Designing a Multigenerational Home in Melbourne
More and more Melbourne families are building for three generations at once. Parents, children, and grandparents, all under one roof or on one block.
The reasons are practical. Childcare and elder care are easier when people are close. Housing is expensive. And for many families it is simply how they have always lived and expect to keep living.
The design question is not how to fit everyone in. Almost any house can be made to hold more people. The question is how to do it so that nobody feels like a guest and nobody feels crowded.
Start with the honest conversation
Before any design work, the family needs to agree on some things that are uncomfortable to discuss.
How separate do people actually want to be? There is a wide spectrum between "we eat every meal together" and "we live independently and see each other on Sundays". Different households sit in different places on it, and the design has to know which.
Who needs their own front door? Coming and going without walking through someone else's living space is one of the biggest determinants of whether shared living works.
Does anyone need their own kitchen? A second kitchen, even a small one, changes the dynamic completely. It means independent meals, independent schedules, and independent hospitality.
What will change in ten years? Grandparents may need more support. Children will leave, or will not. The home should be able to adapt.
Who owns it, and what happens if circumstances change? Not a design question, but it affects design. A home that can be reconfigured, let, or sold as two dwellings is a different brief from one that cannot.
Have that conversation properly. The families for whom this works are the ones who talked about it before they built.
The three main approaches
1. One home, zoned
A single dwelling designed with distinct zones. Typically a self contained wing with a bedroom, bathroom and sitting area, connected to the main house but separated by a hallway, a level change or a shared living space.
Works when: the family wants genuine togetherness and everyone is comfortable sharing a kitchen and main living areas.
Design keys: put the separate wing where it does not sit next to the main living area or the children's bedrooms. Use a buffer, such as a study, laundry or storage, between the zones. Give the wing its own outdoor access, even if it is just a door to a courtyard.
Watch for: noise. A single wall between a grandparent's bedroom and a family living room is not enough. Acoustic separation needs to be designed in, not hoped for.
2. One home with a self contained suite
A step further. The suite has a bedroom, bathroom, living area and a kitchenette, plus its own external entry. It connects to the main house through a door that can be closed.
Works when: the family wants independence with the option of connection. This is the most common arrangement and it is usually the most durable.
Design keys: the connecting door matters more than anything else. It should open between circulation spaces, not between living rooms, so that closing it feels normal rather than pointed. The suite should be a place someone can live in for a week without opening that door.
Watch for: planning definitions. Depending on the fit out and the local scheme, a self contained area may be treated as a second dwelling, which changes the approvals. Check this before designing rather than after.
3. Two dwellings on one block
A dual occupancy, or a main dwelling plus a small second dwelling. Two genuinely separate homes with their own entries, kitchens, laundries and outdoor spaces.
Works when: the family wants proper independence, or when the second dwelling may be rented or sold later.
Design keys: everything covered in dual occupancy design applies. Give each dwelling a proper entry, its own usable outdoor space, and privacy from the other.
Watch for: the planning requirements. Two or more dwellings on a lot triggers a planning permit and assessment against the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code, which commenced on 31 March 2025. A single dwelling plus a small second dwelling on a lot under 300 square metres is assessed under the revised Clause 54, which changed on 8 September 2025. Both introduced deemed to comply pathways that reward designs meeting the codified standards.
Our services page sets out how we handle both custom homes and multi residential work.
The design decisions that decide whether it works
Give everyone somewhere to be alone
This is the whole thing, really. Shared living fails when there is nowhere to retreat to.
Every adult in the household needs a space they can occupy without displacing anyone. A bedroom is not enough, because a bedroom is for sleeping and people do not want to sit in bed all evening.
That might be a small sitting area off a bedroom, a study, a sunroom, or a covered outdoor space. It does not need to be large. It needs to be theirs.
Design for two conversations happening at once
In a single living space, one activity dominates. Someone watching television determines what everyone in earshot is doing.
Two living areas, even where one is much smaller, solves this. A main living space plus a second sitting room, snug or rumpus means two things can happen simultaneously without negotiation.
Take sound seriously
Acoustic separation is the most common regret in multigenerational homes and it is almost entirely a design and construction issue.
What helps:
Locate bedrooms away from living areas and away from each other, using bathrooms, robes and storage as buffers
Insulate internal walls between zones, not just external walls
Use solid core doors rather than hollow ones between zones
Detail floor and ceiling junctions properly on double storey homes
Put the laundry, which runs at unpredictable hours, away from sleeping areas
Consider where the bathroom plumbing runs, since pipes in a wall shared with a bedroom carry sound
None of this is expensive during construction. All of it is expensive afterwards.
Plan for changing mobility
Even if nobody needs it now, someone probably will.
The moves that cost nothing at design stage:
A bedroom and full bathroom on the ground floor
Doorways wide enough for a walking frame
A step free entry on at least one door
A bathroom with a hobless shower rather than a step and a screen
Blocking in bathroom walls so grab rails can be fitted later without opening the wall
Level access from the living area to at least one outdoor space
Corridors wide enough to turn in
Doing these things later means demolition. Doing them now means drawing them slightly differently.
Get the kitchen arrangement right
Kitchens are where multigenerational households either work or grate.
One kitchen works if the household genuinely cooks together and eats together. It needs to be larger than a normal family kitchen, with enough bench length for two people to work without colliding, and enough storage for two households' worth of everything.
A kitchen plus a kitchenette is the more common answer. The kitchenette needs a sink, a fridge, a benchtop, some storage, and either a cooktop or at least a microwave and a kettle. That is enough for independence without duplicating a full kitchen.
Two full kitchens is a dual occupancy in all but name, and it should probably be designed as one.
Think about the front door
Arriving home should not require walking through someone else's space. Where a shared entry is unavoidable, a generous entry hall with clear paths to each zone works far better than a small one where everyone converges.
Separate mail, separate storage for shoes and coats, and separate parking all reduce daily friction more than their cost suggests.
Do not forget storage
Multiple households means multiple sets of everything. Kitchen equipment, linen, tools, seasonal items, and the accumulated possessions of people who have had homes of their own.
Under-providing storage is the fastest way to make a large house feel cramped. Plan more than you think, and plan it where people actually are rather than all in one place.
Outdoor space
Two zones inside means at least two outdoor spaces, or one large one that can be used by different people at different times without collision.
A courtyard off a grandparent's suite, oriented north, sheltered from wind, is one of the most used spaces in a well designed multigenerational home. It gives somewhere to sit outside without being in the middle of family life.
The performance side
The same standards apply as for any new home. Since 1 May 2024, new homes in Victoria have had to meet a 7 star minimum thermal rating plus a Whole of Home energy budget.
One point specific to multigenerational living: zoned heating and cooling matters more here than in a standard family home, because different parts of the house are occupied at different times and different people prefer different temperatures. Designing the zones properly reduces running costs and reduces arguments.
We cover the broader performance picture in our guide to designing a future-proof custom home in Melbourne.
Why this is usually a custom job
Standard plans are drawn for a standard household. Two adults, some children, one kitchen, one living area, bedrooms upstairs.
Multigenerational living is specific to the family living it. How separate, how connected, whose parents, what they need now and in ten years. A plan drawn for a generic household will not know any of that, and adapting one usually produces a house that does neither thing well.
We set out the honest comparison between the two approaches in custom builder versus volume builder in Melbourne.
Talking it through
We take on a limited number of homes each year, and multigenerational briefs need that time. There are more people with a view, and getting the brief right takes more than one conversation.
Have a look at our projects, including Doynton, Parkgate and Cambridge. Selections for a multigenerational home involve more people too, which is why we run them through K Studio with our interior designer Nikki.
Read about our team, see our services, or get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a planning permit for a multigenerational home?
It depends on how it is designed. A single dwelling with a zoned wing generally does not trigger the multi dwelling provisions. A self contained second dwelling usually does. The distinction turns on how the planning scheme defines a dwelling, so check before designing.
What is the difference between a granny flat and a second dwelling?
In Victoria the relevant term is a small second dwelling, which has specific provisions. Whether a self contained area counts as one depends on its fit out and independence. Your planner or building surveyor can confirm.
Can I add a second kitchen without it becoming a second dwelling?
A kitchenette is usually acceptable within a single dwelling, but the boundary is a matter of interpretation under the planning scheme. Get advice on your specific design and council.
How do I stop the arrangement feeling temporary for the grandparents?
Give them a proper entry, their own outdoor space, and a room that is theirs to sit in rather than only to sleep in. Those three things do more than floor area.
Should I plan for the home to be reconfigured later?
Yes, if you can. A design where the self contained area can be closed off entirely, or opened up entirely, gives you options if circumstances change. It costs very little to plan for and it is difficult to add later.
How does this affect resale?
Multigenerational homes appeal to a narrower but growing buyer pool. A design that can revert to a conventional family home, or that reads as a legitimate dual occupancy, protects your position better than one that only works for one specific arrangement.
Sources
Planning Victoria, Townhouse and Low-Rise Code
Planning Victoria, Single home code
Planning Victoria, Small second dwellings
Victorian Government, 7 star energy efficiency building standards
Australian Government, Your Home: Designing for accessibility