Unique innerspace homes solution designed to respond to the new multi-generational living
21st century living is changing. Children are leaving home later, parents are helping their children to buy homes and in some cases are then choosing to live together and share an interest in a property. People are living longer and there is a move towards having suitable housing to allow parents to move back in with children rather than living in a home or dedicated retirement properties. This fundamental shift in the living patterns of families are based in part on affordability and the ageing demographic of the baby boomer generation.
Statistics released by the ONS in 2017 showed an increase in young people living with their parents. As at 2017, 26% of people aged 20 – 34 were living with parents, an increase of 6% over the previous 10 years.[1] Some of these are boomerang children who leave and return to the family home on and off as their need dictates. The boundaries between home and work have also continued to blur with over 4 million of us now working from home – an increase of 50% in the last two decades.
On the other hand, there is also an increase in aging parents deciding to live with their children. An aging population with 1 in 4 projected to be over 65 by 2035 means that there is increasing pressures for caring for relatives at home. Some parents are electing to move in with family to release equity and help their children get on the property ladder while others prefer to live with family than seek alternative retirement living solutions. There has also been a marked increase in three generations living under the same roof – the so called sandwich generation.
Within an innerspace home, layouts are deliberately designed to give a choice of different floorplans options, allowing for a variety of living options to suit these shifts in living demands. Loft living allows for the living room to be brought upstairs, helping extend daylight and views and allowing multi-generational families to enjoy separate activities when needed. Loft living also offers a ground floor bedroom and en-suite shower room - allowing guests to come and go as they please, elderly relatives to avoid stairs and offering the ‘boomerang generation’ a degree of independence from the rest of the family life. Alternatively, the more traditional all ground floor living option is still available, offering more generous open plan lateral space downstairs whilst traditionally setting all the bedrooms upstairs. The flexibility that an innerspace home offers to buyers gives them the choice of living style to suit their own personal circumstances.
Says Tony DiCarlo of innerspace, “We recognised that the family living situation is not the same as it used to be. Increasingly we are seeing children leaving home later, the boomerang kids’ scenario and we are also seeing parents living in with their children and grandchildren. Clearly the traditional two up two down design of house doesn’t respond to every style of living. This is why we have chosen to create designs that allow people to choose how they want to allocate the space within their homes.”
[1] Source: https://tinyurl.com/hbcasaf