Smart Senior

Modular Homes: Senior Housing Option

Reducing a building into modular component pieces to enable quick assembly is not a new concept.  There are three stages of family life (early, crowded and late) and each of these stages has different space requirements.  The later stage looks to the basics again as the children move out on their own and the care and upkeep of a large family home might be too much to handle.

A modular home is an option for retirement living.  Rather than remodeling your large family home, you might find it less costly and more energy efficient to look into a modular home.  You are no longer stuck with a basic floor plan but can work with a designer to computer generate a plan that will meet your personal needs.

Modular homes look like any other homes and can range from small simple starter home designs to large custom-built homes.  Affordable log and timber homes are included in the category of modular homes.  A modular home (designed, engineered and built in a factory) is constructed in sections and put together by a builder on your site.  Modular homes, when you add up the costs of labor and materials, are generally lower than in cost than a site-built counterpart of a comparable size.

There is no distinction between modular and site-built homes when it comes to appraisal, financing and insuring issues

Source:  The Craft of Modular Post and

Beam

Building

by James Mitchell

Housing Today

The house of the future is here today and you will be pleased to note that it is senior friendly.  The Baby Boomers are making it happen as they start planning ahead, and are demanding that “universal design” concepts be taken seriously.  June Fletcher writing for The Wall Street Journal (Friday, March 9, 2007) Home Front Section discusses the practicality of “universal design”.  Builders have been talking about designing houses that accommodate people of all ages and physical abilities for some time and finally the idea is gaining credence.

Housing designers are now pushing wheel chair friendly doorways, shelves and counters that require less bending and reaching, and are finally putting master bedroom suites on the first floor.  Major appliance companies are fighting to offer new appliances and fixtures for homeowners with physical limitations.  Finally, someone is taking normal aging seriously and the concept of “aging in place” is grabbing hold.

No one is keeping track at this point of how many homes are being built with accessibility issues in mind, but demonstration houses across the country are reflecting an upsurge of interest.  The models are featuring gently sloping sidewalks, lower cabinets for wheelchair users, staircases with contrasting wood for the vision impaired, elevators, wider hallways, shower stalls, rocker light switches and other features that will make life easier as we age in place.

The term universal design was coined twenty years ago in an attempt to make living spaces fully functional for everyone in the family.  People still resist the idea of aging and while the idea was thought noteworthy it never really caught on.  We tend to close our eyes to what lies ahead.  I am just as guilty as everyone else.  I can remember scoffing when the first issues of the AARP magazine appeared in my mail box.  “Not me…I am not ready for this yet.” Well, a few years later and that publication, along with others that deal with chronic afflictions are welcome arrivals.  How quickly ideas change.

What changed?  By the year 2010 one in three Americans will be over 50… that is what has changed.  Need has a way of turning skeptics into converts, so now is the time to look into some these smart houses and think about how they can give us a break.

Small Space Makeovers

I can still remember sharing a small room with a roommate in college, and I work with seniors who have been forced to downsize into an apartment consisting of one or two rooms.  It is a great challenge to come up with a living arrangement that doesn’t scream claustrophobia.  I am just a wee bit claustrophobic myself so I was drawn to an article called “Small Wonder” by Sarah Humphreys (Blueprint Magazine, March/April 2007).

If you have been downsized into an “itty bitty abode” and are wringing your hands in despair, I urge you to read this article.  The issues/problems discussed centered about a complete make over of a kiddie-sized kitchen (compact oven, sink an under-counter refrigerator, a few cupboards but hardly any counter or drawer space), a shortage of surfaces with no place to set anything) and a bedroom that felt like a bomb shelter (no light, hardly room for more than a bed and a tiny closet) and no room for furniture.

The first suggestion was about replacing overstuffed furniture with trim, tailored pieces (for example: a 69 inch long sofa and a Danish-modern replica chair).  With a small space, your furniture needs to be compact and sleek and in a neutral tone.  A number of companies are now selling small-scaled furniture lines (Crate & Barrel, West Elm, and Pottery Barn to name a few).  The second suggestion was to forget warm cozy colors and think about cool tones ones that will make the walls recede and give the illusion of more space.

The kitchen in a small apartment is usually just a little corner in one end of the living area.  The suggestion here was to hide the kitchen with a sheer linen curtain when it was not in use.  The second move was to remove cabinet doors to create a more open look and use attractive storage canisters that are both useful and decorative.

The team created storage space by constructing floor to ceiling shelves on either side of the fireplace.  Attractive boxes were used to store miscellaneous items and every effort was made to stack books and other pieces of equipment in an attractive manner.

The shortage of surfaces was addressed by constructing a mantel extension, pushing small tiered tables together, buying an LCDTV, and adding a drop leaf table (Scan Design, Ikea, and the like).

The bedroom was reconfigured by finding small bedside tables, built in drawers and storage boxes beneath the bed, and a closet kitted out with hooks and organizers.  You have to see the pictures to believe this transformation.  Please go to (www.blueprintmag.com) for further ideas and information.  You will come away with tons of ideas and a more positive feeling about you new “itty bitty abode.”

Urban Retirement Communities

Intellectual and cultural activities hold a widespread appeal for seniors who want something more from retirement than golf and sunshine.

In today’s day and age, people over sixty are very active and want to be a part of the energy that can only be found in a thriving metropolis.  Modern seniors are starting to reverse the trend of fleeing to the suburbs or the sun-belt, in favor of moving closer to their families.

Studies by AARP indicate that many Americans do not want to be segregated from the general population and they enjoy remaining in the “thick of things.”  The urban locations are more appealing, as far as lifestyles and activities, than the ones offered in suburban communities.

Developers are betting that a good share of the senior population would rather live somewhere where they can enjoy good restaurants and top notch entertainment, rather than golf courses.  Urban developers, in the past, have focused on young professionals and empty nesters, but now they are looking at the senior citizens as the fastest growing demographic group.  Plans are now in the works to build large apartment complexes in the heart of the big cities that will appeal to the senior set.  Younger retirees are moving into retirement communities, and staying there until infirmities force them into a community with more support services.

The housing market, as sited in an article by Thaddeus Herrick (The Wall Street Journal, December 13^th, 2006) is more than happy to accommodate these changing trends.

Downsizing Tips

Nicole Tsong writing for the Seattle Times (Saturday, January 13, 2007) did an interesting article on how a woman, who was a collector of many things, managed when she decided to downsize into a smaller home.

The current baby-boomer population started this trend when condominiums first made an appearance.  It is not unusual for people to want to stay in the same city where they raised their families, but still they realize that they don’t need the same amount of space.  This lady decided it was time to get rid of her collections and move on to a new and different lifestyle.  Some of the stress of getting rid of cherished possessions can be alleviated by planning ahead and deciding what is important to you.

Professional Organizer Barry Izsak recommends sorting through one room at a time and asking yourself a few basic questions:  When did you use this item last, is it still useful and relevant, do you love it, does it work, and will it fit into your new place?

Recognize that you need time and this step in your life needs some major consideration.  Use a move planner (a calendar listing tasks that need to be done), measure the rooms and storage areas of your new home, and take items that can serve more than one purpose, and don’t try to move large chunky pieces into a smaller area.

Cutting down on the clutter in your life has turned into a big business these days.  We tend to want to take too much with us when we move, and it just can’t be done unless you are content to let chaos prevail.  Cut down on the number of small appliances and dishes that you take with you.  You don’t need six pie pans, or three sets of glasses, four baking sheets or drawers and drawers full of gadgets, pots and pans.  Modern cabinetry has come up with a hundred and one ways to maximize every inch of your new rooms.  Shop around and make careful selections.  Add additional storage units and think carefully about buying anything without thinking about where it will go and what you want to use it for.  Be practical about what you need.  Think about new ways to store things in your smaller rooms, using both high and low spaces.  A professional organizer can be your best friend.

Making The Most of Your Space

If you have moved into a smaller house or an even smaller apartment, you have already discovered that furnishing s small space isn’t easy.

Sarah Jackson, writing for the Home and Garden Section of the Herald (Thursday, January 4, 2007) writes about using versatile furniture to maximize small rooms.

Downsizing is difficult, but not as difficult as it is for the average senior to afford and maintain a large home for just one or two people.  It may not be possible to keep your king sized bed, six- sectioned sofa, or your formal dining room set.  Fortunately, many manufacturers are responding to this new trend by designing furniture for apartment dwellers.

New offerings stress multi-functional (now here is a new word) by creating pieces with extra storage and stow away features.  My absolute favorite is a fold-away bed that has a flat-screen TV wired into the bottom.  Of course you are out of luck if you like to watch TV in bed, but I always fall asleep when I try to do that anyway.  Other designs are available, if that isn’t quite your cup of tea.  Look into (www.wallbedsnw.com) by Wallbeds Northwest.

No dining room to speak of?  If you would like to accommodate a few friends at your dining room table you can think beyond the traditional drop leaf table.  Look at the Bjorkudden gate-leg table from IKEA (www.ikea-usa.com). The side drop-leaves prop up to expand seating from two to as many as four or six persons.  Not only that, but it has six storage drawers to hold silverware, table linens, or other dining accessories.

Pier 1 features a desk that starts out as a four-drawer chest but expands to create a full sized writing table (www.pier1.com).

If you don’t need to go so far as to hide your bed in the wall, you can still find something that is compact.  Pottery Barn features a bed that is only 60 inches wide and has plenty of under-bed storage by using baskets and bins.  The best part about these beds is that there is no place for dust bunnies to hide and multiply (www.potterybarn.com).

Moving into an apartment still won’t be easy, but multi-functional furniture will give you a little more space to enjoy, and hopefully a little more money to play with.

Green Building and Prefab Housing (Seniors and the Environment)

Being a senior is not just about being older, but about being wiser.  In many respects, it seems to be up to us to plant the seeds that will help save the world as we know it.  I believe in preserving our environment and enjoy reading about ways that we can be a part of this big picture.

If you are ready to build, relocate, or remodel you can help by reading about

Green

Building

(www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/) and considering ways to implement the suggestions offered.  When Green Buildings are designed and operated with lifecycle impacts in mind, they can provide economical, environmental and social benefits. 

Green

Building

makes a practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition.

A method of building suggested by Smart Homeowner magazine (January/February 2007) is called “Green Prefab.”  The article talks about how you can pre-order, choose your options and have your home factory-built and delivered to your site.  You can ensure that your prefab house is energy efficient and built with sustainable materials.

One example of using the strategies of reduce, reuse and recycle, when building is illustrated by looking at Wee Houses (www.weehouses.com) homes.  These prefabs are available as studio units as well as one or two bedroom units, in a variety of floor plans.  Despite the term “wee” the units can be joined together or stacked on top of each other to create larger homes.  All units are built to code, use Green certified materials and are built with an eye toward energy efficiency and conservation.

Stay At Home With Help

Even the business magazines are talking about housing options for seniors these days.  Jane Bennett Clark wrote an article for Kiplinger’s magazine (September 2006) called “Growing Old With Grace” or (staying at home and getting the help that you need).

Staying in your own home is not exactly a new idea, but it is an idea that we need to look at again, as an alternative to traditional institutions.  Seniors as a group are healthier and living longer, so we need to make some plans about where are going to spend the remaining 1/3 of our lives.

One option suggested was moving in with friends (co-housing).  With this approach, families buy individual homes but share in management of the community (as well as chores, expenses, social activities and some meals).  The communities have recently emerged as a way for like-minded people to handle growing older together.  More information is available about co-housing on (www.eldercohousing.org).

A second option discussed is remaining at home with the help of services and programs that come to you.  For example:  health monitoring, medication management, physical care, housekeeping and social activities.  A few suggested agencies include: (www.norcs.org), (www.sunriseseniorliving.com), (www.homeinstead.com), or (www.comfortkeepers.com). You can also go to your local division on aging to find similar care agencies near you.

A third option mentioned is finding a Green House.  The Green House Projects breaks up big, institutional nursing homes into groups of cozy houses, each with ten bedrooms and a common living area.  The atmosphere is more relaxed and you have access to skilled nursing if your health declines.  For information about a Green House in your area go to (www.thegreenhouseproject.com).

The last option discussed here is the Wendy House.  This means installing a small house on your adult child’s property.  Little house in the back yard, also known as granny flats or accessory dwelling units are ideal for seniors who want the privacy of their own place, but need help close at hand (www.tinyhomes.com).

Retirement and Scaling Down

The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine section (April 8, 2007) did a segment about the growing trend of “scaling down.”  Rebecca Teagarden writes that mega-mansions are out this year, in favor of upscale bungalows, cottages and farmhouses.  Large building sites are scarce and prices are up so people all over are talking about living smaller and living smarter.

Architects are embracing the idea of living with less and doing it better.  For economic and other reasons, people are being forced to live a different lifestyle than they were in the past.  Architects are thinking simple, sensible and smart.  Downsizing means that people are moving from large expensive houses into smaller spaces that are more efficient.  The focus today is on light and space rather than ornamentation and materials.  Think about light and open spaces to create the idea of roominess and elegance.

A smaller home is more focused, more personal and cheaper to heat and clean than a larger one.  Having rooms in your house that are seldom used is an enormous waste of energy and money.  Architects are faced with the challenge of getting a lot out of a little.  Home owners and architects are quickly learning how to turn less into a “high quality more.”

Along with smaller rooms comes the idea of smaller furniture in order to create this new illusion that you are looking for.  Ms. Teagarden describes a “no-slouch couch” by www.hickorychair.com that is an example of what you can use to furnish a scaled down living room.  This particular couch has a flip-down wooden ledge in the back and a two-shelf, 8 inch deep bookcase inset on each side.

A pie cut end table has been designed to hug your couch and will fit into almost any space.  The little table allows the front corner of the sofa of chair arm to tuck right into the table (www.capertonfurnitureworks.com).

Flat Lined Furniture is another whole new kind of modern and sturdy furniture that can be assembled without nails, screws, glue or other fasteners.  See the whole flat line collection at (www.chmoebel.com). Another line of flat ware is designed by Design Can that highlights lighter but still beautiful furniture. Look at (www.thedesigncan.com) for some marvelous ideas.