Aging in Place in your own home
Most of us want to age in place, to be independent and secure in the home we have loved for many years. But even as we grow and change, we forget that our home can grow and change with us! It was Todd Hawkins of BuilderFish — a Charlottesville-based company specializing in universal design — that pointed that out to me: we can age in place if we take steps to have our homes evolve too!
These days when you are building a home you can — and should — design it using universal design principals. It just makes everything easier and makes it possible for anyone to visit.
But what if your home was designed in a way that doesn’t work for you anymore? Do you have to move?
We’re lucky to have people in Charlottesville that are committed to “barrier-free living.” The Livable for a Lifetime Steering Committee meets regularly to support the use of universal design in our community. And their new website features our own local Certified Aging in Place Specialists (CAPS) - BuilderFish being among them.
Check out the Livable for a Lifetime website or see my list of universal design resources on the Care is There website and Cville Seniors.
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What I like most about Universal Design is the notion that UD is for ANY-ability and not inability. UD promotes efficiency, convenience and control throughout multiple life stages. For example, a staple of UD, the lever door handle is easily understood and used by anyone of any circumstance, children to the elderly.