How to: Gracefully Age in Place at Home
- Tim Ernst
- Apr 21
- 5 min read
Aging in place is a universal design concept we’re hearing more frequently these days, and for good reason. It refers to creating or adapting a home to accommodate an older person’s current or anticipated limitations to allow them to remain at home instead of moving to a residential care facility.
Why is aging in place important?
We’re taking on this topic because we build homes and tackle renovations that people pour their heart and soul into, so of course they want to enjoy the fruits of their labor as long as possible. At the same time, it just isn’t on the radar for many of our homeowners to perceive a time when they won’t run up the stairs, take joy in laying antique Persian carpets on top of hardwood floors, sleep peacefully in their primary suite on the second floor, or delight in the sweet (but cramped) powder room tucked under the stairs.
Here at Ernst Brothers, our success relies on our ability to hear what the homeowner—or commercial property owner—wants, and then partner with them and the other professionals involved to fulfill that vision with all the craftsmanship, insights, and expertise we’ve developed over four decades in this business. That’s true for every project, not just new builds or renovations, and certainly not only when adding features that make a home appropriate for aging in place.
Before we go any further, however, we must acknowledge that it is the architects and designers who lay out the features of a new build or renovation, interpreting the homeowner’s vision and dreams. The builder’s role is different, in that we execute that design, bringing it to reality.
Ask yourself: who will be living here long term?
Aging-ready design, grounded in universal design, aims to create spaces that are usable by people of all ages and abilities, making a home safer and more comfortable for anyone. And adapting a home for wheelchair accessibility is not the only issue to address. Lever door handles allow a surer, gentler grip for arthritic hands. Wider doorways and halls give plenty of room for a caregiver to walk with and support a loved one. Zero-entry showers instead of tubs and smooth transitions between rooms instead of thresholds eliminate two of the most notorious slipping and tripping hazards. Putting a bedroom and bathroom on the main level takes stairs right out of the equation—a danger no matter how young you are.
When planning this post, I checked in with our Director of Training John Chirico to get his thoughts on the importance future-proofing your home based on his 38 years of experience working in the field with me and my brother Joe Ernst.
“Making a home aging-ready can be a trade-off,” says John. “Hallways are transition spaces that generally do nothing more than take you from one room to another. When cost per square foot is a consideration for a new home or addition, few owners and architects like taking square footage and using it to widen hallways. And no one wants the challenge or expense of trying to create wider hallways and doors in a finished home.”
John’s advice is wise. The first step to staying in your home long term is thinking now about the future (even if it feels far away) and leaning on your design team and builder to help you come up with solutions. To understand an architect’s and a landscape designer’s smart thinking on aging-in-place features and philosophy, follow these links:
From a builder's perspective, here are some of my favorite examples of future-proofing a home in preparation for aging in place.
Plan and prepare now, even if the work will be done later.
The Ernst team collaborated with interior designer John Eric Sebesta and Archer & Buchanan architecture on a spacious new build that incorporated several features to allow them to comfortably remain in the home decades from now. As the Project Manager, I helped translate the owners’ wishes and the architect’s vision into reality as I led the Ernst team in executing the design.
We prepared a space that would form a future elevator shaft running between the three floors. We framed that section of each floor with a purpose-built hole to exactly fit the elevator—we consulted with an elevator firm, finished the flooring, and set aside the space on each floor with “stacked” walk-in closets. Installing an elevator will be a simple matter of cutting the flooring in the dimensions of the shaft and converting the closets to elevator entries. This took little time or materials during initial construction and will streamline future demolition of the closets to install the elevator shaft. Planning ahead makes a future elevator an easy operation rather than a costly and impractical renovation.
Eliminate stairs to make accessing your home a breeze.
Convenient accessibility to get from a vehicle into your home with no stairs is very important. For example, a landscape designer can create a garden of plantings surrounding the smooth walkway that rises gradually to the door into the home—a beautiful, practical and essential approach that won't feel like a traditional ramp.
Aging in place doesn't have to be complicated.
Getting started on making a home more aging-friendly doesn’t have to be tricky. Here are some cost effective and straightforward ideas for making your home more accessible as you age:
Replace doorknobs with lever handles
Install sturdy handrails on staircases and grab bars in bathrooms
When you replace your bathroom fixtures, choose a higher toilet and an accessible sink
Add motion-sensing faucets for sinks and tubs or showers
Make your next fridge side-by-side, counter-height or drawers rather than a stacked refrigerator and freezer
Motion-sensing lighting can be as simple as a $3 adhesive LED button on stairs, in bathrooms and hallways
Start with simple, phone-operated smart-home tech for lights, kitchen appliances, heating and air-conditioning
Convert a study or office to a main-level bedroom
How you see yourself changing and adapting to “getting older” is unique to you, as is how you plan to approach your living-at-home situation as you age. Ernst Brothers is fortunate to have built collaborative relationships with a number of forward-thinking, knowledgeable architects, interior designers and landscape architects, including Ford3 Architects and Plant Design Group, who are passionate about creating and renovating homes to be safe and comfortable for as long as their owners wish to remain in them. It’s a goal we all share.
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