Why I’m Planning a Multigenerational Family Home

During a family visit, my cousin looked around the room and said something simple:

“I think they all need to live in the same house.”

I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. That one sentence turned into a plan for a multigenerational family home where my mom and her sisters can grow older together.

It Started With Me Going Home

Before that visit, I already had a big project. My mom is 83. She’s still able to live at home, but mobility and hearing challenges make living alone hard.

So I decided to sell my house and move back into the home she and I bought together in 2010. That was the project: sell my house, move home, combine two households, and update a house that has served our family for more than 15 years.

One Conversation, a Bigger Vision

My grandmother had three daughters. Today they’re 83, 81, and the youngest turns 80 in a few months. We call them the Golden Girls.

My mom lives in her house, and her two sisters live together across town. My cousins and I are juggling mobility and hearing challenges, meals, and part-time help in both houses.

These women spent their lives taking care of everyone else. Now it’s our turn. So my cousin’s words stuck with me. What if, instead of managing care across two houses, we created one place designed for this season?

The Long-Term Goal: A Multigenerational Family Home

My vision is to buy a few acres of land and build a family property designed around the way our family actually lives.

Not a mansion. Not a luxury compound. A family home.

Here’s what I see:

The sisters together. One place where they can stay close, with spaces designed so each of them can stay safe and independent.
Family nearby. Close enough to help, without everyone living on top of one another.
Room for help. Space for caregivers to come in when they’re needed.
Places to gather. Porches, courtyards, and a big table for Sunday dinners and holidays.
A place to come home to. Room for the younger generations to visit, with space for privacy, work, and creativity.

The goal isn’t a bigger house. It’s a home that works for our family now and for whoever may need it 20 years from now.

But I’m Not Starting There

I don’t own the land yet. The house plans aren’t drawn. And I haven’t worked out every detail of how to pay for it.

What I do have is a house to sell, a house to fix, years of skills and ideas, and a willingness to figure it out one step at a time.

Step One: Moving Back Home

First, I’m moving back into Mom’s house. That means decluttering, combining two households, and deciding what stays without making either of us miserable.

It also means updating her house. Some fixes we’ve wanted since 2010. Others showed up at the worst possible time. You can see the list in Same House, New Season.

Then There Are the Houses Themselves

My current house, where I renovated the kitchen, has been on the market since August. I’ll likely move before it sells, so I’m looking at ways it can earn income until it does.

Mom’s house will be sold one day too. So I’m updating it to be livable for us now and appealing to the next family later. The money from both houses will help move the family home forward.

How I’m Paying for It

I’m not asking for donations. I’ve spent years creating businesses, products, and ideas that never got the attention they needed. Now they have a bigger purpose. I’m putting them to work to help pay for the land, the design, and eventually the build:

Olivia & Queen: natural body care and accessories
Everyday People Build: learn to build your own ideas with AI
Gettagether: plan your family reunion in one place
Reconnecting Rainbows: Christian apparel and gifts

When you buy something you love from one of these brands, watch a video, subscribe to a channel, or share the project, you’re helping move it forward. And if you simply follow along, I’m glad you’re here.

The Honest Part

This won’t be quick. Some plans will change, some ideas won’t work, and there will be surprises. I’ll share all of it here, including the real costs and the things that don’t go as planned.

Here’s what comes next:

Move back home and update Mom’s house
Sell my house, and later Mom’s
Earn and save for the land
Find the right property
Design the home with the Golden Girls

What You’ll Find Here

I’ll share two kinds of stories. Journey Stories are about the decisions, research, and behind-the-scenes thinking. Project Stories are about the actual work: renovating, moving, searching for land, designing, and eventually building.

Your Turn

Are you caring for more than one parent or relative? Have you thought about bringing your family closer together? Tell me in the comments.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)