Designs That Allow Homeowners To Age In Place

While she was touring open houses in the Hamptons a few years ago, Nancy Peppard noticed how these lavish homes south of the highway were not designed for people her age. At nearly 70, Ms. Peppard struggled to go up and down the stairs to view the second-floor master bedrooms of historic two-story homes, modern floating homes, townhouses and condominiums.

Her day out was cut short when she fell entering a home that had a sunken living room. She said she didn’t see that there was a step and that there was no railing to help support her and break her fall. Her knee was badly injured, and she hasn’t walked the same since.

The East Hampton resident said it was one of the first times she truly felt her profession. As a gerontologist, Ms. Peppard knew what risks older people need to look out for. However, she contends if homes were designed with older people in mind—with wider hallways for walkers and wheelchairs, railings on stairways and first-floor master bedrooms, to name a few—her age group wouldn’t have these problems, and they could comfortably “age in place.”

Aging in place, which is sometimes referred to as universal design, is a design concept that allows for people of all ages and ability to be able to comfortably and safely navigate their home. Over the last decade, as their clientele of mainly Baby Boomers mature, developers on the East End have striven to build homes potential homeowners can grow old in, and interior designers are outfitting existing homes with products that allow older homeowners to live in their homes longer.

Even Ms. Peppard is getting involved. Her new digital community for people over the age of 50 called the Out East Neighborhood Network provides ways for residents to adapt their homes so that they can age in place. If not, they may be forced to leave their homes and opt for elder care facilities away from family and friends.

Meanwhile, 89 percent of people 50 or older want to remain in their own homes indefinitely, according to AARP.

At 70, Glenn Hall said he has seen 80-year-olds bolt two-by-fours on to their walls to help them down the stairs or navigate hallways in an effort to stay at home longer. Mr. Hall is the founder of East End Disabilities Group, a nonprofit that holds municipalities accountable to providing federally mandated equal access to public and commercial buildings under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“But when we think about our homes, and we think about the world that is outside of what government designs or creates, there is this whole other area,” Mr. Hall said. “And it’s very much about our homes and home lives. Universal access design is a concept that says that whenever we build anything in our world we should think about making it so that everybody, no matter what their disability is, can access it. We may be able to walk through a door and up and down steps now, but in an instant we can become disabled, and we will all get older. Do you want to have to leave your home because you can’t get in through your own front door?”

Mr. Hall said new residential construction needs to planned with its future use in mind for the aging homeowner.

For instance, take a residential construction that almost happened in Springs. In 2016, Evan Erlebacher, the director of Present Architecture in New York City, was tasked by a retired couple to build a house next door to their daughter’s home with nearly everything accessible on the first floor. Unfortunately, a limited budget and the desire for a quicker fix stopped the planning in its tracks. But Mr. Erlebacher prides himself on how accessible the property would have been.

“Many of the improvements made to this house that allow for aging in place and friendly to everyone are invisible to the naked eye,” he said.

The front entryway and outside decking were designed to be stairless, allowing easy access into the home. The combined living room, dining room and kitchen included open spaces for entertainment and maneuverability for a walker or wheelchair. Adding lower countertops and pull-down cabinets, it would be kept bright with skylights, large windows and overhead lighting in double-height ceilings. According to the floor plan, down the wide, short hallway is the master bedroom and bathroom. Doorways have low or no thresholds.

At the entryway was a second door that led to an office that led into the living room. The space would have doubled as an accessory en-suite bedroom for a live-in aide when the time came. Family entertainment and bedrooms were designed for the second floor and the basement.

“The project has a higher level of thinking about aging in place,” Mr. Erlebacher said. “A lot of design work and planning went to ensuring that an older couple could live their lives on the ground floor. But they needed to be connected to the outside. Sliding doors in the front and the back led out to nature and engaged with their family in an appealing space. Nature has a therapeutic effect on everyone.”

Many homes designed with universal design in mind or retrofitted for aging in place also include bringing electric outlets higher from the ground and light switches lower to be in reach of someone in a wheelchair. Grab bars and resting points scattered throughout the house can support a tired person’s weight if placed strategically. Lighting above countertops can help homeowners with vision problems. Bluetooth-enabled electronics can connect with modern hearing aids, and smart devices can assist in daily routines like setting an alarm and managing heating, cooling and lighting.

And as for arguably the most dangerous room—the bathroom—interior designer Laura Maresca-Sanatore of LMS Design recommends installing nonslip flooring where possible. Small tiles with more grout can help with that.

“I have a lot of my younger clients that want to remodel bathrooms to fit the needs of their older parents who visit or spend time in their care,” Ms. Sanatore said. Frequent suggestions she makes for clients include removing shower curbs and installing shower benches and handheld shower heads.

Having ample space to move around the toilet, which could be raised for an additional benefit, and replacing turning faucet handles with levers could help people with arthritic joints.

“I try to think about what am I going to need when I get older and what is going to make me more comfortable,” Ms. Sanatore said.

A resource for many architects and designers who promote aging in place and universal design is Home Matters, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that works with AARP to refine affordable and accessible housing options.