Grow Older Together

The 2014 Parade of Homes and Lifestyle Show is a great opportunity to explore the options available to age gracefully in your own home, if you are sharp-eyed and well enough informed to spot the beautiful accommodations you'll be seeing in the two Granite Ridge villas and the home presented by Bob Buescher Homes, which is already sold. Villas Nos. 1 and 2 are sponsored by WANE-TV, and Carter Lumber is sponsoring the Bob Buescher Home No. 6. Many of the most important features aren't obvious. They simply make the home look spacious and feel easy to move around in. Aging in place is a huge presence in the housing market today, fueled by the strong desires of people to stay in their own homes as they age. It's easier than many people think, especially when you own a home built with that in mind. Homebuilder Bob Buescher has adopted many aging in place practices as all but standard. "It has become commonplace that (bathroom) vanities have become taller," he said. "We are not bending over as we age. That's a change in the last five years or so." It's become commonplace to design the capacity for aging in place into a home, he said, but to leave some details to be added later. For example, a builder can design a staircase straight and wide for a chair lift to be installed later. Doorknobs can be used now, but lever handles can be added later after children are older and parents aren't worried about toddlers being able to let themselves out more easily with levers. Buescher cautions that clothes can catch on the levers. Buescher's Parade home has minimal steps at its front entry and a few steps to its back yard, which he did not ramp, though a ramp could be installed there in the future, he said, and its halls and doorways are already widened, another now-standard practice. "The great thing about this particular plan is it does the aging in place thing, but if you are not quite to that place yet it fits the whole story with children, too," said Jan Hook, Buescher's design consultant. Their homebuyers have no need now for the aging in place features of the home, but they add value to the home's future. Buescher learned firsthand how valuable being ready in advance with wider doors and hallways can be. "I had a knee replacement and used a walker for a week," he said, so his own aging-ready home has already proved itself useful. Granite Ridge's designers are treating their villas as fascinating design projects rather than clinical problems to solve. One villa leans contemporary in style and one more woodsy and nature-loving. But both combine modern design ideas and lifestyle trends with the aging in place practices builders know prepare a home to age gracefully with its owners, such as wider doorways and hallways, higher bathroom vanities, minimal steps and thresholds at entries and in the bathrooms, a master bedroom suite on the main floor. The villas also have space for entertaining and overnight guests, plenty of convenient storage and bonus rooms the homeowners can use for hobbies or offices, in addition to open floor plans and beautiful outdoor spaces. It's all part of aging in place. "It's a really smart idea, and these things contribute to the beauty of the home as well," said Jenny Nelson, interior designer for Granite Ridge Builders and Choice Designs. "Ultimately, it's what everybody wants. "Going into a villa doesn't mean you are doing without anything. We really pack them with amenities."

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