Things to consider when building a home for life

Recently, we completed a renovation for a client whose parents were living with her. She wanted to build with their accessibility needs in mind so that her parents would be able to stay in the home with her as long as they wished.

Her parents are in good health now, but as they age their needs from the home may start to shift.

It was a real concern for her that her home may not be accessible enough when her parents get older.

She wanted to know where to focus her renovations to ensure that her parents could comfortably live with her for many years to come.

My answer? Ideally, your entire home will be built with the future in mind.

As quality of life improves in our senior years, we want to stay in our homes as long as possible. Everyone wants to keep their independence, after all. By building with this in mind, the homes in which we raise our families can continue to be our forever homes well into our golden years.

That said, if you are renovating your home, here are a few things to keep in mind to build for life:

WHERE TO START

If you plan ahead to stay in your home for as long as possible, you can alter your future renovation projects with that information in mind. There may be a lot of work to be done, but if you start building future accessibility needs into your upcoming renovation projects now, you can be ready when the time comes.

It’s possible to make accessibility a subtle feature of the home that offers function without sacrificing the look and layout of the home.

The three basic needs that we all need from our homes are the ability to eat, sleep, and bathe easily and comfortably. My advice is to focus on the kitchen, bedroom and bathrooms first.

THE KITCHEN

When mobility becomes a concern, you will need lots of room in the kitchen to manoeuvre. It’s great that open-concept kitchens continue to be a trend, because they make for accessible spaces.

Consider the layout carefully — most designers refer to the area between the stove, refrigerator and sink as the kitchen triangle. These appliances should be spaced out enough that there’s enough room to move around comfortably without tripping over other people preparing food in the space. If the space isn’t quite large enough to support these needs, a movable kitchen island can help convert to make that extra space available when it’s needed.

MASTER BEDROOM

In a multi-level home, where will you generally find the master bedroom? On the upper level, of course.

This is great when we were young, but as we age, our ability to navigate stairs easily can be compromised. When my son rebuilt his home, he made sure that there was a space on the main level of the home that could serve multiple functions. It makes for the perfect office space today, but features a connecting bathroom so the space could be converted into a bedroom should his needs change.

BATHROOMS

Older bathrooms are typically designed as eight-by-five feet (2.44x-1.52 metres) and no matter how you measure it, that just doesn’t work for people with wheelchairs and walkers.

You’ll first have to determine whether or not you have enough space to make your chosen bathroom accessible. One trick to adding a little more usable space is to look to your bathroom door. By changing the swing of the door to open outward instead of in to the bathroom, or installing a pocket door (a sliding door that disappears into the adjacent wall when open), you will free up some valuable space in the floor plan.

Install wall-mounted sinks on the main floor bathroom to allow space for wheelchairs to comfortably fit. Install grab bars near the tub, and use non-slip flooring. And always use mould-resistant products in your bathroom.

WHAT ELSE?

Moving around your home shouldn’t be a challenge. Make sure all doorways are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers, and install no-step entryways so anyone with different mobility needs can enter and exit the home without assistance.

WHEN TO START

Keeping our own homes are an important comfort and sign of dependence for many. By planning ahead, and tackling sustainability projects before they become necessary, we can truly make our homes become our forever homes.