November 17, 2022

As soon as you bring “aging in place” into a conversation, people feel old. Even if you change the language – “living in place,” “design for all ages,” “universal design” – clients still hear “aging in place” and the related recommendations as nothing more than white noise of things they don’t want to think about.

Photo caption: This bathroom remodel was a total transformation that brought lasting luxury into the space without changing the square footage. Note the curbless entry, an elegant soaking tub and a shower area with multiple heads and a bench. Photo credit: Gary Logan, Gary Logan Photography

Educating clients on universal design is how we change that. After all, features of all-age designs include things like elegant curbless shower entry, smart home integrations and luxury window treatments. To guide clients past the mental image of grab bars and high-seated toilets, however, you must get the conversation started in the right way. Here are six questions you can ask to do exactly that.

1.     When was the last time someone in your home needed accommodations?

Clients need a little guidance on this question. What does that mean, “accommodations?” I like telling a story to illustrate. For example, one of my client’s daughters had an arm injury where she wore a cast that stuck straight out on a support – she had to keep her elbow up and off her body for weeks. The trouble was, there was only one toilet in the whole house she could use, because the others had the sink on the left-hand side of the toilet, and it was her left arm that was permanently raised. Talk to clients about surgeries, injuries and other temporary accommodations we all will need at some point. This gets the wheels turning about accommodations that go beyond the finite idea of “getting old.”

2.      What surfaces do you have throughout your home?

Whether you ask about the current surfaces in a home or the new surfaces going in, floors are imperative to get right for aging in place. The advancements in tile manufacturing in the last decade have been exceptional, and clients won’t know about those unless you show them what’s possible. Any look can be achieved in never-before-possible large-format and single-panel tiles. The key? Greater agency in tile selections means we can still achieve the look we want while also choosing slip-resistant, all-age-appropriate options. So, if look won’t be sacrificed, the question when making safer flooring selections becomes, “why not?”

3.     What life events have taken place or are coming soon?

It’s not just aging we’re talking about. During the pandemic, we redefined how we congregate. We created new spaces and new priorities. We also shifted from the office to the home for work, we pulled children out of daycare for homecare, and we cancelled the gym membership and built workout spaces at home. Everyone is freshly aware that life events can shake everything about how we live in and use our homes. So start the conversation by asking, who has a new job? Who started working virtually? Is there a new baby coming? Is another family member moving in? Heck, is there a new dog in the house?! Living in place takes all these life events into account.

4.      Who visits your home frequently?

This is near and dear to my heart. My mother comes and stays with us for weeks at a time. I want her to live with us, but the transition out of the home she made with my dad is still hard. I’ve been remodeling my home with her in mind, adding greater accessibility and ease-of-use comforts like a voice-controlled faucet in the kitchen. These decisions make my home safer and more comfortable for her, whether she’s just visiting or if she ever moves in.

These updates aren’t just about “mature” family members, either. If you regularly host a niece or nephew or grandchildren – or even guests who bring their fur babies – designing for living in place takes them into account, too.

5.      When will you remodel again?

Just about anyone you ask will struggle to come up with an answer to this question. Isn’t it enough to think about the project at hand? Clients who want to make their current project a lasting one – and not to have to make additional updates in five or 10 years – must think farther out now to give their investment that long-term potential. That’s where design for aging in place comes in.

I’ve committed this mistake myself. My husband and I didn’t install enough light in our bedroom, and now I use a flashlight to sort through my jewelry. Now working with clients, I explain that I would rather over-light an area and install dimmers than go back into their homes to install more lights later.

6.      Which appliances are you replacing?

Most clients love talking about appliances. “That fridge is way overdue. I want a dishwasher that actually works. I dream about a new dryer!” Appliances today offer clients new and exciting opportunities to design for living in place that they just don’t see until you explain the connection. Tell them how appliances can be used and maintained by integrating them into a smart home system. Then tell clients how fixtures can be a part of that too, like with the voice-activated faucet I installed.

Smart home appliances, fixtures and even systems like your music in the shower, your thermostat or your home security can create an environment where living in place is as simple as stating a command. Whether the client is a young parent with kids on both arms, a dog owner with something gnarly covering her hands after clean-up, an aging couple or a patient after a recent surgery, everyone benefits from smart home ease-of-use integrations.

Educating clients about living in place is easy if you start the conversation right. These questions open the door to discussions that give them an improved finished design that will outlast any other. Mix in timeless design aesthetics, and living in place becomes the pathway to long-lasting luxury.

By Robin Burrill, CEO and principal designer of Signature Home Services in Keller, Texas, the state’s first and only NARI-accredited design-build firm.