When people decide to upgrade their home with aging-in-place improvements they often don’t realize that there are companies offering aging-in-place designer products. We all recognize that aging in place improvements come with plenty of opportunities but one of the primary challenges is in trying to make it beautiful too. Whether you are simply hoping for a beautiful place to live, are invested in a higher resale value for your home, or want to attract tenants or customers, making a home for seniors beautiful poses challenges. This is because many of the readily-available tools for safety are not always the most beautiful, and many beautiful products are not safe for seniors. Careful time and attention is necessary to keep any home beautiful, but providing accommodations for seniors and preserving the beauty of a home requires even more energy and effort. If you or a loved one are aging in place, or if you are a builder or developer looking to offer accommodations for seniors aging in place, here are three ways to make aging-in-place beautiful.
Plan ahead
As with all things related to senior care, plans are the best way to get the best outcome. For seniors and their caregivers, planning ahead may include identifying areas of a home that could pose some risk, such as slips or falls, and buying assistive supplies ahead of time. It could also mean designing a home or parts of a home specifically for a senior. (Multi-generational homes frequently have a small apartment-style living space for older family members to have independence and privacy while remaining connected to the family.) Regardless of what changes you would like to make, when you decide ahead of time what changes you would like to make, you have more time to research, shop, and save for the perfect products.
For a person looking to serve the needs of seniors, planning comes with two options.
#1 Collaborate
One way to plan is to collaborate with seniors that are moving into your spaces and caregivers who have experience assisting seniors aging in place; that is elaborated on below.
#2 Make your own choices
The second option is to decide the kind of senior who might live in your space, what levels of care they need, and what accommodations are “standard” or typical for seniors. If a senior is especially demanding you may want to consider the use of aging-in-place designer products. Specifically, seniors are prone to slips and falls, and bathrooms are particularly dangerous because of the wet environment and hard surfaces they feature. Adding non-slip flooring and grab bars near toilets and showers help seniors maintain stability while moving through their hygienic routines. Once you know the features you would like to offer, making them beautiful relies on research and knowledgeable shopping choices.
Aging-in-place designer products
Many luxury and high-quality brands offer products to help seniors age in place, and they do not sacrifice aesthetics for function. Brands like Kohler, which offers excellent bathroom and kitchen items, are happy to provide reliable, beautiful grab bars, customizable showerheads, and “Comfort Height” toilets for those who need them–in addition to other products, which you can find on their website below. Safety in Place specializes in home products to help seniors age safely at home, and they have many options for beautiful accommodation devices. One of their products, a grab bar, is made of polished stainless steel and chrome, making it a solid, reliable, beautiful addition to bathrooms.
It is worth noting that with beauty and quality often come with higher price tag. Deciding to add value to your home by using aging-in-place designer products often means investing a little more, making planning and research even more important so that you do not waste money on improvements that do not add value or are not reliable. Expect that small accommodations, such as installing proper bathroom equipment, can run from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, depending on the modifications. Remodeling a bathroom or staircase to provide more safety often means researching the right product, working with contractors, and spending time without the use of the product until installation is complete. If you want the best, you must consider paying slightly more for it, and save up for the cause.
Consult with senior care providers
Reading can only get you so far when hoping to provide a beautiful home for seniors aging in place. To ensure maximum safety and a happy senior, work with seniors, their families, and caregivers on what works, what they recommend, and what they like. Caregivers often know reliable brands or types of products, for example, and seniors and their families frequently have particular aesthetic and functional desires. There are also contractors who specialize in aging-in-place renovations and they can advise on aging-in-place designer products. By researching and continually consulting with those who will live in and use the beautiful spaces you create, you will ensure maximum happiness and safety. Using the Seasons.com Senior Resource Directory you can find specialists in aging-in-place renovation.
A beautiful home often represents more than just pretty objects or nice designs. A beautiful home promotes attention to detail, a sense of pride, and overall happiness. No matter what your relationship to seniors in your life, providing a safe and beautiful space for them to age in place helps improve their lives.
More from Seasons.com on aging-in-place renovations
The aging in place home: The bathroom
Seniors on a budget can upgrade their homes – and their satisfaction – with simple, inexpensive steps
How to help your parents downsize
Sources
Kohler. Simple Update Solutions. Kohler.com. Available at http://www.kohler.com/bold-independence/ideas-planning-solutions/simple-updates. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
Safety in Place. Straight safety support 42” ADA grab bar chrome/polished stainless steel prestigio series. Safetyinplace.com. Available at https://safetyinplace.com?rfsn=535576.de747. Retrieved March 28, 2017.