For those in their Golden Years, a common concern is the seemingly inevitable life transition of leaving your longtime home for a retirement community. Add to this major dilemma an unsure housing economy, and the concern becomes all the more perplexing.

What if you could turn your existing home into the ultimate version of the retirement villa you would envision? Would you stay in your home if it met all the wants and needs of your life?

A recent AARP survey found that over 80% of people over 60-years old desire to stay in their own homes for the rest of their lives, meaning they prefer to age in place. Typically, the aging process is blamed for many problems we encounter with daily activities, when, often, it is the home that creates the difficulties.

Homes geared to younger adults do not properly support the physical and sensory changes we experience as we age. With even minor aging changes, an insignificant home feature can have significant effects. For instance, a change in lighting can change how well you see in your own home.

50+ living is all about independent, barrier-free comfort and function.  Accessible design benefits all the generations of family and friends who come into your home, and it will be as beautiful and stylish as you desire.

Interior Accessible Design Success Story

A St. Louis County couple had been in the same home for decades.  They had raised a family there, and their children and grandchildren all lived nearby.  Nearing retirement, they realized that they wanted to stay in their own home within their community, and worked with Mosby Building Arts on planning their home for life.

Working with a Mosby Certified Aging In-Place (CAPS) designer, they reviewed current needs and future concerns and decided to make the master bathroom their first accessible design project because this where we tend to first notice changing capabilities.

To look at this bathroom, you would not immediately know that it’s accessible, but it certainly is.  The His & Hers bathroom vanities have single-lever faucet handles for ease of use, and are separated by a chair-height counter top with open space below.  This can accommodate a chair now or a wheelchair if needed in the future.

The toilet is of taller height than average which makes sitting down and getting up much easier, and a stylish grab bar to the right adds to the ease of use. The push-button control pad mounted to the vanity controls flushing, heating and lid functions.

The walk-in shower has a low-clearance threshold, multiple brushed, coordinated stainless grab bars, a handheld shower wand and a retractable teak wood bench mounted to the wall.

See more photos of this accessible bathroom project.

Exterior Accessible Design Success Story

A long-time Mosby Building Arts client is currently vibrant and active, but is thinking ahead by teaming with Mosby to create a long-term plan for her home. Mosby moved her laundry room from the basement to a new ground floor addition off the garage, and even built new, shallow steps for easier access from the garage to the house (above).

She is also a veteran gardener with a gorgeous backyard, so Mosby came up with designs to make her outdoor living just as accessible as indoors.  The Mosby CAPS team designed and built a new patio with a lightly textured concrete surface for better traction, and a screen porch with a zero-clearance entry from the patio so that a walker or wheelchair can pass with no difficulty.

Her favorite feature is the concrete ramp that leads from the patio down into the garden.  She already enjoys how convenient the lack of steps is, which highlights how so many accessible design features just make good sense for everyone who uses them.

See more photos of this accessible outdoor living project.

Other features that add mobility and beauty to outdoor living include increased lighting, raised flower planters and beds, raised height water spigots and wide sliding or French doors leading out to the area. When done properly, nothing looks out of the ordinary because it looks extraordinary.

Mosby Building Arts has three CAPS team members – including Scott Mosby who was the first national CAPS ambassador – who are certified and experienced at helping you live more comfortably in your home for life. To explore your accessible design options, call 314.909.1800 or contact Mosby here.

Related posts:

1. Universal Design Indoors and Out
2. Extend Living Space with Decks & Patios
3. Explore Your Outdoor Living Options
4. Create Your Custom Retirement Villa
5. Scott Mosby is the 2006 CAPS Designee of the Year

Learn the Art of Living at CallMosby.com.

Tags: 50-plus living, accessible bathroom, accessible design, accessible patio, certified aging in-place specialists, st. louis remodeling

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 8:14 am and is filed under accessible design, bathrooms, outdoor living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.