10 April 2026
Designing for Multigenerational Living: How Sydney Families Are Rethinking the Family Home
Something has shifted in the way Sydney families approach home ownership. The multigenerational household — parents, adult children, and grandchildren living under one roof or in close proximity — is no longer unusual. It’s increasingly common, and increasingly deliberate.
The reasons are both economic and cultural. Sydney’s housing costs mean that younger generations are staying at home longer, or returning after a period away. Ageing parents are being brought closer rather than moved to residential care. And culturally, many Sydney families — particularly those with Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Pacific Island backgrounds — have long practised multigenerational living as a natural way of organising family life.
The design challenge is how to make it work. Because multigenerational living only functions well when the home gives everyone — every generation — privacy, autonomy, and a genuine sense of their own space.
The Spectrum of Multigenerational Design
There’s no single model. The right design depends on the relationships involved, the preferences of each household member, and the site. But there are roughly three approaches:
1. The Integrated Home
All generations live within the one dwelling, with shared living, kitchen, and dining spaces. Individual bedrooms — or a self-contained suite with its own bathroom and sitting room — provide private retreats for different household members.
This works well where the household genuinely wants to share daily life — meals, routines, and common space. It requires careful acoustic design (so that different sleeping schedules don’t conflict) and enough bathrooms that morning routines don’t become a bottleneck.
2. The Secondary Dwelling Model
A separate granny flat or secondary dwelling on the same lot allows each generation to maintain a fully independent household while remaining on the same block. Each has their own kitchen, bathroom, entry, and outdoor space.
This provides the most autonomy and is often the preferred model for older parents who want independence but the reassurance of proximity. It also has the advantage of being rentable if the family situation changes.
3. The Connected-but-Separate Addition
A hybrid model — a main dwelling with a self-contained suite or wing that has its own entry, bathroom, and kitchenette, but can also connect to the main house through an internal door.
This gives flexibility: the suite functions as a private apartment when the parent or adult child wants independence, but the internal connection means it’s easy to check in, share a meal, or provide care when needed. It can also transition to a guest suite or home office as family circumstances change.
Design Details That Matter
Whatever model you choose, there are practical design considerations that make multigenerational living more comfortable:
- Acoustic separation between bedrooms and living areas, particularly between early-rising grandparents and sleeping grandchildren
- Accessible design — wider doorways, step-free entries, and bathrooms designed for ageing-in-place, even if not immediately necessary
- Separate outdoor areas so each generation has private outdoor space
- Separate entries where possible, to support the psychological sense of a private home
- Shared laundry vs. separate — a practical question that creates surprising amounts of friction if not resolved at the design stage Planning Considerations
Secondary dwellings are broadly available across NSW via CDC on qualifying lots. Internal suites and connected-but-separate configurations are generally assessed as part of the principal dwelling and don’t require separate planning approval.
It’s worth discussing the specific configuration with your designer early, because the planning implications vary depending on how the suite or secondary dwelling is defined.
At Plan Land, we’ve designed for multigenerational living across a range of configurations. It’s one of the most meaningful types of project we work on — because the design genuinely affects how families function.