Dwellings you LOVE

[shootingstar]

It's incredible that homes of any size aren't better designed and built for our aging population. It's one thing to want to downsize, but you'd think people would still be able to get in and out of their homes and still be able to use the bathroom, kitchen, etc. even as they lose mobility. Moving is stressful, especially if you have strong ties to a community.

This has been an area of study for me for the past few years. Retrofitting is often expensive, awkward, and not fast enough to keep up with people's needs. Why not include accessible design in new construction? If you design those features in from the beginning, they don't have to be these costly retrofits that stick out like a sore thumb and often stigmatize the people who need them.

Well, maybe it's our definition of a perfect home that changes at different stages of life. I'm not convinced that many people even think rationally how their body's capabilities will change, when they look at homes to choose. When my parents bought their home in Toronto, before I spent time advising that they get one with less levels. That was over 10 yrs. ago. Of course, they had a right to follow or not follow advice. It was the latter that happened.... I guess the good thing is that they stuck to a home near transit...they always have each time, they moved. Always no more than a 15 min. or less to the transit stop.


I always wanted a 1 level home...and I've always had one: I just can't be bothered the hassle of vaccuming staircases. Again another childhood memory/task....into my 20's when we had to look after a 2nd house for our absentee landlord-parents who lived in another city at the time.

We do have grab bars....but too low, for lowering oneself in a whirlpool jetted bathtub --another frill I didn't EVEN notice when I got this place. I didn't look hard into the bathtub. I've barely used the whirlpool jets and should, just to keep the lines free-flowing.

My place is 770 sq. ft. But if you include balconies and storage locker (where 2 bikes are kept), I guess that's another extra 150 sq. ft.
Plenty of room, some of it under-utilized right now.

An ideal situation might be have a large lot with a house and then a small cutie, studio house. When things get difficult in physical abilities, sell or rent the bigger and occupy the studio house.