Building Your Forever Home

According to Nielsen’s Demand Institute, more than 40% of Americans between 50 and 64 are planning to move within the next five years. Many of these are looking to move into a retirement home, or building their “Forever Home”. This may include downsizing, or simply moving into a home that requires less upkeep. No matter what the reason, there are certain things to think about when designing your forever home.

People have become aware that by being more active in their retirement years and planning for one-level living, being near good services for social integration and healthcare all adds up to being happy overall. Here is a list of our favorites when we begin the design phase for a couple building their forever home.

7 Design Considerations

1. Main floor will be your living are for everything. Have all doors at grade level from entering the garage to the bathroom.
2. Remember these things: four-foot-wide hallways, three-foot-wide interior doors, levered handles on doors, walk-in showers that are large enough for the possibility of a wheelchair down the road, higher toilets, grab bars in the shower and beside the toilets, and attention to kitchen layout for accessibility.
3. Plan on having two areas in the home for each of you. These might be work/craft rooms, private office for writing, working from home, etc.; but you need a place of your own to create in.
4. You might consider two master suites–a spacious one for you and the other for adult children/guests. The second one could be located on another level or even above the garage as an apartment.
5. Position rooms for the best use of natural light and access to the outdoors. Remember to plan on outdoor spaces such as covered porches, sunny terraces and gardening areas, and incorporate your interior rooms for easy access.
6. Ease of maintenance is of prime concern when selecting window types, siding, flooring and such.
7. Remember, this is your home, where you plan on living out your life. Change your attitude and build this home without regard to resale value. That’s what your children will need to deal with–not you.

A new custom home is more economical to build than remodeling and adding adaptive features to an existing home. It’s much harder to fix later than it is to build for accessibility from the outset. You can’t make hallways wider. You have to take space from one area to adapt another.  Choosing a great designer and having thoughtful discussions about your life interests, goals and needs go a long way.