Aging in Place Remodeling- Basic Strategy

I met with a new client today. The project came through a new relationship with a successful contractor I have known for some years. Russ Glickman is adding an accessible remodeling focus, landed a great client and asked me along to put in my two cents.

I really like working this way. It is a larger group including Russ, an architect who seems like a great guy, the client couple and me. Lots of good ideas and feelings in a collaborative atmosphere. Everyone brings something. No one is expected to know everything.

The client is an adult woman who is paraplegic and her husband. They live in a typical DC area brick center hall colonial. She grew up in the house, they bought it from her dad. Great neighborhood, beautiful mature trees, larger lots and a great location in Silver Spring, Md.

The program is pretty typical, too. Upgrade the master bedroom to include a beautiful accessible bathroom, elevator, screen some of the large outdoor areas they use for entertaining, get the whole house to work for Kathy, bring the laundry up from the basement if possible. The architect, John Kowalski is competent, pleasant, interested, open and not arrogant. What a pleasure!        (photo not their house, but similar)

I jotted some notes about basic Aging in Place remodeling strategy in an ‘aha’ moment a few weeks ago. Today’s meeting gives me an opportunity to use them. Though this client and project is not the ‘Dream Universal Design Project’ – a client who does not have any known conditions that require Universal Design solutions – they are just smart and progressive enough to want it (like their smart and progressive designer, builder, advocate, consultant- haha). But this client voiced all the basics I have in my notes. 1. They know the house will go on the market someday whether they move or die first. 2. They care about how their home looks and feels for themselves and guests. 3. They recognize the need for accessibility. Ergo- Universal Design!

The basic strategy list:

1. Make my home and life (more) beautiful – MY  aesthetics
2. Stay within my Budget
3. Solve problems and contribute/improve my life routine
4. Keep my home from becoming a white elephant

Beautiful. Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder it is not so easy to get it right. Most people know what they like when they see it, but describing it to someone else is different. Pulling this out from a client is a skill and a talent not easily taught, not everyone can learn. Transferring the ideas to the design for communication with the client to assure them and then to the builders is an additional skill set.

The budget is always important. It is also really hard to get it right from the beginning. Remember, in the beginning,  the project has not been verbally articulated,  let alone designed, engineered, detailed and decorated. Project ideas grow and change throughout the design process. Guarding the budget successfully through the time and excitement of design -what is in the original budget, what is additional and how much each costs is an important and difficult task. It requires a soft touch, diligence and experience.

Identifying problems is not as easy as you might think. Many people are not good at articulating needs. They may be focused on a solution they saw on TV or read about, but if it does not clearly follow from the problem they have it will not resolve the issue. Not solving the problem is a sure failure.

i. People with progressive conditions do not often really know how it will be in the long run. Should the design team be helping them see down the path? ii. Some folks are in denial about their conditions or even the ubiquitous condition- aging, iii. Sometimes the client and/or the contractor/design team are not comfortable talking about the personal details of the client’s condition, d. There are no health related conditions to solve.

This may be the dream, but it is also a seriously moving target. Preparing physical space for unknown health condition for this client and future residents. That is Universal Design. It is a great idea. It is not easy.

In some cases, resolving  health related conditions may require expensive elements that compromise the resources available to achieve the desired beauty. How is the balance maintained?

Keep the house marketable. Everyone,  those of us who plan to stay in our current homes for five years or so, or hope to be carried out, want to make sure the value is retained…to apply to another house, other expenses or to pass on. No one wants to work hard, and see the results disappear. Keeping it attractive is a requirement, even as styles and tastes change.

Hey, I said ‘basic’. I started calling them critical.  That seemed a little exaggerated, but I am not so sure. Though they may seem so obvious they are almost not worth mentioning, in fact, each of these four must be kept in mind for the project to be successful. That may not be so easy.

I will try to keep this blog updated about this project as it progresses. I see great potential and excitment!