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Baby boomers slow to make sensible home improvements

As a major movement, aging in place didn't happen. At least, it hasn't developed in the manner that my industry initially imagined.

I took a seminar training to become a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist several years ago and found out that most trained design professionals already are clued into the specific physical issues that relate to making aging in one's own home more comfortable, safer and reassuring. Aging baby boomers have not reached out in droves to remodel their homes in anticipation of getting older.

The main issue is that no one wants to talk about or think about himself or herself in a reduced state of mobility or function. I have found to my amazement that middle-aged people do not want to even discuss installation of safety grab bars in their showers during remodels. That was my first clue that the building industry got this subject wrong.

In all my years working as a designer, I have only encountered one client who wanted to plan around her eventual decline. She was more attuned to mobility issues because her own adult daughter suffered from multiple sclerosis and was already in a wheelchair. My client not only wanted her downsized home to welcome her daughter, but also wanted the space to be suitable for unknown changes in her own health.

There are various ways to look at the challenges of aging, and many people downsize before they are physically debilitated. For others, the best answer is to stay in their larger home and make renovations that will enable another family member to move into the house to share maintenance duties.

Other families sell Mom and Dad's home and their own house in order to purchase a larger property with room for a traditional "granny flat" or separate apartment for a relative. Still others end up living on the ground floor of a larger home and make certain there is a functional bathroom downstairs.

Incapacitation is not only for senior adults. Anyone, at any age, can suffer a medical emergency that makes rehabilitation necessary. Sometimes a stay in a rehab facility is needed if there is no one at home to offer care post-surgery. No one likes a prolonged stay in either a hospital or a nursing facility, especially since assisted living can cost up to $7,000 a month.

I think the main reason the "experts" got this movement wrong is that no one accurately factored in the emotional part of aging. There is denial involved and often a fight to remain independent. Family roles and dysfunction comes out quickly when a parent begins to lose control. Thorny issues concerning money emerge, and as time passes, many people become paralyzed with fear and do nothing.

There are obvious and simple things that anyone can do to make a part of a home more appropriate for an impaired person.

• Remove area rugs, as they make people trip.

• Improve lighting in dark passageways and bathrooms.

• Rearrange furniture so there are clear pathways and traffic patterns.

• Install grab bars in showers or tub areas.

• Inspect tile flooring that is slippery when wet and cover it with a nonslip material.

• Install a side rail on a bed.

• Put a shower bench in showers or tubs.

• Paint a bedroom with a fresh color.

• Bring family photos and personal items for a family member who moves in.

• Christine Brun is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of "Small Space Living." Send questions and comments to her by email at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net.

© 2015, Creators.com

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