63rd Post – Adding - for Age in place

Week 14 of Construction

This is a question that a reader asked:  What are the age in place features do you have in your home?

My husband and I were looking way ahead when we were designing this home.  We look at our older relatives and see how they struggle with mobility issues that might someday affect us. 

So to help in our later years, we made some specific design choices:

Ranch style home - one level

Wide hallway

Enough room in our bedroom for wheelchair access

Bench in the shower with an adjustable showerhead and grab bar nearby

Walls on both sides of the toilet for grab bars later

Lever-style handles for doors

We will only have three overhead cabinets in our kitchen

Hardwood floors

A deck that has access from main living area without stair

A gentle sloop at the side of the house to access our yard

We have three zones in our home.  If you look at our plans, you will see that one side of the house we will be able to have someone stay and have their own space to help us, if need be.  I am sure there are others ideas for age in place, but these are the ones we thought of when designing our home.