table when entertaining guests. You can also use islands as a bar or a room divider in your kitchen.
If you already have an informal dining area in your kitchen, your formal dining area can serve as a computer or a project room for children when they are still young. As the children grow older, you can convert the room back to a formal dining area to accommodate friends when they come over.
The Bedrooms
Parents might want their room closer to their children’s room when they are still young. However, as children grow older, they seem to require more privacy and more space from their parents. You can anticipate this need and prepare for it by building an extra bedroom with a bathroom at other parts of the house. While the children are still young, they can sleep in bedrooms close to you, and then transfer to a room further from the master bedroom when they are older. Meanwhile, the rooms that aren’t being used yet can double up as a study or game room.
Building rooms over the garage can also be a practical idea because this is usually cheaper to add in during the construction and can come in handy as a game room or a guest room. Basement rooms can also be a good idea as children can decide to move there when they grow older and parents can use the rooms they vacate for other projects. It is better to install a plumbing system in extra living spaces while the house is being constructed because it will be more expensive to add it on at a later time.
It may be better to install separate bathrooms for children so as to keep the peace and avoid fights over bathroom use. Also, to add insulation for the noise, you can put a few buffer areas between bedrooms like a closet space, a small study, and the likes.
A nice option to pick for children’s bedroom is a shared suite. Two bedrooms can be connected by a wide closet space. Each bedroom is accessible through a connecting door in the closet. Siblings can share one room while they’re growing up while the other room acts as a study or a media room. When they grow older and they want their own space, they can move to the adjacent room. The connected rooms can still foster communication and interaction between siblings.
While it may be ideal for small children to have smaller rooms, older children would prefer to have more space for themselves. Design your rooms’ structure so that in the future, as your children grow older, you can move things around with ease.
Storage Areas
It’s highly advisable to put more custom shelves in closets. For children, it’s good to have shelves that they can reach so they can put their toys away in accessible areas. As they grow older, these shelves can serve as places to put their shoes, school books, and other stuff. As years go by, shelves can serve different purposes. What once was a place to put dolls and toys can someday contain trophies and picture frames.
When thinking about storage areas, take into consideration if the additions you make will be permanent or temporary. If you opt for permanent fixtures, think about how your child will appreciate living with the fixtures when they are older.
You may also want to consider putting additional spaces in your garage. It may double up as an extra parking space, a storage space, or a workshop when the kids are have left the house.
Mudrooms and Laundry Areas
Ideally, mudrooms and laundry areas should be in separate rooms. Mudrooms can have lockers, hooks, and storage areas where you and your children can store shoes, boots, and umbrellas. It can also be a storage area for seasonal accessories like beach toys, camping gear, skis, and the likes. You can also design it to be a drop off point where you and your children can put their keys as they go in and out of the house. If you have a spacious laundry room, you can also use this as a hobby room or a sewing room.
Making room for the changes that your family can go through is possible with some foresight and creativity.
