If you get the chance to design and build a custom home to your specifications, the choices can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. No matter your age or time of life, there are features you can add to make raising your children or aging in place easier.
Laundry Near the Bedrooms
No more lugging laundry baskets up and down the stairs. Plan for a laundry area near the bedrooms. If possible, incorporate a hanging space for clothes to get transferred, still warm from the dryer, right to the hanger to reduce ironing. A sorting area and folding table would also be useful.
Kitchen Considerations
Set your kitchen up so dishes can be stored in large, heavy duty drawers below the countertops. Not only can you limit the number of times you have to reach over your head as you age, but younger kids can help unload the dishwasher if plates and bowls go in the drawer beside it.
Additionally, consider getting a stove with controls at the front instead of above the back burner if your children are a bit older. Little ones may play with buttons at the front of the stove, but older cooks will be at less risk of burns if they don’t have to reach across hot burners to adjust the heat.
Kitchen flooring with some give is a great investment. Yes, it may be less durable than tile, but you’ll
- break fewer glasses and cups, and
- suffer less back pain
on a kitchen floor with some give.
Finally, add under-counter task lighting to kitchen workspaces. If you set them up on a motion detector, they’ll be there when you need them and off when you don’t!
Bathroom Fixtures
Adding a new tub is easier to do right in a new build than in a renovation, so add one. It can serve as a shower base as well. Grab bars and a non-slip floor are also crucial to safety for all ages. Taller toilets and pedestal sinks mean you can get a wheelchair in there if you need one.
The Whole House
It would be nice to think that you only need walker and wheelchair access when you’re older, but accidents happen. If you could set up your home for easy wheelchair access for an aging parent, or for you, it will also work when your high schooler is on crutches. Wide doorways and halls work in a lot of scenarios.
Make sure that your main floor offers a full bath and bedroom on the main floor. It only takes one knee surgery to leave you either trapped on the second floor or sleeping on a rented hospital bed in the living room. No matter the age of the members of your household, this feature is important.
Households are becoming more flexible. You may need to host an older family member as they recover from an illness or injury. You or your spouse may be in a cast, on crutches, or in a wheelchair for a time recovering from an illness, injury or accident. At no point will you be disappointed you designed a home to allow you to age in place or have easier access, so make these decisions in the design stage.
Final Thoughts
It’s important to consult a professional home builder whenever planning your dream home. Though you’ve been planning the layout since you were a kid, a good home builder will have many years of experience to help make sure you make the best decisions for your new place.