Our experts advise on choosing an area rug by pile, construction, size, and placement—and how much it’ll cost.

Leroy tools around on his mini turbo tractor while munching on a gigantic cookie; his parents look on with envy.

This eye-catching villa in the Netherlands, designed by Next Architects, proves that you can go big and go home as well. While some homes feature hints of color, the Villa van Vijven structure garners well-deserved attention thanks to its warm orange facade that is meant to mimic the tiled rooftops of Holland’s country buildings. The orange of the exterior also carries over into the communal entrance beneath the building, offset by natural elements such as stones adjacent to the entryway.

Bill's parents walking around the house at the end of the setting day.

A timber-lined study on the upper floor of the parents' suite overlooks a private outdoor courtyard open to the sky and tree canopy.

Fittingly, Alden and Vada Dow are buried in the local cemetery near Alden's parents.

In her spacious kitchen, Mahnaz Fashandi prepares for Persian New Year with her brother Mohsen and her parents Mohammad and Azam.

The perfect gift for hipster parents, I mean kids: The Sneaker Coloring Book.

Local sailboat shops wanted thousands to make the 13-by-13-foot curtain that hides the Wall of Storage. "We we called my parents in Bangkok, gave them the dimensions, and they got it made for 150 bucks." says Im.

Hufft designed the Line House for his parents, many an architect's good first client.

6. "Am I the 'fixer-upper' type?" "The truth is that an additional $100,000 on your purchase price is only about $300 more in payments,” she says. “If you work long hours and don't have a handy bone in your body, you might be better off buying a more fixed-up home.” 7. "Who are all of the decision makers, and can they actually see the home?" "There are times when parents may be helping out children with their down payment," she says. “It's always better to have the parents in on the process as early as possible."

Passionate about recycling, a Belgium designer couple Michaël Verheyden and Saartje Vereecke upcycled a beautifully veined marble tabletop from Vereecke’s parents’ house as the backsplash for their kitchen, pairing it with metal countertops for a chic industrial look.

The home's exposed concrete skeleton, wrapped in oak, creates a warm, layered space for living. Oman split the floors by function, with common areas on the ground level, followed by the kids' rooms and then a third-floor suite for the parents.

Ryan McLaughlin watches the sunset from the deck of the 160-square-foot tiny home he built, with no prior experience, at his parents’ horse ranch in Georgetown, Texas. Soon, the trailer-mounted cabin will be moved to a vineyard, where it will operate grid-free and be available to rent for short stays.

A porch and roof “cut-out” separates the parent’s bedroom on one end from the two children’s bedrooms on the opposite ends.

Kalia and Olivia in the dining room (the Danish dining table was acquired by Jesse’s parents in the mid-’70s, the dining chairs are by Arne Jacobsen, and the light fixture is by George Nelson).

Parents' Bedroom

Bornstein’s living room features an intriguing collection of furniture. The sofa is made by Swedish manufacturer Ire. The 1970s wood burner was a secondhand store find, and the wood table, by Bruno Mattson, was found in a bin at a recycling station. He inherited the lounge chair from his parents.

The two second-level bedrooms are separated by a sliding wood door that sections the children's room from the parents' room. A small glass staircase in the parents' room ascends to a balcony and helps flood the space with natural light.

Parents' Balcony

Though the view is snowy for much of the year, Bornstein has quite a vista from his living room. The black leather chair is a hand-me-down from his parents.

“My grandfather, George Fasullo, was an architect who died before I was born,” says architect Ryan Bollom. “My mom used both of our drawings as wallpaper in the secondary living space.” During the lockdown, Bollom formed an extended bubble with his parents, and he and his wife, also an architect, used the space as an office.

The homeowners’ collection of artifacts from their travels, and ones collected during a parent’s military service, add an additional sense of history to the handcrafted home. An African shield, a Native American headdress, and a Navajo rug work beautifully with the newly commissioned custom pieces.

Adair has long wished for Togo chairs, but as much as she loves the design, she tries not to be too precious about it. “We let the kids use them how they want, and they’re perfect fort furniture,” she says. “They’re really durable. It’s a design that makes architect parents happy.”

The stable was repurposed as a garage and a retreat space for the parents.

The parent's bedroom is located at one end of the top floor.

The vintage Alky chairs were passed down from Tiffany’s parents.

A custom cabinet in the ground-floor playroom provides a variety of storage options. “The biggest frustration of parents is that the toys are everywhere,” says Eva. “I always try to create a kids’ corner as well as some space for the parents. And of course enough storage options and a logical layout of the house will help to make a home child friendly.”

An 860-square-foot in-law suite for the clients’ parents is located on the northeast side of the home.

The large master bedroom can also be used as an additional living area by the parents and the children.

Architect Timothee Mercier of Studio XM converted a crumbling farmhouse into a residence for his parents.

Lizz’s parents—Louis, an architect, and Caren, a landscape architect—designed the house, which sits on a steep site.

What are some places the children's and parents' needs dovetail in the design? There was a lot of concern about minimizing clutter. There's acres of cabinetry to put things away. I think that helps to keep the kids calm. Clutter is really hard on autistic kids. Being able to keep things clean seems to really help. This place had to be user-friendly for the kids, parents, and tutors.

Architects Jaakko and Elizaveta Parkkonen designed and built Savukvartsi as their own city home, which they share with their parents and children.

The playful aesthetics of Austin Maynard Architects have once again breathed new life into aging building stock—this time with the transformation of a dark and narrow terrace in Melbourne into an open and light-filled home fitted out with sustainable features. Upstairs, the "parents’ retreat" includes a centrally located bathroom "box," seen on the left of the image. The bright orange walkway is perforated to let natural light pass through.

Surrounded by an apple orchard, an evergreen grove, and gardens originally tended by the owners’ parents, Sheffield Residence keeps family memories alive.