In the current housing slump, the large new homes just aren’t selling˳ They are too big to afford when the mortgage money tightens up˳ Existing homes are for sale at below their original purchase price, depleting the homeowner’s equity˳ People can’t justify paying the mortgage or selling homes that are valued less than the mortgage˳ Adjustments must be made to find a way to make these homes more affordable˳
Food, gas and educational costs have skyrocketed˳ Investments and retirement income are shrinking˳ Job markets have tightened˳ And savings are non-existent˳ What do businesses and families do? They need to re-think their lives and identify the necessities to survive and the strategies to more forward˳
When the standards that we live by are failing, we must become more resilient than ever˳ One method that is being considered by many families is to consolidate their resources by
combining households˳ The ‘Sandwich Generation’ has opened their homes to returning (boomerang) children as well as their own parents˳ Recent studies have shown that 65% of all college grads move back home, at one time or another˳ 3˳4 million seniors are living at their children’s homes˳ And these trends are on the rise!
Up until just 100 years ago, multi-generational living was the norm˳ Extended families lived and worked together on farms and opened small businesses together˳ However many articles have been written about the monetary advantages as well as the social pitfalls of modern families living together after being autonomous for so long˳ It seems that the most important condition for success is a clear understanding of the monetary responsibilities of the members of the household˳ Secondly, living areas that respect the autonomy of the different members need to be established˳
Many homes only have enough space to offer the new occupants a bedroom of their own˳ A bedroom and a private bath is a better solution, especially in a household with young children˳ Converting the garage, the attic over the garage, the basement or 2 bedrooms into a studio apartment is one of the more successful arrangements˳ In new construction, the dual master suite arrangement is great for multi-generational living and it can also be sold as a home that can be shared by two single parent families˳
The shared cooking and dining experiences can be a wonderful enhancement to the lives of all involved˳ Or they can become a nightmare˳ Mealtime has become very hard to schedule for many on-the-go families and the scheduling can become even more difficult for two families living together˳ A great solution is to provide a small food prep area outside the traditional kitchen˳ It can be as simple as a breakfast/snack center or it can be a fully equipped mini-kitchen that can offer complete autonomy˳ It can be located in a private living area or in an area shared by the whole family˳ Having the option to choose when and what to eat can alleviate a lot of stress in an expanded household˳
Existing or new homes that can be designed with completely separate living units can have lasting value˳ An autonomous apartment can provide a place for aging homeowners to live while they rent out the main house for income˳ Taking in a boarder can make the investment of building a studio apartment a good solution for all˳ Some senior homeowners may even subsidize the apartment’s rent to a boarder who can act as a caretaker for the entire property˳
Resort condos have used flexible design solutions quite successfully for years˳ Typically a normal two bedroom apartment is divided into a complete one bedroom apartment and a studio apartment that includes a mini-kitchen and separate bathroom˳ Either unit can be rented separately or combined at any time˳
In many localities however, a second dwelling unit or even a second kitchen is prohibited by zoning˳ Increasingly, many localities have changed their zoning to allow auxiliary dwellings, largely due to the efforts of The American Association of Retired Persons research that created a model for legislating Accessory Dwelling Units into local ordinances˳
Once the zoning issue is overcome, there are many design solutions that can provide a secondary kitchen˳ If space is not limited, standard cabinetry and full sized appliances can be used to create a kitchen of any size˳ When space is limited, complete mini-kitchens and hospitality centers are available from many companies (Google unit kitchens) that can meet almost any special need˳ Adding small appliances to a built-in cabinet is another solution˳ Tiny appliance combinations that include a coffee maker, a microwave and a single burner can sell for less than $50˳00˳ Coupled with a 2˳7 CF refrigerator freezer ($150˳00 on-line), a mini-kitchen does not need to break the bank˳
For those who want to have a mini-kitchen, but don’t want to see it all the time, most codes allow cabinetry to be built into a closet with bi-fold doors and any UL Listed appliance can be used as long as it has a plug and is not hard wired˳ In this way, sinks, refrigerators, portable hotplates, microwaves, toaster ovens etc˳ and all the countertop mess can be hidden from view˳
Another company makes special U˳L˳ Listed furniture in the form of armoires that allow hard wired, more powerful built-in appliances and everything else to be completely hidden when they are not being used˳ The closet and furniture idea is great for the smallest rooms that have many functions, only one of which is a kitchen˳
More versatile design solutions like those mentioned here can help homes retain their value in any market˳ As the demographics of our families change, the call for flexibility in the design of our homes becomes more important˳ The secondary kitchen is just one of the ideas that can make a real difference˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?A-Housing-Crisis-Solution—Add-Another-Kitchen!&id=1604181
