Will My Custom Home Age With Me? – New Dimensions Inc.

Building a custom home is a serious investment of time and money. You want your new home to meet all your needs—right now and for many years to come. If you plan on this home to be your forever home, then you may want to prepare to “age in place.” This means that the home should be able to accommodate your changing needs including potential mobility challenges.

Your home should also maintain the features that future generations will want should you decide to leave your home to your family or sell it. You can prepare for all possibilities by keeping some universal design principles in mind.

What is universal design?

Universal design is designing environments to be useable and comfortable for anyone of any age or ability. It makes it easier for any person to get around in that space. And it doesn’t mean sacrificing looks! There are simple things you can do to build your home to be the most flexible and useful both now and in the future.

So, if you’re asking, “Will my custom home age with me?”—the answer is yes! Consider these features when you’re building a custom home:

Design features for aging in place:

Wheelchair-accessible doorways (3 ft wide minimum), hallways (4 ft wide minimum), and rooms (enough space to turn around).
A master bedroom on the main level (or, alternatively, flex space which would allow you to live on the main floor if necessary).
A full bath on the main level that may include an easy entry or zero-entry shower with grab bars, a shower seat, and a handheld shower head.
Easy-to-operate faucets and door knobs (levers are great).
Smart home technology including a virtual assistant.

When building a custom home, you can adjust it to meet your needs and your budget in a way that allows you to age in place. Many of these features can make life easier for your family today and for years to come.

Dream. Build. Live.