Futureproofing House with Reno - Parents to Pre-teens/teenagers

[MumOfTwoBoys1]

Hi!

Long time lurker, first time poster although we’ll be doing a small ground floor extension this year so imagine I’ll be posting a lot in the coming months :)

My children are currently 5 and 7 (both boys) but I know how we all use the house in a few years time will be different so wanting to futureproof whatever work we do.

For those with pre-teens/teenagers, how do you all use your space? I.e when your children have friends over where do they hang? In a communal space downstairs/separate space downstairs or in their rooms? We’re pondering on compromising on a massive open plan kitchen dining space to have a modest kitchen diner and 2 x reception rooms downstairs instead.

I think if the 2 x reception rooms and kitchen/diner are still decent size rooms then I would go with that.

We have open plan and it's annoying having to listen to their gaming whilst cooking, I often say I would like a door on the kitchen.

Teens do not want to hang in the same space as their parents.

Also they make a lot of noise - it's good to be able to block it out.

Kitchen diner and 2 reception rooms would be my preference having had teens.

Thank you so much for the quick responses so far, really appreciate it and it’s what I’m thinking. The plan is for one of the reception rooms to be open and lead on to the kitchen diner (so like an L shape). I’m thinking that whilst they’re young they hang out here and we have the closed off reception room as the adult space. Then in a few years, the closed off reception room is their hang out and the open one is for us parents.

The reception rooms will be approx 4.5m x 3.3m each so not massive but decent enough. The kitchen diner would be 5.5m x 3m so again not huge but decent enough for a U-shaped kitchen and big dining table.

We have large kitchen diner living area and a separate living room. DCs as teens would spent most of their time in their bedrooms with friends, occasionally in the front room, although if we had a better TV in there it would have been more often.
A friend has incorporated a snug in her place just off the kitchen/diner/living area and it works brilliantly for gaming kids and for adults when the kids have gone upstairs.

Wherever you put the games console, that's where they'll be.

😂😂😂😂

A separate space for them that isn't their bedrooms is ace...and if they don't use it you can have it as a study, snug...gin palace...whatever...