We love designing the perfect custom home with our clients. Times continue to change, yet the needs of each person continues to be of our utmost priority. Homeowners increasingly ask us- “How can we design our dream home now and for our future selves as we age?” Whether you are 55 or 90, our desire is to build you a home that is attractive and appropriately appointed to help keep your confidence and preserve the lifestyle that you love doing things on your own.
According to owner, Mike Harn, “Building a home is a very intimate process.” The most important meeting we have with potential clients is the meeting where we discover the purpose of the home we are going to build. One of our first questions with potential clients is “is this your forever home?” We also like to know “will there be multiple generations living in this home now or potentially in the future?”
The needs of a client may be current, or we may are just be helping them to plan for the unexpected. When we design a custom home, We all want to make sure that our clients can live in it as long as they wish: We want you to have access to your home, and even live well with whatever turns life may take along the way.
There are a few important areas of the home we like to really consider with our client as we evaluate designing and ultimately building an “aging in place” home.
Forecast future needs –
When looking for land, make sure that the builder can create a driveway that would be a flat enough driveway that allows someone with a wheel-chair to get into and out of a car with ease. Making this a feature of the land search can help avoid things like a sloped driveway that could create more frustration. Additionally, it could be nice to have access to sidewalks for walks around a neighborhood if that is something that stirs interest. First-floor living is an idea that is very attractive to many because it offers the ability to access everything you need without needing to go up or down stairs. This is one of the major reasons to try and involve your builder as early in the process as you can. We do this every day so once we understand your “needs” or “wants” we can help you make the best decision on what may or may not make a particular piece of land right for you.
We all have a unique journey in life and one of the best parts of building your own home is that you can make it fit to your exact needs today and in the future. There might be someone in your life who will have a challenge with height, and perhaps lowering some countertops may be appropriate. Or perhaps taking care of a parent will be in the near future and creating space for them and a second master on the main might be the best use of space.
There will be things that could be considered upgrades in the present moment, however, we view it as an investment for your safety, peace of mind and easing into aging when the time comes. You are investing in yourself upfront for later. Some of these upgrades could include:
-Zero- step entry into the house from the garage
-Extra reinforcement in the shower for grab bars. (The grab bars can be added later, but reinforcing the walls to plan for grab bars will safe time and avoid headaches later)
-A zero-step entry shower
-Wider doorways and hallways
-Hard surfaces for flooring as opposed to carpet for ease of moving around
-Adjusted cabinet heights
-Adjusted light switch heights
The list really is endless and you get to control the process. As a custom home builder the goal is for you to be able to enjoy your home for a lifetime, making choices that honor you with the guidance of caring professionals can make that dream a reality.
