Top 9 Recommended Senior Home Improvements

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 74 percent of remodelers surveyed in a recent study reported higher numbers of universal design home modifications—a significant increase from the 60 percent reported just over three years ago. Many homeowners, seniors in particular, are seeking remodeling improvements so they can age-in-place.

Today, most people want to remain living in their own homes for as long as possible. If you want to age in place, it’s highly likely that you will need to modify some aspect of your home to improve safety and/or accessibility to continue living comfortably and independently.

What’s at the top of the list for most requested home modification? Not surprisingly, bathroom upgrades are number one. When making the decision to age-in-place, many seniors and people who are living with disabilities focus on remodeling and renovating their bathrooms so that they can have safe and accessibly functional facilities in this important personal space of the home.

Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t think about how their advancing age can affect their home environments until it becomes a necessity. As a result, most homeowners who remodel their home for accessibility will only make changes after their home becomes too difficult to navigate. 

It doesn’t have to be that way. 

With some planning and help from an experienced remodeling expert, you or your loved ones can enjoy an independent lifestyle without undergoing a difficult and rushed transition.

Here are 9 changes you can make to your home to allow you age in place: 

  • Grab bars in the bathroom
  • Movable shower heads 
  • Portable shower seats
  • Levered faucets in both the bathroom and kitchen sinks
  • Widening doorways
  • Adding wheelchair ramps 
  • Replacing standard doorknobs with the levered variety 
  • Installation of a full bathroom, complete with shower
  • Added bedroom on the first floor of multi-level homes

What kind of home modifications have you made to allow you or a loved one to age-in-place?  If you haven’t made any yet, what types of home modifications do you think you may need someday? 

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