Home updates for life's next chapter

According to a recent survey by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 75 percent of older adults wish to stay in their homes as they age to maintain their independence and community connections.

While 44 percent of those adults believe a move is inevitable despite their wishes, that doesn’t have to be the case. There is a wide range of renovation options owners can implement in their home in order to make aging in place a safe, comfortable and an affordable possibility.

Starting off small

The word renovation can seem daunting, however, there are many smaller and more cost-friendly features one can add to their home to enhance accessibility and safety.

3 Pillar Homes

Ashley Carrier, a marketing specialist at 3 Pillar Homes, recommends several features she says they often incorporate into homes designed for aging in place:

Grab bars in bathrooms
Handheld shower heads and shower benches
Comfort-height toilets
Rocker light switches and smart home features
Minimized transition strips on floors

Not all updates require connecting with a specialist. There are plenty of small upgrades you can make to your home by simply stopping at a hardware store and picking up a few things.

Some of these smaller features include:

Non-slip shower mats and floor coverings
Hands-free doors or lever door handles (twist-free handles)
Hands-free faucets
Good lighting

While small and simple, such features shouldn’t be overlooked, as they can make a world of difference in one’s daily life.

Karen Kirchhoff, whose home was built by 3 Pillar Homes, attests to how much she loves the small details she and her husband made in their home.

“The pantry is a (huge) walk-in pantry, so I don’t have to climb up or bend down,” Kirchhoff says. “And we got to pick out however many lights we wanted in the ceiling and where we wanted them placed.”

Kirchhoff says there are a handful of other unique and helpful features in her home, such as lights in the cabinets and pull-out laundry hampers, in addition to the more common features such as the comfort-height toilets and shower benches.

Thinking bigger

3 Pillar Homes

If your budget allows for larger projects, there are multiple safety and comfort-enhancing home renovation options to choose from, many of which begin with the design of the home itself.

For instance, people planning to age in place may find zero-entry homes, such as ranches, the most suitable.

To increase accessibility throughout your home, wide doorways and hallways, as well as walk-in closets increase accessibility. Kirchhoff enjoys her large walk-in closet, which gives her plenty of space to easily access all her clothing.

Other spaces to pay attention to inside the home includes zero-entry showers, adjustable countertop heights, non-slip tile, and low-pile flooring are suggested. Outside the home, Carrier has noticed a trend in accessible pathways, covered patios and porches.

“Aging individuals (or those) who may have trouble walking, still want to get outside and enjoy the comforts of being outside.” Carrier says. “It’s almost always a huge priority for them.”

3 Pillar Homes

When it comes to the adaptability of a home, Carrier also recommends including flexible spaces in the designs that can adapt to changing needs over time, whether the clients themselves wish to age in place or if they have older family members in mind.

“We’ve noticed over the last year and a half, a very big uptick in people wanting to build main-floor guest suites and also additional spaces,” Carrier says. “It seems like it’s quite regular these days that people are asking for multi-generational (design) options.”

A compromise

While there are plenty of ways to upgrade one’s home, moving may be the best option for some people.

Some older adults find walkable, ranch-style communities to fit their needs.

Such communities usually offer central amenities for residents so everything they need is within walking distance, making for the perfect combination of independence and companionship.

“We’ve found (the Villas) to be quite a nice area with easy-to-get-to walking trails and a fantastic clubhouse,” Kirchhoff says. “(We also like that) there’s lots of light that comes into the house, we have green space around us and all the grounds are well taken care of.”

For the Kirchhoffs, the location, layout of the community and extra amenities were just as huge a sell as the ability to customize their home with accessibility features.

“It pretty much has everything we ever wanted. We won’t move again,” Kirchhoff says.