Im unsure of sizes. A few things that stuck out to me:

the 3/4 bath in unit A. I think I'd like that accessible without having to walk into the study.

In unit b is there a 1/2 bath/powder room? If not I would want one so guests will not have to traipse through the MBR or to a different floor.

Is there enough ski storage and outdoor rec equipment storage? The garages seem too small for this. Is this built into the basement or someplace I'm not seeing?

OveralI think it's a decent start. The way you've situated the two units give the most sound protection as well. Of course I'm sure you'll put up quietrock or similar soundproofing, but orienting the units as you did can't hurt!

The lot is awesome!

Thanks, Nashville.

Sizes are difficult to see. Sorry.

Good idea on the 3/4 bath. Will see that gets on the list.

There is a powder room in Unit B in the hall at the foot of the stairs near the kitchen. It probably needs to be enlarged.

I think there will be adequate ski storage. Garage A is about 23'6" wide (a bit narrow, but approx 24 feet long on the short side and a 6' bump out. Garage B is a little over 25 wide and approx. 24-26 deep. Given the size of our existing garage out there it should be ok. But we will look closely at this. There will be a basement for additional storage.

Thanks for your comments.

i agree with nash that it's tricky to give too much feedback without seeing the sizes, but it seems you've been very thorough in your approach so far and the general layout seems to make sense for a duplex.

the main reason i'm responding is i love the multi-generational thing you have going on. we, too, are building for 2+ generations. the house for my parents will be detached but on the same lot as us and our little ones. it's so nice to have the privacy of locked separate units/houses, but the proximity of family when you want it as well. really excited for you. good luck!

We are also building a multigenerational home. My parents will have their own garage and about 1,000 sq ft of living space, which includes a kitchen and their own laundry. It is connected to our space, and the total heated sqft of both combined is 4826.

We also are building a multi-generational home and it sounds like we will have a similar arrangement to jenniekehr.

Will your daughter and SIL be living in the duplex full time, or is it a vacation home for them (or for you)? I ask because if they are not there all of the time, you might consider providing one large gathering space for those times when the "whole family" wants to get together, and one smaller space, rather than two mid-sized spaces. Just a thought.

We have a similar situation. We are doing the suite as a separate wing, forming an L shape. Hope this helps. First floor:

The second story:

And the overall site plan:

Thanks all!

Glad to see others like the multigenerational idea too. To answer Oaktown's question, both generations will live there full time. Daughter and SIL currently live in our vacation house out there now. They have both lived in the area for 10+ years and love it there. My husband and I have been vacationing there for 25 years. We currently spend about 4-6 weeks there a year, but will move there full time when we retire in 4-5 years. We're not in a hurry to build and probably will wait a few years, but now is a fairly opportune time to go ahead and buy the lot. We're headed back out next week and probably will make an offer while we are there.

Denny, Thanks. I hadn't seen you post when I posted before. Great plan!

A lot of thought has gone into this! Nicely done. I particularly appreciate that most of the rooms have windows on two sides. That's often not the case in new builds, but makes a world of difference in how a room "feels".

I'll echo the suggestion of a powder room in unit B. We're big readers, so we'd keep the long hall in B and put in bookcases

Thanks. Mary. I have to give credit to what I learned on this forum for the attention to designing to maximize light from different sides. A duplex design made it especially challenging.

Powder room suggestion noted. It is essential. Although there actually is a powder room in the plan as drawn (in the hall at the foot of the stairs), it looks like a closet on the plan! (My bad) It is 3'x7',but if is too small to see, it may betoo small to use! I should be able to steal a bit from the adjacent shared storage off the kitchen to enlarge it if necessary.

This post was edited by mojomom on Wed, Feb 26, 14 at 18:25

UPDATE: We are now officially under contract for the lot! It will still be a couple of years before we build, but we are so excited! In the meantime, I expect I'll be asking lots of questions as we continue to plan and will continue to watch your builds -- what great houses are being built on this forum. Thanks to everyone on your input so far. For now, here is what I have been playing with. I would appreciate any advice especially on the kitchens.

I would advise you to try walking through some examples of this type of housing, if it's at all available.

While it's nice to have separate spaces (and sometimes a necessity) part of the appeal of this type of housing is large common spaces. A big gathering space that can be shared by all, with smaller separate areas for each family can be a lot of fun...and great at the holidays!

Do you need two kitchens? Would one large kitchen with a smaller kitchenette off the second family room be enough? Do you all get along well enough to share common spaces with a morning room for coffee enough dining space in the second unit?

Just a few thoughts. My mom is going to be moving in with us and we plan to share a kitchen, dining room and main family area...but have another smaller TV/den for an 'away' space and bedroom wings on each side of the common area. I also love porches, so a few porches (at least one glassed in) will also serve as an away room. We both love to cook, so we'll share one large kitchen with hopefully a small seating area by the fireplace and kitchen table...with the dining room separate, but shared.

Congratulations on closing and have fun with your planning! :)

Thanks for your thoughts, LL. I always love your posts and outlook. Sounds like you'll have a great arrangement with your Mom.

We've thought this over and considered various options for several years and looked at lots of variations, but for us, having two completely separate units with the ability to move easily between the two to visit works best. We get along great (really extremely so) but we do need the separation too. This is a ski resort area, so we expect to have house guests often. The kids also have frequent house guests and SIL's family visits frequently from out of town. We will be in our early 60s when we build and the kids will be in their late 30s. Still at an age for both couples that we hope to enjoy our separate lives as well as our time together. This type of duplex is fairly common in the area simply because it is a resort and more like close next door neighbors.

We actually considered just buying adjoining lots, but that's hard to find in the area we like -- this subdivision had some, but mostly are interior and small. There are two nicer single family adjoining creekside lots available but the combined cost of those two lots would be too much for our budget and require larger houses than either couple needs. The kid's half is part gift and pt financed by the bank of mom and dad as it is. So being in the location we all like and being able to build what we want this duplex lot works best for us and does give the benefit of some shared space. We will have a shared basement rec room and perhaps another bedroom in the basement.

But even though we're set in this type of arrangement, I'll need lots of input, it just needs to be thought of as two separate houses that happen to abut. Right now just sharing our excitement!

The closing wasn't an 'event' with everyone present (done via wires, email and fed ex through the title co) and DH and I aren't even out there now so our 'celebration' has been via texts and phone, but from this pic DD texted me below, it looks like DSIL christened to lot after work today.

This post was edited by mojomom on Wed, Aug 27, 14 at 22:28

Mojomom,

Such a beautiful lot! I pass a multigenerational home when I drive to my lot. This weekend, I will try and snap a photo for you if you would like to see another. I think it's the only one I have ever seen in person.