Bathroom Renovations? Consider These 55+ Attributes
“If you’re building a home in your 50s and want to stay there until your 80s, you need to account for physical and cognitive changes that are inevitably going to happen,” said KMA Principal Josh Safdie.
Growing old comes with its reality checks, especially when one lives independently, so its important to implement design changes earlier rather than later.
National Aging in Place Council Chair Scott Fulton said, “The benefit of making decisions early is that you get the best options. Ask yourself, ‘How can I successfully live in my home for as many years as I choose?’”
Safdie’s and KMA’s goal is to ensure that best practices in aging-in-place principles are incorporated into project designs.
According to USA Today’s Reviewed, As easy as it may be to move your master bedroom from upstairs to the first floor—thus avoiding walking up and down stairs—there are other aspects of your living space that need to be addressed in order to prepare for the reduced mobility that often comes with age. The bathroom is a good place to start.
Typically, bathrooms are small but a new bathroom or even a remodeled one demands more decisions per square foot than any other room in your home—under normal circumstances.
Take aging in place into account and the decisions get a little more complicated. The good news is that these days there are plenty of products designed specifically for aging in place, and they are readily available.
But before even considering outfitting your bathroom, let’s take a broader look at being proactive and planning ahead to avoid risk.
