Intergenerational Living: A Carriage House in Central Saanich

One conversation we’ve been having more and more lately is whether a carriage house might be the right fit.

With house prices as high as they are on the Island, there can be a real financial benefit to adding another home to your property. It can help preserve or increase the value of the land, while creating new possibilities for how a family lives together.

But the benefits aren’t only financial. A carriage house can make it possible to stay closer to family and community, simplify the amount of home you need to maintain, and create a new space designed around how you want to live as you get older.

Our Central Saanich project is a good example. The carriage house became much more than a smaller home. It allowed one generation to simplify without leaving behind the people and community that mattered most, while giving the next generation room to build a life of their own.

We spoke with the homeowners about the conversations and decisions that led their family to build a carriage house.

What first got you thinking about building a carriage house?

Our son and wife moved in with us at the start of COVID. Over the next few years, conversations about where they would ultimately like to live and raise their children, combined with our own discussions on downsizing/simplifying our lifestyle as we entered retirement, resulted in the family decision for all of us to stay at our property, build an accessory dwelling unit/carriage house, and have the main house available for our son and his family.

Did you consider selling and downsizing instead?

We did consider selling our existing home and buying a condominium, and then helping our son financially with the purchase of a home. However, building a secondary dwelling had more overall benefits for our family:

• staying in the neighbourhood we’ve called home for over 30 years
• moving into a newly constructed house
• downsizing, and
• living in close proximity to family and friends as we age.

Benefits for our son and his wife included:

• living in a larger and newer house than they would’ve been able to afford elsewhere on the Saanich Peninsula, and
• being in a better financial position to start a family.

How did the financial side factor into your decision?

For us, multigenerational living on the property was seen as a better long term financial option for our whole family. The cost to build the carriage house was less than what a new condo would have cost, and the new dwelling unit increased the overall value of the property. If we had sold the existing house, and downsized to a condo, our son would likely have had to look for housing outside the Victoria area, even with financial assistance from us.

The ability to age in place in our neighbourhood, downsize, and see our son raise a family in the house he grew up in, were significant factors in our decision to build a secondary dwelling.

Now that you’re living there, how has being closer to family changed day-to-day life?

It’s made us closer.

We see each other every day, and enjoy meals together regularly throughout the week. Seeing our granddaughter frequently is a blessing, and having the energy of a young child around keeps us “on the go”, which is great for our overall health and wellbeing in our retirement years.

Staying in our neighbourhood also allows us to keep in touch with our friends, and continue to utilize the area services and amenities.

Were there specific decisions you made with aging in place in mind?

We opted for wider doorways and extra maneuvering space in the kitchen, should one of us need to use a wheelchair. Although we are located on a sloped lot, our main stairway to the living level for the carriage house is concrete, and can accommodate a lift, if the need arises. We also put a walk-in shower in our ensuite, and installed easy-to-use taps and drawer pulls throughout the house.

Most of our material choices for the carriage house were made with longevity/lower maintenance requirements in mind – we wouldn’t change a thing!

What would you say to someone considering whether to sell or stay?

Take the time to detail your own pros and cons of selling or staying. Once you’ve identified the things that are most important to you, and feel a carriage house may work for your needs, talk to professionals. A good designer can maximize the efficient use of space and create a warm, inviting environment, and a good builder/contractor like Fayze can find cost-efficient ways to deliver that vision.

At the end of the day, every family will arrive at a different answer.

For us, the important part is taking the time at the beginning to understand what you want your home, property and life to make possible in the years ahead. When those conversations happen early, the details that follow can be considered around the way you actually want to live, both now and well into the future.