About Lucy

A BIT ABOUT ME

Hi, I'm Lucy Fernandez, founder of Generations by Design.

I am a mother of four, a grandmother and part of the generation looking in two directions: towards adult children building lives of their own and towards the realities of our own later years.

Generations by Design did not begin as a business idea dreamed up at my desk. It grew from a decision my family is making for ourselves and my determination to understand what living together would really involve.

The more I researched, the more I realised how difficult it was to find practical, balanced UK guidance that considered the whole picture. I created Generations by Design to fill the gap.

MY PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

I have spent more than four decades working in the NHS and broader healthcare arena. My professional journey has included nursing, midwifery, health visiting, safeguarding, equality and inclusion, leadership, facilitation, service and professional development.

Although the roles have been varied, there has been a consistent thread running through them: helping people make sense of complexity, include different perspectives and move difficult conversations forward.

I hold an ILM level 7 qualification in executive coaching and mentoring and I am a trained coaching supervisor. I have developed coaching and mentoring services within three NHS organisations and supported people through change, uncertainty, professional challenges and important decisions. That experience shapes how I approach multigenerational living.

It does not make me a solicitor, architect, financial adviser or therapist - and I do not present myself as one. My lived experience has taught me how to ask thoughtful questions, listen carefully, notice assumptions and recognise when specialist professional advice is needed.

WHY THIS WORK MATTERS TO ME

Multigenerational living is often discussed as a solution to housing costs, childcare or later-life support. Those considerations matter, but they are only part of the picture.

Behind every arrangement are people with different histories, expectations, habits, worries and hopes. A decision can make financial sense and still feel unfair. A beautiful property can still leave someone without privacy. A family can love one another deeply and still find sharing daily life difficult.

I want Generations by Design to create space for those realities without presenting them as reasons to abandon the idea. They are reasons to explore it carefully.

MY VALUES

Every voice matters.

Decisions about a shared home should not be shaped only by the loudest voice, the person contributing the most money or the person with the strongest preferences. Everyone affected needs an opportunity to be heard.

Honesty is kinder than avoidance. Difficult subjects do not become easier because families postpone them. Money, care, privacy, inheritance, childcare, ownership and changing relationships deserve calm, honest discussion.

Connection and independence can coexist. Living together should not require anyone to give up their identity, autonomy or right to privacy. Closeness works best when people also have space of their own.

Practical and emotional questions belong together. Property, money and legal arrangements cannot be separated entirely from relationships, feelings and family history. A sustainable plan needs to consider both.

Curiosity is more useful than assumption. Families often believe they already know what one another wants. Asking a thoughtful question - and genuinely listening to the answer - can reveal something very different.

Plans must be allowed to change. People age. Children grow. Health, work, finances and relationships change. A good arrangement needs regular conversations and enough flexibility to evolve.

OUTSIDE OF WORK

I live in Dorset and am happiest when life includes family, animals, books, home and garden design, baking sourdough and a notebook full of ideas.

I'm a 'fit-it' girl, a creative and always looking for a solution. I throw myself at a DIY joy with abandon and have endless energy to complete projects at breakneck speed! I care deeply, live with compassion at my core, and feel strongly about fairness and kindness.

Many would think this crazy, but I love the process of moving house and creating a home - and I've done it quite a few times!

I am naturally curious, endlessly interested in why people do what they do and inclined to look beneath a simple answer for the question that has not yet been asked.

Generations by Design is both personal and professional to me. I want the culmination of my life's work to be meaningful and my lived experience to be useful. I am building the resource I wanted to find when my own family began this journey - and sharing what we learn as our story continues.

Connect

info@generationsbydesign.co.uk

Based in Dorset - Supporting families across the UK