Plan your ‘ageing in place’
THERE’S always been fluidity between U.S . English and UK English, and a term starting to reach us from across the Atlantic, is ‘ageing in place.’ But what does it mean?
It means taking the necessary steps to make sure the home we love is suitable for ongoing living as we age.
This avoids the triplewhammy of heart-wrenching relocation, spiralling care home fees, and the current residential and domiciliary care staffing crisis.
It’s not just risk management, though. Research has shown continuing to live independently surrounded by friends, support network, and a familiar environment does wonders for our mental health, keeping it strong and positive well into retirement age. Successful ageing in place can be achieved through carefully planning for our later years. The key is sensitive and gradual adaption of our property.
When a replacement bathroom is due, perhaps install a wet room instead, with some in-built seating.
Kitchen remodelling? Make sure you leave sufficient space for future wheelchair use. As for stairs, there is no better investment than a homelift. Stiltz is the best-selling and most popular manufacturer of homelifts in the UK. Its products are uniquely designed; the lift car runs on two free-standing vertical rails. This allows for flexible positioning. For example, when the compact Duo product is tucked in the corner of a room, it takes up no more space than a small armchair.
The advantage of Stiltz is that the products don’t look like accessibility aids. They’re attractive, quiet, quick to install and electrically powered, plugging into a standard domestic power socket.