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Homes that Meet Life’s Changing Needs

By Nicole Hytinen
RAMP

If you are in the market for a new home, you are probably looking to find a home that you can see yourself living in for a long, long time. A home is a special place where families grow, memories are made, and where you can feel comfortable as you grow old.

One of the top ten trends in home building and remodeling for 2005 is planning for your senior years by incorporating certain features into your home design. These features include a no-step entrance, wider doorways and hallways, a main floor bathroom with reinforced walls (should you need to install a grab bar in the future) and easily reachable controls including switches, thermostats and outlets. These simple features will save you several thousands of dollars should you ever need to make similar modifications after the home is built.

Our abilities change as we grow older. You may eventually need to use a wheelchair or walker for mobility, which would make stairs leading up to the entrance of the house a huge obstacle. Rather than feeling trapped in their homes by a small flight of stairs, many senior citizens move out of their homes and enter nursing homes. Another way seniors overcome the barrier is to build a costly and sometimes unappealing ramp leading up to the entrance of their home.

Homes designed with these simple and inexpensive features are called Lifetime Homes. This home design concept will allow people to age in place, which means living in your home safely, independently and comfortably, regardless of age or ability level. But these features do not only benefit senior citizens or those with mobility limitations. Parents with young children can easily enter their homes while pushing baby strollers or when an injury causes the temporary use of crutches or a wheelchair. Hauling groceries and moving furniture into the home becomes a much easier experience when a no-step entrance and wider doorways and hallways are incorporated. Friends and family members with mobility limitations will be able to easily and comfortably visit your home at anytime, including at holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and grandchildren’s birthday parties. An aging parent or grandparent who needs care can stay in your home without costly home modifications or having to instead send them to a nursing home.

So as you are making plans to buy or build a home, don’t neglect to assure that the home is built to serve your needs for a lifetime!

If you would like to know more about Lifetime Homes, call RAMP’s Kim Montgomery at 815/968-7467 voice/tty.