As more Australian families live under one roof across three generations, the home elevator has quietly become the enabler of multi-generational living. It lets grandparents, parents and children share a multi-storey home without the stairs dividing it by age or ability. With a lift, the whole house works for everyone: grandparents are not confined to the ground floor, and the home adapts as the family’s needs change over decades rather than years.
This piece looks at why multi-generational living is on the rise in Australia, the problem the stairs create in a shared home, and how a lift solves it for every generation at once.
Why Multi-Generational Living Is Rising
Several forces are pushing Australian families toward shared homes. Housing affordability makes it harder for younger adults to buy, so many stay longer or return home. The cost of residential aged care leads families to keep older parents at home instead. Shared childcare and eldercare make living together practical as well as affordable. And for many families, multi-generational living reflects a cultural preference for keeping the family close. Building or extending to include grandparents, and to give adult children their own space, is increasingly common across the country.
The Problem Stairs Create in a Shared Home
In a shared multi-storey home, stairs quietly segregate the household. Grandparents become stuck on one level, unable to reach a bedroom, bathroom or living area upstairs. Parents ferry laundry, shopping and small children up and down all day. Whole parts of the home become effectively off-limits to the oldest and youngest members, and the flexibility that made the shared home appealing in the first place is lost. Worse, the risk of a fall rises for the very people least able to absorb one.
How a Lift Solves It for Every Generation
A home elevator reconnects every level for every member of the household. Grandparents can take an upstairs suite or move freely to a downstairs living zone, keeping their independence and dignity. Parents move prams, washing and shopping between floors without a second thought. And the home stays fully usable as needs shift, whether that means a new baby, a grandparent’s changing mobility, or an adult child moving back for a while. One lift future-proofs the whole house for the next 20 to 30 years, which is exactly the horizon a multi-generational home is built for.
Designing a Home for Three Generations
If you are building or extending with multiple generations in mind, a few decisions pay off for decades. Consider the lift early, ideally at the design stage, so it can be built in cheaply rather than retrofitted later. Position it to serve both the shared living zones and the private areas each generation needs. Size the cabin for a wheelchair or walker, since across three generations someone is likely to need one at some point. And choose finishes that suit the home so the lift feels like a natural part of it. Provisioning for a lift during a build costs very little and makes the home genuinely adaptable.
The Bigger Picture
The rise of the multi-generational home reflects a broader shift in how Australians think about housing: not as a place to pass through, but as a long-term family base. In that context, a home elevator is not a luxury but a piece of essential infrastructure, the thing that lets one house serve grandparents, parents and children comfortably and safely for years. It is why lifts are increasingly specified in family homes from the outset, not added in a crisis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are home elevators popular in multi-generational homes? They keep every level accessible to every generation, so stairs do not divide the household by age or ability.
Does a lift help grandparents live with family? Yes. It lets older family members reach all levels safely and independently, rather than being confined to the ground floor.
Should we plan a lift when building a multi-generational home? Ideally yes. Provisioning during construction is inexpensive and makes the home adaptable for decades.
What size lift suits a family home? One with a cabin large enough for a wheelchair or walker and comfortable for daily family use. A consultant can match it to your plans.
Does a lift add value to a family home? Yes. It widens the buyer pool and future-proofs the home, adding resale appeal, often 10 to 25 per cent in the right market.
Building a home for the whole family? Talk to Easy Living, Australia’s number one home elevator company, with more than 12,500 installs nationwide.
