As the kids go off to college, start careers, move into new homes of their own and possibly start giving you grandkids, it’s a great opportunity to have the private, future-filled dream home you’ve always imagined.
This means enjoying a home that’s geared towards your personal, professional and recreational needs as your children have grown and flown, and you prepare for retirement.
6 Enhancing Features For Empty Nester House Plans
Whether you want to relax, entertain friends and family, or pursue your favorite recreational activities, designing your home for this stage of life is very exciting. Not only can you hand-pick features and amenities, but you’ll get low-maintenance, highly functional living, now and into the future.
Read on to learn about six features for empty nester house plans that you may find you can’t live without!
1. Single-Level Homes
Once the nest is empty and the kids have gone off to pursue their own personal passions, many older couples like to downsize from multi-story homes to single-level homes. This can be due to mobility concerns or the desire to own a home that is easier to navigate and maintain.
Single-level homes can also incorporate many amazing features, like screened-in back porches, sunrooms and open or semi-open floor plans to make the space feel larger. This is extremely beneficial when hosting holiday parties and get-togethers for family and friends.
The national average cost to build a single story home is $295,000, according to Fixr.
2. Exercise and Hobby Rooms
It’s important to stay sharp and healthy at any age. Whether you choose to do so by maintaining regular physical activity or dedicating free time to a favorite hobby, an extra bedroom can make it both fun, and convenient.
Custom built-ins and extra storage are considerations when designing your hobby or craft room. Focus on flooring options as well. For both hobby rooms and home gyms, the right flooring selection is critical.
Rubber floors, hardwood, and engineered hardwood are great choices for exercise rooms. Hobby rooms should also have a hard surface floor, like tile, hardwood, engineered hardwood or laminate, in order to ensure it’s durable and easy to clean.
Hard surface floors typically range in price from $1 per square foot to $10 per square foot, depending on the type of material and style, according to Home Advisor.
Based on HowMuchIsIt, creating a home gym typically costs between $1,000 and $2,000, depending on the type of exercise equipment you purchase.
3. Luxurious, Spa-Like Master Bathrooms
Many house plans for empty nesters focus on the master bathroom, and for good reason. This stage of life is about enjoying the fruits of your labor, and hopefully, that means more relaxation. This all starts in the master bathroom.
Standard, contractor-grade bathtubs and showers are often small and difficult to navigate, especially as we get older. To ensure your master bathroom meets all of your practical and extravagant needs, consider upgrading to a large, walk-in master shower enclosed by frameless glass.
Features like benches, storage cubbies, and soap shelves can all be designed to play into your desires as much as they facilitate safety.
Other amenities that can help make your master bathroom feel like a spa include:
- Comfort height toilets
- Vanity counters with seating
- Specialized storage solutions
- Freestanding tubs
- Walk-in features that eliminate the need to step over slippery surfaces
Luxurious bathroom upgrades typically cost between $8,800 and $20,000, according to Improvenet.
4. First-Floor Master Bedroom
When it comes to empty nester house plans, you can’t go wrong with a first-floor master bedroom suite.
As we age, navigating stairs may become more difficult, if not just become a daily nuisance. Choosing a layout with a first-floor master bedroom still provides separation of public and private spaces.
If your home plan doesn’t include a first-floor master suite, it’s fairly common to transform the original master into another bedroom and add on a first-floor master addition. This is usually put on the back of the home where there’s more usable space.
In some cases, the only thing that needs to be added is the private en-suite bath, which can range from $3,000 to $6,000 or more, depending on amenities, according to Home Cost Helper.
5. Fully-Equipped Custom Kitchens for Easy Meal Preparation
Kitchens are still the heart of the home even after the kids and moved on to begin their adult lives.
Outfit your new kitchen with a center island for meal preparation, an upgraded stove with dual-ovens and a walk-in pantry where you can store all your favorite foods and baking ingredients.
Your kitchen can include a coffee bar and wine fridge for those comfortable, quiet evenings at home. There are so many options when it comes to creating your dream kitchen in an empty nester house plan.
It’s also worthwhile to see the value in high-quality appliances. With upgraded amenities, like an energy-efficient refrigerator and dishwasher, you can expect to invest more, but will likely see the difference in energy savings.
Home Advisor estimates that custom kitchens cost between $10,000 and $30,000.
6. Custom Outdoor Living Spaces for Relaxing and Entertaining
Once you finish designing the interior of your empty nester house plan, don’t forget about the exterior!
Specially designed exteriors can give your home additional living space by providing you with a large deck or patio where you can lounge, grill outdoors and entertain friends and family.
These can be designed with grilling areas, outdoor kitchens, and fire pits or fireplaces. Hot tubs, televisions, and specialized lighting are just some of many features for outdoor living spaces.
A custom outdoor space can range between $4,000 and $10,000, according to Home Advisor.
Custom Empty Nester House Plans from Highland Builders
At Highland Builders in Rockville, VA, we can design and build your new home after the kids have left the nest.
We offer several customizable house plans for empty nesters to suit all of your needs, including open and semi-open floor plans, downstairs guest rooms, formal dining rooms and home offices, studies and libraries.
We’ll even design and build your custom outdoor living space.
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