阅读训练《蜗居时代的温情》

The ground floor is home to a family of four – Richard Evans, 43, his partner, Emma Jones, 38, and their two daughters. It's a stylish open-plan living space with a bathroom squeezed under the stairs. Richard's mother, Annie Elliott Evans, 68, lives upstairs, with a glorious, sugar-pink kitchen that soars high into the eaves and a large, elegant bedroom – "My escape." Her mother, Elsie Tipper, 92, has a bedroom and bathroom of her own on the first floor, crammed with great-grandmotherly knick-knacks, and with a stairlift to transport her up.

In many countries, this kind of close familial living is common place. But in the UK, where the number of single households continues to rise – and older people are increasingly shipped off to care homes – it's unusual. How did it come about?

"It was Richard's idea," says Annie, who had lived in the large family home nearby for 30 years, bringing up her four children. "He feels he should look after me. I was used to being in a large, lively household and didn't really want that to change. And he wanted a nice family home in this area but couldn't afford it. So we teamed up."

Richard, Emma and Annie bought the house, in north London, 10 years ago. "It was a bargain," Annie says. "It had lots of small, poky rooms." Richard knocked through the kitchen on the ground floor, extending it sideways and into the garden. The resulting space has an Aga, flagstone flooring, wallpapers from Cole & Son, vintage furniture upholstered in Missoni Home fabrics, a giant fish tank, quirky vintage ephemera and arty photographs. Richard and Emma have a moody, glamorous bedroom; Isabella, nine, and Boadecia (Bo), eight, share a girly room with bunk beds. "It's immaculate downstairs," Annie says. "All the girls' drawings and paintings end up in my kitchen."

Isabella arrived soon after they moved in. And six years ago Annie moved Elsie from her sheltered accommodation in Norfolk when she fell ill. "We thought that was it," Annie says. "Now she's so well looked after, she'll probably get a telegram from the Queen."

Annie spends a lot of time with her granddaughters, picking them up from school most days. The arrange ment works well for Emma, who travels a lot for her work as a fashion buyer. "As I've grown older and had children, I've realised how important the security and support of family is," she says. "It might seem a strange setup to some, but it's a very happy home. My daughters are growing up knowing how to share, and learning values that other children their age haven't learned."