Not all Baby Boomers are looking to downsize from an empty nest. Some Boomers in the luxury market are evolving their homes with their life stage by retooling master suites into self-contained apartments.
Many of the top real estate brokers handling spacious, high-end properties around the country report this trend and anecdotal data to Bloomberg. Aspen, Colo. broker Jill Shore represents a home with an elevator from the garage to the master suite, which has its own gym, office, fridge, and sink. “People build cozy dens off the kitchen or master bedroom where everyone gathers, while the living room collects dust.” Hamptons broker Tim Davis says the trend is lifestyle-driven, similar to Europeans, "they’re shutting off part of the house.”
Ten years ago, interior designer Rela Gleason faced a conundrum as she began to build her own house in Napa Valley, Calif. “We had grown children and grandchildren, but they were only going to be there for a small amount of time,” Gleason says. She and her husband wanted to have a house that could accommodate their whole, growing family. “But on the other hand,” she says, “we didn’t want to live in a big house and pass through a lot of empty rooms that felt lonely” when the family wasn’t there.
