Building a house to suit multi-generational living

Multi-generational homes in Cheshire

The build begins

Now that construction has started on site, Roselin and Martin like to visit their self build project in Weaverham at the weekends, as they are both very busy with work during the week. They have meetings with the site team every six weeks and frequently chat with the project manager about the progress of their new-build home.

One self-build house, building two kitchens

Roselin says that once work started she was really surprised by how spacious the plot seems, with more room for her garden than she was expecting, as the house is located in the centre of the plot. Now that the build is well on the way, the couple are getting excited for their new new-build home. Roselin really enjoys cooking, which is why she has something special planned for the kitchen. While most people enjoy planning to build just one kitchen, she is building two!

Roselin explains,

“I like to cook, a lot! And I especially enjoy traditional Indian cookery. With the design of our new house being for quite open plan living downstairs, I was a little worried about the very strong and spicy smells from the kitchen wafting through the whole house! The solution we have come to is to build two kitchens. One, which I will call my frying kitchen, can be closed off from the other. So I can cook to my heart’s content without any concerns. The main kitchen will be an island kitchen.”

Choosing kitchen designs for a new-build house

This design choice of two kitchens means that the couple will have double the fun of selecting kitchen colours and designs. Roselin has spent a lot of time already online, checking out different styles and they are both enjoying visiting kitchen showrooms to see what would work best for them.

Roselin says,

“I thought I had loads of time to choose my kitchen, but with a self-build, it’s not quite so simple as that. You have to think about your layout really early on in the process because the location of things like the hobs and the sink  in the kitchen, or the sanitaryware in the bathroom need to be planned for right away so the power supplies and wastewater pipes can be located in the right places! ”

Roselin’s advice for anyone building their own home is to do plenty of research into things like kitchens and bathrooms as early as you can. You won’t have to choose your finishes right away, but you do need to know what layout you want very early in the building process.

Best heating options for a new-build house

When it comes to the heating supply choice, that will have an impact on design features too. For example, as the couple have selected an air source heat pump and will have underfloor heating on the ground floor, they needed to know what their options were for the type of flooring they will need. They have opted for radiators on the upper floors as a more cost effective solution for this home, which means they have a wider range of options for the upstairs flooring.

While Roselin’s domain may be the kitchen, Martin is enjoying planning his study on one of the upper floors, as he loves to relax reading and is looking forward to having his own peaceful retreat for that.

The CB Homes team has been helpful when it comes to making choices, from small elements of kitchen design to much bigger things, like the staircase. The couple were grateful to be shown a whole selection of staircase photos, so they could choose their favourite style, which would work within the overall design. They have gone for a staircase that is slightly wider than usual so they were given a range of different options within their budget.

Talk to us to find out how we can help you build your own home. We can help you design it, secure planning approval and carry out the whole build with our complete turn key self-build package. 

CB Homes is an A1+ member of the National House Building Council (NHBC), registered builder with the Local Authority Building Control (LABC), as well as a member of the Federation of Master Builders.

Contact us to find out more.