aging in place, an overview — Ford 3 Architects

Designing to Age in Place

I want the option to stay in my house as I get older and so do my clients. Balancing a beautiful house with practical needs is everyone's goal. Designing to meet the needs of aging in place is not only possible but essential to tailoring your home to your needs of today and tomorrow. The functional can be beautiful.

What does it mean to make a house more accommodating to your future needs or more accessible? Accessibility can look different for each of us; there are two paths that we need to consider. First, consider general features that will aid most anyone with day-to-day living. This comes in the form of limiting steps into the house, having a location to put down your groceries, and making sure the clearances around your house are large enough to be easy to navigate, such as into the powder room. Second, consider needs and challenges that are specific to each homeowner. This could involve the loss of dexterity or the need for assistance while walking. Changes could include a kitchen design that places the most used items within easy reach, moving the primary bedroom to the first floor, or replacing knobs with levers for easier door operation are examples of specific changes to help with day-to-day living.

A few general design items to be considered are:

1. Create an accessible path into your house from the driveway and through the key rooms in your home. Think about sloped sidewalks and ramps to eliminate steps into and around your house. Widen doors and passages, where possible, to get from room to room. Thoughtful design can create these pathways and access without them looking like a wheelchair ramp.

2. A new first-floor primary bedroom or a well-placed elevator can add years to your time in your house. Adding a multi-purpose room on the first floor that can serve as a first-floor primary bedroom later is a good idea. To maintain a second floor primary bedroom suite you might need an elevator. Residential elevators can sometimes be located in existing rooms that work between the floors, or an elevator tower can be placed on an exterior wall of your house. New residential elevators are purposely built to accommodate the size and needs of people today.

3. Add a bathroom that makes daily routine as easy as possible. Consider overall layout and clearances for the toilet, sink and shower. Adding grab bars that match the plumbing fixtures makes them a functional part of the décor and increases your future safety, too. Adding a hand sprayer to a traditional showerhead in the shower allows for more options if you need to be seated.

4. Arrange the primary spaces of kitchen, laundry, and leisure to let you move efficiently and easily in your home. A comprehensive look at all your requirements and making them within reach eliminates difficulties in the future with any one aspect of living.

5. New technologies are being developed all the time to make living easier through innovation. Whether new technology is to be incorporated or not is a matter of personal preference but designing with the flexibility to allow easy adoption is a good idea. Door cameras and electronic locks help you know who is at the door and make letting those invited in an easier task.

6. Simple exterior accommodations for our new home delivery culture make receiving the ordered items from the grocery store or Amazon secure until you can bring them inside. A modern-day “milk door” or using single-use smart lock codes on the garage door are good options.

7. Simplify managing the services that help you run your home including trash and recycling pick-up, mail, and property maintenance. As much thought needs to be given to how the garage and exterior of your property is designed as to the interior. For example, how will tasks such as lawn maintenance, snow clearing, and recycling be managed. What are the tasks completed by you or being delegated to others and how are the maintenance items stored?

Making your home as efficient as possible for you and your changing needs as you age will allow you to stay in your home and live independently longer. Whether your list of modifications is simple or complex, having a plan in place before you need them adds flexibility to your future life. We’ve successfully helped other clients design futures in their current homes. The best time to enact changes for the future is when you are planning the next home project.

The partners at Ford 3 Architects, Moira McClintock, Quinn Schwenker, and Erin Monaghan are in the second half of life, the sandwich generation, caring for their children and their parents. They are witness to the evolving needs of their parents and helping make the homes they live in work for them.