Aging In Place Remodel Ideas For Now And The Future

Are you thinking about getting started with aging in place remodel? While it’s important for your home to be ready for you as you get older, you want those renovations to still look good and work for you in the here and now. Here are some ideas to help you get started and create a home that will work with you as your needs change. 

What Does It Mean To Age In Place?

Firstly, what does the term ‘aging in place‘ mean? It refers to remaining in your home for as long as you can once you grow older. Many homeowners are looking to do this rather than have to sell their homes or move into care homes. If their home has been adapted to their needs as they grow older, they can stay in the home they worked hard to buy, and they won’t need to worry about moving in the future. To ensure that they can do this, homeowners will renovate their homes with these future needs in mind. For example, they will change the flooring, add grab bars, change light fixtures, and more to suit their needs. With all this in mind, they won’t have to worry as they age. 

Renovation Ideas Aging In Place Remodel

Once you start thinking about renovating your home with aging in place in mind, you’ll be sure to have lots of ideas. However, many of these may not seem helpful until you’re already older and need the changes that those renovations provide. However, there are lots of renovations that you can make that can benefit you right now. Here are some ideas that you can try in your own home:

Make A Downstairs Bedroom

This is one of the best things you can do if you’re considering aging in place in your home. As you get older, you may start finding using the stairs more challenging. You can do many different things to make it easier, but you may want to also create a bedroom on the ground floor of your home. Then, should you ever need to, you can relocate your main bedroom to that room and not have to navigate the stairs. 

While you’re still using your main bedroom, you’ll be able to use that ground floor bedroom as a spare bedroom for guests. It’s something that’s very handy to have in the meantime, and you’ll have it to hand for yourself should you need it. 

Update Your Garden To Be Low Maintenance

A beautiful garden is always something that you’ll want as a homeowner. As you grow older, you’ll often find it more difficult to keep pace with the upkeep. As such, as part of your aging in place remodel plan, you’ll want to look at changing the plants in it. Changing them out to more easy to manage, low maintenance plants will make things easier for you. 

This is something that you can benefit from right now. As a busy homeowner, you won’t be able to keep up with that garden every weekend. With more low maintenance plants, you can leave it for a few weeks without having to worry about the garden becoming overgrown and unsightly. 

Add A Full Bath To The Ground Floor

While you’re putting a bedroom on your ground floor, it’s a good idea to consider adding a full bath too. Having that bathroom on the ground floor ensures that you’ll have it within easy reach at all times. Again, if you grow older and find it more challenging to use the stairs, then you’ll need to be able to access a full bathroom more easily. 

This will be useful now, especially if you still have a full bath upstairs as well. Having an extra bathroom is always handy in a busy household, as more people can get ready for the day at once here. 

Add Grab Rails To Your Bathroom

When thinking about updating your home for aging in place, your bathroom is one of the first rooms you should consider. It represents the most difficulty and possible danger for older people, as there are more opportunities for slips and falls. Adding grab rails around the bathtub, toilet and shower will go a long way towards making the bathroom safer. 

These are a good place to start with aging in place, as they’re an easy addition to make and then will be ready whenever you need them. Even if you’re not older yet, they can still be very helpful as anyone can suffer a slip and fall in the bathroom due to the wet conditions in there. 

Update To Smart Home Controls

There have been real advances in smart home tech in recent years, and this can really make a difference when it comes to aging in place remodel. For example, having a smart thermostat means that you can set timers for your home’s heating and cooling directly from your phone, no matter where you are. Appliances like washing machines can let you know when they’re finished, and smart doorbells will let you know who’s at the door. All of these tools make it easy to stay safe and make it easier to manage your home as you grow older. 

Of course, once you have this tech installed, you’ll be able to start benefiting from it right away. For example, smart doorbells are helpful as they act as a security camera on your front door and allow you to talk to whoever is at your front door through the unit. 

Conclusion

You can do many different things to update your home for aging in place. While these renovations will benefit you in future years, they’ll also benefit you now. As such, it’s a very good idea to start making these renovations now. Once you need them, they’ll be there and ready for you, but in the meantime, you can take advantage of them.