What Are Aging in Place Home Modifications?

For homeowners steadily approaching the later years of their lives, we have bad news and good news. The bad news is that most houses in America are not developed with the unique needs of older adults in mind. Therefore, living in your home can get harder as you get older. You may have to manage long stairways, narrow doorways, high threshold showers or bathtubs, doors with difficult knobs, or slippery flooring. However, the good news is that you can correct the design flaws in your home and maintain your independence with aging in place home modifications. What are aging in place home modifications? We’ll define this term and provide examples so you can see how important aging in place home modifications are.

What Are Aging in Place Home Modifications?

So, what are aging in place home modifications? Aging in place home modifications are physical home design changes that enable seniors to live comfortably and safely within their current homes.

With aging in place home modifications, many older people can avoid having to move into a new house, an assisted living facility, or the home of a friend or relative. As a result, aging in place home modifications empower older adults to retain their self-sufficiency and enjoy their own homes as long as they like.

Why Are Home Modifications for Seniors Necessary?

According to the AARP, approximately 90% of seniors intend to continue living in their current homes for the next five to ten years. But, as mentioned, most of the homes these seniors are living in are not cut out to accommodate them as they age. Therefore, many of these homes will require aging in place home modifications. With such modifications, the home’s design will consider its residents’ altered needs.

Without aging in place home modifications, most homes become increasingly hazardous as our bodies and abilities change with age. Basic tasks such as reaching up high, bending down low, stepping over things, going up or down stairs, turning knobs, and gripping small objects gradually become more challenging. What’s more, failing to complete these actions eventually leads to more severe consequences, such as serious injuries.

Aging in place home modifications are crucial to enabling seniors to live comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. For this reason, home remodeling companies like BenchMark Home Services offer aging in place home modifications.

Who Makes Aging in Place Home Modifications?

Many homes in America require aging in place remodeling to safely shelter seniors. However, not everyone is authorized to administer aging in place remodeling. In fact, you should only trust Certified Aging in Place Specialists (CAPS) with the project of incorporating aging in place design into your house.

A CAPS has the proper knowledge and training to determine which aging in place home modifications will be right for you. They have this ability because they acquired their certification from the National Association of Homebuilders. And with it, they are qualified to collaborate with occupational therapists, architects, and interior designers to design and build beautiful, barrier-free living spaces for seniors.

Consequently, the best people to trust with your aging in place home modifications are a home remodeling company with a CAPS at the helm.

What Are Examples of Home Modifications for Aging in Place?

While some aging in place home modifications should be applied all throughout a home, others are distinct to the various types of rooms. The following lists contain examples of both universal and room-specific aging in place home modifications.

Universal Aging in Place Home Modifications

• Ensure that the first floor has an accessible kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and bedroom on it
• Enlarge the house as necessary with a room addition to generate enough space for the use of wheelchairs or walkers
• Widen doorways or install pocket doors
• Lay slip-resistant flooring
• Replace existing windows or install new ones for security, efficiency, and light
• Install additional lighting and outfit them with motion sensors to contribute to the balance of natural and artificial light
• Cover stairways in carpet and attach handrails to the walls on either side
• Put lever-style handles, D-handles, or loop handles on all doors, cabinets, and appliances
• Replace toggle-style light switches with rocker-style light switches
• Put peepholes and deadbolts on exterior doors
• Position grab bars and handrails strategically around the home

Kitchen Aging in Place Home Modifications

Floorplan:

• Amend the kitchen floor plan to create extra room for maneuverability
• Locate the oven, sink, and refrigerator as close to each other as possible
• Produce a seated workspace

Floors:

• Install slip-resistant flooring appropriate for kitchens, like vinyl, wood, or linoleum flooring
• Apply a slip prevention texture to stone or tile flooring
• Paint the walls a different color from the floors, and add colored lines to the floor transitions to aid depth perception
• Remove any door curbs or install slopes

Countertops:

• Place durable, low-maintenance countertops throughout the kitchen
• Lower the countertops or create multi-level countertops
• Outline the countertops with color-coded edges and round out the corners and edges
• Make sure the surface of the countertops isn’t too shiny
• Position grab bars on the countertops

Cabinets:

• Opt for bright, matte-colored cabinets that are easy to see
• Lower upper cabinets by 3”, give each a pull-down shelf, and/or add a pullout step under the lower cabinets
• Equip lower cabinets with pullout shelves
• Install Lazy Susan cabinets wherever possible

Appliances:

• Make appliances easy to reach with an elevated wall oven, an accessible microwave, and an accessible dishwasher
• Insert a pull-out counter beneath the oven
• Replace the range with a cooktop with front-mounted controls
• Switch the refrigerator out for a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer unit with long door handles and slide-out shelving
• Put an easily accessible thermostat or window unit in the kitchen for temperature regulation

Sink:

• Make sure the sink is no more than 6 inches deep
• Install a motorized sink if needed
• Add an anti-scald device, a soap dispenser, and a water filter to the sink
• Change the sink fixtures out for a hands-free or flexible faucet with lever handles

Lighting:

• Position task, track, recessed, or under-cabinet lighting above islands, countertops, and walkways

Bathroom Modifications for Older People

Floor plan:

• Expand the bathroom to allow for wheelchair or walker clearance
• Widen the bathroom door and put in a pocket door if desired

Flooring:

• Lay non-slip flooring suitable for bathrooms, such as textured tile or laminate
• Paint the walls a different color from the floor, and outline floor transitions and counter edges with colored lines to assist with depth perception

Shower and/or Bathtub:

• Install a no-threshold shower
• Put in a walk-in tub
• Insert grab bars in and around the shower and tub
• Outfit the shower and tub with seating and shelving
• Replace old shower heads with removable and adjustable shower heads

Toilet:

• Switch your standard toilet out for a comfort height toilet
• Place grab bars and handrails around the toilet
• Install a bidet

Vanity:

• Lower the vanity countertop and sink
• Allow for under-sink clearance
• Change your bathroom mirror out for an angled or pivot mirror
• Put pull-out shelves in the vanity and pull-down shelves in the cabinets and closets
• Put lever-handles on all doors and D-handles or loop handles on all cabinets

Lighting:

• Install more convenient lighting, such as motion sensor lights, side mirror lights, and recessed lighting

Living Room Age in Place Home Modifications

Floor plan:

• Extend the living area to supply plenty of space for moving around with canes, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs

Flooring:

• Change the current flooring out for slip- or trip-resistant flooring such as low-pile carpet or hardwood floors

Storage:

• Install built-ins to safely hold important objects, attractively eliminate clutter, and effectively clear up floor space
• Insert a custom entertainment center for organizing and concealing electronics

Entertainment:

• Mount a big screen TV or a projector and screen

Lighting:

• Hang plenty of artificial lighting overhead, such as chandeliers, pendant lighting, recessed lighting, and display lighting
• Put up motorized or manual window blinds
• Raise the socket height around the room and throughout the house

Temperature:

• Upgrade your HVAC system if necessary
• Install a fireplace insert or a masonry fireplace
• Bedroom Aging in Place Modifications

Bedroom Aging in Place Modifications

Accessibility:

• Install a stairlift if a ground-floor master suite is not possible or desirable

Floor plan:

• Broaden the bedroom to grant space for maneuvering a wheelchair or walker
• Widen doorways into and inside the bedroom, and put in pocket doors where possible
• Adjust the floor plan of the bedroom to furnish space for medical equipment

Flooring:

• Produce safer bedroom floors by laying hardwood, laminate, carpet, or cork flooring

Walls:

• Paint the walls a different color from the furniture and floors, and place colored lines on the floor transitions to aid depth perception
• Mount a TV or digital clock on the wall

Windows:

• Hang automated or motorized blinds or window coverings

Storage:

• Craft built-ins with customized features such as a headboard, nightstands, shelving, or even a bed frame to keep essential items within reach
• Create a well-lit, spacious walk-in closet and fill it with custom storage such as built-ins with low shelves to make clothes easier to reach and to prevent clutter in the space

Furniture:

• Affix bed rails to the bed
• Anchor tall furnishings like bookshelves or wardrobes to the wall as necessary

Lighting:

• Achieve the ideal balance and amounts of artificial and natural light with ambient and task lighting installations

Laundry Room Aging in Place Home Modifications

Floor plan:

• Build out the laundry room to allow for wheelchair or walker mobility

Appliances:

• Position a front-loading washer and dryer on pedestals to spare you from having to lift laundry or bend over
• Install the proper wiring and outlets for your appliances
• Put in an easy-to-use, large basin sink at the right height with clearance underneath
• Attach a lever-handle or motion sensor faucet to the sink and a large basin

Storage:

• Hang cabinets or built-ins with roll-out shelves, Lazy Susans, or bins above and around your washer and dryer

Flooring:

• Lay appropriate slip-resistant flooring such as carpet, bamboo, cork, rubber, or vinyl flooring

Climate:

• Equip the room with a ceiling fan

Workspaces:

• Set up a large, sturdy counter space with a soft material on top
• Set up an ironing board that folds down from the wall near the dryer
• Station a light kit with a timer on the outlet where you’ll plug the iron in to turn the iron off after a certain period

How Can You Accomplish Aging in Place Remodeling?

Now that you know what aging in place home modifications are, you can plan to make them in your own home. To start, you can compare your house to the examples of aging in place home modifications listed above to surmise which modifications your home may need.

You may find that some rooms in your house are already more suitable for seniors than others, so your home may not necessitate every aging in place home modification. However, you also may not realize how the design of your home may eventually hinder your lifestyle. Therefore, you should get a second opinion on the matter from a home remodeling company led by a CAPS.

Where can you find such a company? In BenchMark Home Services. Our owner Anne Capozzi of Capozzi Design Build is a CAPS, so we can pinpoint and provide all of the aging in place home modifications your house could ever require. With our aging in place home modifications services, we can guarantee that your home will oblige your physical abilities and express your tastes for years to come.  

Because BenchMark Home Services is an extension of Capozzi Design Build, each member of our team has over 15 years of experience. We also have an outstanding reputation for excellence, professionalism, and kindness in the industry.

With the help of BenchMark Home Services, your dream home can look after you for the rest of your life. As a result, you can successfully age in place. So, contact us today to start your aging in place remodeling!