Aging in place encompasses everyone — young and old, singles, couples, families, seniors, children, working, retired, various abilities, with and without pets, owners, renters, and everyone else.
Our clients have varying needs and experiences
One thing that is not helpful for creating aging in place solutions, adaptations, or renovations is a template, one-size-fits-all approach. Everyone is different with varying needs and desires – in clothing, housing, transportation. furnishings, food, music, entertainment, relationships, and anything else we might use or do.
By recognizing this inherent difference among people and their needs to live safely, yet differently, in their homes over time, we can meet them on their own terms and appeal to what they want and what will help them the most.
If everyone were the same, there would only need to be one type of home, car, cereal, beverage, and so forth. Obviously, this is absurd.
We need to meet people where they are and appeal to them in this way.
People want a home
People don’t buy or occupy a house. They choose a home for what it can do for them and what it represents — security, comfort, lifestyle, beauty, convenience, happiness, quality investment, peace-of-mind, accessibility, and safety, among other attributes.
Anyone can build 4 walls and a roof just as anyone can find such a generic structure to occupy. However, people don’t want to live in a building. They want a home.
Recognizing that people want the highest degree of comfort and convenience from their home, along with a measure of attractiveness, whether they are owners or renters, and regardless of how long they have occupied it, we can begin to help them achieve a higher degree of function from their home environment.
Our solutions are varied
Because each home is different in appearance, layout, and usage – even if they may have some general similarities among each other – we need to approach any aging in place consideration with what the client wants to achieve and then make that happen within the parameters of their particular home layout, desires, and budget.
While we may have a general idea of how we want to approach someone’s home renovation based on work we have done in similar homes, we need to address the needs of each client and respond to the physical characteristics of their home, their budget, and what they want to achieve. Each solution is going to be slightly different because each household is different – even if it the floor plan generally resembles others.
Our aging in place solutions are effective when they take the needs and interests of our clients into account. Every situation is different, and this makes it challenging as well as fun.