How we plan to accommodate grown up kids

Having older children is a joy but at the same time there  is a need for everyone to have their own space.  I have found myself going out for a walk in the evening just to have a conversation with my husband in peace.  We often start a conversation only to have the older children but in with their opinion. The older two are up pretty much the same hours as me, up until 10.30 at night and this has both advantages and pitfalls.  Long gone is that beautiful hour of 7pm when you put little ones to bed and can sit on the sofa in peace with a glass of wine and watch Eastenders whilst ignorting  chatting to the husband.

I love the house being full of their friends and enjoy their company. Chloe and me enjoy the same TV programmes and I fear the day she moves out as I will never regain any control of the TV, the remote would firmly be in the boy’s hands on sports channels.  However I do wonder at what age they will move out.  I left home to go to University and then never really came home.  I was home during the holidays but as soon as I finished my degree I moved away and rented my flat.  That seemed the done thing, many of my friends were the same.  However I expect my children will not have the finances to do that unless they land a great job straight away.  It is much harder for our children to get started on the property ladder, they will be paying back student loans and this will reduce their ability to save.  We owned our own home from our early 20’s yet I don’t know how with high rents my own children will afford that.

It seems that childhood is being extended and that these 20 somethings will be relying on their parents for much longer than my generation needed too.  Therefore we are already planning ahead.  We have decided to extend our home upwards to give us that additional space and to give our teens their own zone.  Most modern houses are designed for families of four / five at a push but the bedroom space is always compromised.  we have two large bedrooms and two fair sized bedrooms but they are designed with children in mind I think.  Therefore we plan to go into the attic and create a room with study areas, living space and a double bed  and bathroom.  It will be  a place that the eldest can call their own – a bridge between living at home but have more privacy.  We think doing this in the next year will mean that Chloe will benefit and have it for a few years before Dyl getting to move up there.  It would also free up Chloe’s room for me to have a office rather than working from the sofa or at the dining table.

In the room I envisage a nice open plan space, ideally we would have neutral colours and oak furniture that is both timeless in look and long lasting.  It will be the perfect room for a teen that is in the phase between being a child and an adult! Chloe would have a blank neutral canvas that she can add her own touches too with soft furnishings.  yet the staples of good quality furniture and the design of the room will last for years for all the children. It would ensure our home remains the family home it is now and continues to grow with our growing children.  We are now eagerly awaiting drawings to see some plans before confirming that we will go ahead with it.

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