Has MIL always been lazy or is it possible that she is just deeply depressed? By this point, everyone else close to her age that she ever knew is probably dead so she may feel she has no one to talk to that really understands her. Plus, in my experience, people of that generation have a deep NEED to be needed and they get depressed when they feel worthless and a burden on others. Problem is that depression makes it harder for the depressed person to WANT to do anything so they actually become more of a burden on others... which makes them feel even worse about themselves. You might try figuring out some things that your MIL CAN do and then asking her to do them FOR you. Even if it is just the simplest of tasks like stirring something on the stove while you prep the rest of the dinner. Or setting the table. (Even with a walker, if you put the stacks of dishes/glassware/etc on the table, she can set everything out properly) Or dusting...easy enough to do with one of those lightweight dusting wands. Or maybe she could teach you how to make some signature dish that she used to make? Does she make her own bed? Pick up her own room? Do her own laundry? If not, do you think she is physically and mentally capable of doing these things? Don't assume that using a walker makes a task utterly impossible. I've seen determined old folks who use walkers continue to do a very wide range of activities. Motivation is the key. Try presenting the tasks as things you NEED for her to do FOR YOU. IF she feels that you NEED the help, she may rally to do things that she "doesn't really feel like doing" because DUTY is a huge motivator for those born back before the depression. Really, it doesn't matter what you get her doing, as long as she feels like she has been a help to you, she'll probably begin to perk up. My 83 y.o. father just moved in with me a couple of weeks ago and is still recuperating from major surgery. So I've been doing EVERYTHING for him. This morning he got up clearly depressed. My youngest brother and his two pre-schoolers were here for Christmas and just left yesterday so that probably had something to do with Dad's depression. Nevertheless, I decided there was no way I was going to let him sit around all day feeling sorry for himself. So, after breakfast, I said "Dad, I've got about a jillion things I need to do today iand nowhere near enough time to get them all done. Do you think you could help me out by taking care of all the laundry?" We had several loads just of sheets and towels from having had company. Dad jumped right in. I showed him how to run the washer and dryer than the two of us Went around and pulled all the sheets off the beds and gathered up all the towels and other laundry out of all the bathrooms. I figured I'd have to do the sorting but Dad started in and it was clear that he knew what he was doing so I left him alone to do it. Laundry room is right next to the TV room so he watched football and did laundry pretty much all day....even hung things up on hangers and folded up the fitted sheets, etc. When I started fixing dinner, he came in and asked if there was anything he could do to help! That's the first time he's offered to help since he's been here. And it is obvious that his mood is about a thousand times brighter than it was 8 hours ago. Plus, I actually managed to get a few things done that I've been postponing for weeks because I've been waiting hand and foot on Dad. Sometimes I wonder if maybe we try a bit too hard to "take care" of our aging parents,

miruca, I really don't have any suggestions to add. But, wanted to let you know that our daughter and her husband, finished their "bonus area" above their 3-car garage as a guest area several months ago. I don't know the dimensions, but it is larger than your area. They have two small bedrooms (one has a queen bed with dresser and decent closet; other has a twin bed with a smaller closet); full bath with a linen closet inside; large family room area with large TV; and a kitchenette with bar and 4 barstools! We travel down there frequently as we will be building on property next to them this year. We absolutely LOVE having our own space now when we visit. And, this is in all likelihood where we will be living once we sell our present home and build the new one. We are retired and early risers. The grandkids love to come visit us as soon as they get up in the morning. We have our own coffee maker up there, sink, microwave, and an undercounter fridge. All the comforts of home and more. And, while yes we can hear the garage doors open and close, but that's never been a problem for us. :-) Good luck on your project!

Honey11, You don't know my Dad. ;) The architect plans were about 900sf. Dad changed them up a bit and it was at 1500sf...then 1800sf..then 2800sf. Then the lot across the dam from us went on the market. They spent a month trying to decide, then our builder told him how much the 2800sf would run and he said he might as well build his own house (meaning, if it was built on my lot he would be paying a lot of money to build a house on my property). Can't very well put a 2800sf house (would be about the smallest thing in our community) on almost 9 acres for resale purposes. So they started from scratch. They are both in great shape. Their parents lived long, healthy lives. What kills me is it's only about 25 minutes from their in town house which is a larger. lol Mom would move out here full time but Dad isn't ready. They usually spend three or four nights out here about every ten days. Mom just spent two months while Dad was out of the country. Chisue is right; in some instances it would be better for the person to go to a retirement home. My maternal grandmother wasn't crazy about the idea until she moved into a wonderful place. Loved being around people (most of the time). She had a one room "apartment," so she had privacy. Meals, church services, and planned activities were nice.

It will be difficult to get an answer because you really haven’t given any information except “mother-in-law”. How old is she? Does she want to move? Is this all the furniture she has? Is she handicapped? Does she like any particular style or colors? Who will she entertain- six grandchildren or her Tuesday bridge club? Does she collect rocks or garden gnomes or silver candelabra ? What is the budget-$800 or $86250? Is she still able to make her own decisions or does she hate decorating and just wants you to do all the work?