What is “Aging in Place”?

Most people go through their lives each day without being aware of the fact that the world in general has been designed for able-bodied, right-handed young adults, with average height and weight, perfect sight and hearing, and the ability to verbally communicate their needs to another human being.

Aging in Place is the concept that you can (and should be able to) stay in your residence and current living location for the remainder of your life, regardless of changes to your physical, cognitive, or other changes to your body and abilities that may occur with age.

Aging in Place is a choice. Deciding you wish to age in place means you are choosing how you want to spend your retirement years, how you want your home to be set up, what your health care choices will be, which types of assistance are right for you, and what your wishes are for major life events such as sickness, housing transitions, and financial decisions.

Making these choices gives you control over your independence, quality of life and dignity. Most importantly to note, aging in place does not mean you have to do everything yourself; that’s where the plan comes in. It means you get to plan how your needs are met, who meets them and when.

CAPS (Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist) Certification

Aaron Murphy is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist, trained in the unique needs of the older adult population, Aging-in-Place home modifications, common remodeling projects, and solutions to common barriers.

CAPS professionals have been taught the strategies and techniques for designing and building aesthetically enriching, barrier-free living environments. The CAPS program goes beyond design to address the codes and standards, common remodeling expenditures and projects, product ideas, and resources needed to provide comprehensive and practical aging-in-place solutions. CAPS graduates pledge to uphold a code of ethics and are required to maintain their designation by attending continuing education programs and participating in community service.

Universal Design

Universal design is the design of products, materials, systems and environments for equal ease of use by all intended users and people, to the greatest extent possible, without adaptation or specialized design.

For your home, this means design that allows people to live comfortably and easily, regardless of age or physical ability. Features of universal design include:

Entrances without steps
Bedrooms, kitchens on ground floor
Full bathrooms on the ground floor
Wide doorways and hallways
Lower light switches and thermostat controls
Door handles that are easy to open

Do I really need to consider Aging in Place design now?

Answer the following questions:

Are your physical abilities at a lower level than they were 10 years ago?
Do your parents have needs that are different than they were 5, 10, 20 years ago?
Have you ever had an injury (work, sports, etc.) that forced you to be immobile for more than a few days?
Do you have the financial ability to afford up to $150,000 out of pocket up front, and $5,000 to $8,000 per month available for a “live in” facility (skilled nursery residence) type setup?

If you answered “yes” to any of the first three questions, or “no” to the fourth, you should consider Aging-in-Place design now, and not later.

ADM Architecture, LLC offers on-site consultations; visit our Aging-in-Place Consultation page to learn more.

Additional resources for Aging in Place information are listed on our Resources page.

Did you enjoy this article? If so, we want to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It would be great if you subscribed to our RSS feed or signed up for email updates to get more information. There’s lots more where this came from!

If you have a home project inquiry, would like to write for us or advertise, make sure to go to our Contact page. We’d love to hear from you.

Aaron D Murphy

ADM Architecture was created and founded by Aaron D. Murphy, a Poulsbo, WA Architect with over 15 years of experience in both commercial and residential design, permitting, and construction documents. Over the course of his career, Aaron has been a part of designing and permitting projects of all types, styles, scopes, sizes, and budgets. He has done work within the Seattle area, Kitsap County, King and Pierce counties, and all surrounding areas of Western Washington and the Olympic Peninsula, which total well over 1 million square feet of designed and built commercial and residential projects. He has designed medical “TI” lease office spaces within existing buildings, wood frame construction dental clinics of 5,000 s.f., as well as 100,000 s.f. office and warehouse facilities built in “tilt-up” concrete construction, and small sheds and covered decks too! With his experiences at different firms throughout Seattle, Pierce, and Kitsap counties, his scope of work has increased continuously throughout the past two decades, and many projects can be seen just by driving around in your own towns in this area. Aaron is also a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS).