If you want to live a happy life, one key element is your home. It's an important tool to living a comfortable, fulfilled life. As you age, your satisfaction and ease in your home will evolve as your needs do. However, with universal design, you can ensure your home works with you as your life changes.
What is Universal Design?
This is the idea of building or remodeling a home to accommodate anyone that may live within, no matter what their age, size or disabilities. Planning should start early with this kind of concept. As the working trends shift to people delaying retirement and not relocating to retire the need for Universal Design is even more important. However, most people rather avoid the topic of aging.
Should You Remodel or Sell?
A strong neighborhood community is hard to replace, and we grow attached to our favorite local finds. It's a big decision whether to sell or remodel your home and this is where Universal Design comes in to effect. Homeowners more often rather renovate their current home instead of moving. After all the years that you lived in your home you cherish the positives and understand fully where it needs to improve. It's the tiny problem areas that you see and feel every day but ignore that can benefit from Universal Design.
Further Discovery
There are many differences between each home and each homeowner, to make sure your specific needs are addressed, it’s important to meet with a Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS). We have to carefully consider all the advantages and disadvantages on each product we place into a certain space. That's when you start to design each element to provide these desired details.
Universal Design Accommodations
There’s a multitude of home upgrades, materials and structure decisions you can make to guarantee your house is suitable to any resident. Small home upgrades may be installing hand rails, movable/foldable seating, and more in restrooms. Dark passages can be improved with sensor lights and many have adjustments to address seeing and hearing concerns. Larger enhancements could include increasing wheelchair mobility through the home, this may mean enlarging doorways, walkways and more. Working to have a home that addresses issues early is simply the most ideal approach to plan for the future. Aside from your maturing demands, your home should be convenient for differently abled visitors or family.
Function and Style
Making a home adaptable doesn't mean sacrificing style. Updates can be made to create an open contemporary style without it feeling impersonal. Try and pick materials that are resilient and have converse colors to enable you to distinguish corners and obstacles for better control. Really it breaks down to intuitive ideas. Once finished, everybody can easily utilize and appreciate these surroundings.