While having in-laws or grown children move in for good is the basis of many a joke, some families don`t simply laugh it off.
And the experience can be either horrible or wonderful, due in part to the style of house everyone will be sharing.
Colonial houses, for example, are arranged with all of the bedrooms on the second floor, so maintaining privacy is virtually impossible, said Carol Adams of ERA J.S. James & Co. Inc. But a raised ranch or a ranch built into a hill can permit more separation because of bedrooms on the bottom floor.
Adams is the selling agent for one such hillside ranch at 21840 Rainbow Rd. in Barrington. The house went on the market in late May and the price has since been dropped by $10,900, to $319,000.
The owners designed and built most of the home on a 1 1/2-acre lot four years ago, though they only finished the bottom floor within the last year, Adams said.
Separate entrance
Although the lower level was designed primarily for their children, the owners included features that could make it possible to live happily with guests or in-laws. The focal point is a huge 32-by-35-foot recreation area with a brick fireplace, an atrium door leading onto a wood deck overlooking a pond, and a regular door to the outside, so visitors or denizens can have their own private entrance.
There`s a small area in the family room where gas and plumbing could be installed to provide for a small second kitchen.
Adjacent to the family room are a full bathroom and a 14-by-14 bedroom with a mirrored folding-door closet and beautiful view of the pond and its ducks.
”You would be completely private if you wanted it like that, and quite a few people do,” Adams said.
Storm shelter
Guests also will have easy access to a surprise extra behind one set of the doors. Instead of opening to a linen closet as expected, these doors lead to a small crawl space, where residents can take shelter in case of a tornado, Adams explained.
Completing the bottom floor layout is a separate furnace and storage area.
Upstairs, the washer and dryer are in a small room just off the 9-by-11 eat-in kitchen, which has a bay window and brass-and-glass chandelier.
The kitchen`s beige and blue wallpaper with a tiny floral print is representative of the home`s basic color scheme. Light-brown carpeting runs through all but two upstairs bedrooms and the front entryway, which has a caramel-colored oak floor.
That entryway opens directly into the 17-by-16 living room, which adjoins an 11-by-16 dining room with textured ivory wallpaper and another brass-and-glass chandelier.
The living room has a slanted ceiling and ceiling fan, but the real attraction is the pastoral view through the wood-and-glass atrium door that opens to a narrow wood deck along the back of the house.
The 14-by-15 master bedroom also has an atrium door onto the deck, along with an attached bathroom featuring a double-sink countertop and a wide shower stall with built-in seats. Although the room has limited closet space-one folding-door closet and a small walk-in closet-the area is nice and bright.
Neither bedroom across the hallway is as cheerful or has such nice views. Both face east and look out onto the driveway and 2 1/2-car garage. One is 13 by 8 feet and the other is 12 by 10. The blue wall paint and dark gray and blue carpeting, respectively, only add to the dim atmosphere.
Adams pointed to snapshots of a woman, man and two boys holding fish on a fishing line as proof that the house`s pond is actually stocked. It`s 17 feet deep at the center and doubles as a swimming hole.
Taken together, this home`s features offer a privacy and peacefulness that could minimize friction during extended stays by relatives or friends.
