Aging In Place Directory

Enhancing Home Life with Universal Design Principles

• Esther C Kane CAPS, C.D.S. • Season 1 • Episode 18

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Ever wondered how you can make your home not just beautiful but also a safe haven for all ages and abilities? Join us as Esther Kane, a retired occupational therapist and certified Aging in Place specialist, unravels the secrets of universal design. You'll discover practical tips like installing lever-style door handles, adjustable height countertops, and motion-activated features that make daily living simpler. Esther expertly explains how universal design principles—equitable use, flexibility, simplicity, and low physical effort—transform homes into functional, aesthetically pleasing spaces for everyone.

As we close this enlightening episode, we extend heartfelt gratitude to our loyal listeners and subscribers. Your support fuels our passion and makes this podcast possible. If you haven’t subscribed yet, now is the perfect time to join our community and stay tuned for more episodes filled with valuable insights. Until next time, keep creating spaces that support independence and enhance quality of life for all!

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Speaker 1:

Hello everyone, welcome back to episode 18 of the Aging in Place Directory podcast. I'm Esther Kane, retired occupational therapist and certified Aging in Place specialist. Today I wanted to talk about universal design. Now, if you're a homeowner looking to make your home as you know, aging in place safe as possible, you're planning to stay there as long as you possibly can and, of course, you want to be independent for as long as you possibly can, then an aging in place assessment can certainly help you to do that, so you can get an idea of what kinds of things you can do in your home to make it as safe as possible and as easy as possible. I myself am going to be reworking my kitchen, you know, doing some modifications in there in order to make things easier, more accessible to to get to, because I have a bad back, so it's going to. I need to accommodate that so that it will make my life easier, more comfortable and safer and I can stay here much longer.

Speaker 1:

So if you are a homeowner looking for those services, you're probably going to hear the term universal design. So a lot of aging in place specialists and occupational therapists and anyone who does home assessments will use that phrase. So what is it? What does that mean? So, basically, it's a, it's an approach, it's a way of thinking and of conducting the assessment that what you're doing is, or what the person is doing, is creating spaces in in the living environment and products that are usable by people of all ages and all abilities. So this is especially useful in multi-generational homes where you may have children living parents you know, maybe they're middle-aged parents and then older grandparents, so you also. It would be homes where someone is using a wheelchair or a walker and you know others are not. So it's making. It's not about any specific equipment or or making the home look institutional in any way. It's about making the home as aesthetically beautiful as possible to accommodate all the people that are living in it. It could be one person, two people, ten people, whatever. So universal design is exactly that. It's design for the group universal.

Speaker 1:

So what are the key principles in universal design? And it's something that you should know, that homeowners should know, in order to be aware of what is. You know, what is the assessment involved, or what is any home assessment for this purpose involved? So one, something called equitable use. These are design features that are to be useful for people with diverse abilities. So, for an example, a lever style door handle versus a round door handle. The lever style can be used by everyone you know children, older adults, everyone. It's much easier to manage that lever, to hold on to it and pull it down. Also, if your hands are full with groceries or whatever, it's easier to just take your elbow and clunk it down Much easier than a round knob. Even if the round knob is textured, it's still a safer, more universal design to have the lever design, to have the lever.

Speaker 1:

Flexibility is another concept or another principle of universal design, and this accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. Things like adjustable height countertops in the kitchen, so you could have. Maybe a very tall person is living in the home so you could have a section of the countertop that's raised higher. If someone is in a wheelchair you could have, or is very short, you could have a countertop that is lower for that person. Or perhaps it's just easier to if it's a baker. A baker may find a lower countertop a little easier to roll out the dough versus a higher one. It could be to accommodate shoulder injuries or back injuries or anything at all, but the countertops don't have to be all one level, it could be adjusted to accommodate whoever's living in the home.

Speaker 1:

Simple and intuitive is another key principle. The use of this design principle is pretty easy to understand because, regardless of the user's abilities or even cognitive ability, it doesn't have to necessarily be physical activities. So this is clear, well-lit pathways, you know, throughout the the home, and it doesn't mean that they have to necessarily be wide. Of course it'd be better if it's wide, because then accommodate more, accommodate wheelchairs, walkers, that kind of thing. But the point is that it's clear, there's no clutter, you know you're not having to walk sideways around things and that it's very well lit. I personally like the can lighting and if it's motion detectable, that would be even better, because then you don't have to think about turning the light on, it just automatically comes on as you're walking in that area and you know as much light as you can put in that area, as long as it's, of course, aesthetically pleasing.

Speaker 1:

Low physical effort is another principle, which basically means exactly what it says. It takes very little effort in order to use the item. So I'm talking about easy to operate windows, which we all know can be very difficult to open at times, faucets or even just motion activated faucets, motion detected lights, where you get. You don't have to do the switch, anything that is automatic. You know lights come on and off on a timer or you use a voice activated device that you can say you know, alexa, turn the light on or whatever, turn the TV on, whatever. Anything that requires low physical effort can be used by everyone in the home and it makes the home safer and easier.

Speaker 1:

So universal design, when coupled with aging in place principles, really goes into every single nook and cranny of the home, everything, including the outside of the home, because one of the biggest hurdles of aging in place is an entryway. A lot of our entryways have steps, even if it's a flat rise. From the sidewalk to your front door or front patio. There's probably a step to get into the home which is not a big deal, unless you're in a wheelchair or you're using a walker or, you know, maybe there's some vision problems or cognitive problems it's just so easy to trip over or get over that step, even inside the home. The thresholds or maybe you may have a lot of older homes have wooden or metal thresholds between rooms. Now everything is all smooth and easy to maneuver through. That is the process, so those kinds of items can be used by everyone. Having a ramp up to the front door, having a curbless entryway, can accommodate everyone, doesn't necessarily mean that it's just accommodating that one individual who may need that to make life a little easier. Wider doorways, again, are another issue. That is universal design. Everybody in the home can use wider doorways. It makes it much easier, safer for everyone.

Speaker 1:

Bathrooms the things that you can do in bathrooms are a curbless shower, barrier-free type of shower stalls with built-in seating and handheld shower heads, and not just the handheld shower head up on top, but also a component on the wall where you can hang that shower head right there, right next to the seat, so you can sit and you can shower. They offer safety, they offer convenience, along with things like grab bars on your toilets and in shower stalls. They provide added support, and these days grab bars are not institutional looking. I mean, yeah, you can still buy the institutional looking ones, but they have some beautiful ones. You know, I personally have a curved, wavy grab bar in my shower and in my bathtub and it just looks like it's just part of the design of that unit. It doesn't look like a grab bar.

Speaker 1:

One thing I can recommend for shower heads also are the magnetic shower heads that are removable, and the reason I recommend the magnetic is because then the other kind you have to clip on, you have to place it into its, its pocket in order to stay there, but with a magnet, it, the back of the shower head, is a magnet and so is the. You know where you place it. So all you have to do is just place that shower head close to it and it automatically connects. So it makes it much easier. It's one less thing to do. It decreases the amount of effort to use it. So I would recommend those types of showerheads.

Speaker 1:

In the kitchen, of course, there's pull-out shelves. A lot of people use pullout shelves in their kitchens and I think it's very important, especially for lower cabinets, but you can also use these in the bathroom as well. There's so many available now that you know you can buy the built-in ones. Or, if you're renovating your home, you can use companies like Closet by Design, california Closet, that they can put in built-in shelves in there. Of course, again in the kitchen, as I mentioned, very counter heights, easy to reach appliances and easy to use appliances, and to me a lot of appliances are very easy to use but not necessarily easy to clean, so I would opt for appliances that are easy to clean and that will make your life a lot easier. I have given up quite a few blenders here and there that were not, or really food processors that were not that easy to clean, but nowadays they're much better.

Speaker 1:

Lighting lots and lots. We need so much more lighting as we get older, so ample, well-placed lighting reduces fall risks, reduces eye strain. Motion sensor lights, as I said before, are so important in hallways, in bathrooms, kitchen, in and out of the garage, anywhere you have steps, if you still have to have steps anywhere you want to make sure to have enough light there to accommodate everyone and it benefits everyone. It doesn't not benefit anyone for sure. Not benefit. I don't know that. That's a phrase.

Speaker 1:

Smart technology, as I mentioned before, voice activated devices, I think eventually are going to be in every home on the planet. It seems like it at least. Voice activated devices can control just about everything, from your oven to your dishwasher to your washing machine and dryer. My washing machine and dryer are upstairs, so when I'm running something upstairs, if I come downstairs to work or do something else, it will alert me, my phone will alert me to let me know that the wash is done or that the dryer is done, so I can go. I can then go up and fix that. Or the other thing I can do is I can just tell my Alexa, you know, set the timer for an hour, 45 minutes, whatever, and then it will, and then I know to go up. But there's a lot of different ways that you can set alarms to make your day a little easier so that you don't have to remember. Oh yeah, you know. You get into bed and you're like oh, my goodness, I can't believe I forgot everything in the washing machine. Probably have to wash it again now. That's been sitting there for a while.

Speaker 1:

But voice activated devices are amazing and they're certainly not going to go away. If anything, we're only going to incorporate them more and more, though you can see that the benefits of Universal Design are plentiful. I mean, it allows older adults to maintain their independence, to stay in their homes longer, but not just longer in a disabled way, because you can fall, be in a wheelchair and still stay in your home. But we all want to be as independent and as healthy and functional as possible for as long as possible. So why not take the initiative to make that happen? Use the tools that are available to do that?

Speaker 1:

Universal design benefits everyone in the home. As I said, it's really wonderful for multi-generational homes or homes that have different, even if it's just two people of two different abilities. You know a six-foot-three man could be married to a four-foot-two woman. Foot three man could be married to a four foot two woman, and they need two different sets of countertops or anything like that. It can also universal design coupled with aging in place design can prevent accidents, make living easier, safer, make caregiving easier, safer, safer, and it truly enhances a home's overall aesthetics and value. Definitely enhances the value. And if you do it with a aging in place specialist, a designer that is certified in aging in place and has the education of Universal Design, that designer can help you to make that home as aesthetically beautiful as possible but at the same time, safer and more comfortable for you.

Speaker 1:

So if you're a homeowner and I'm assuming you are listening to this podcast or if you're a family member with aging parents who plans to age in place, I would recommend strongly to look at an aging in place specialist, a designer that has an aging that has aging in place certification or, if you're looking for major modifications, a builder or contractor that has those certifications. You can also consult with an occupational therapist. If there are medical issues that need to be addressed, such as dementia or stroke or Parkinson's, those issues could be specifically looked at, taken care of by an educated OT. You want to prioritize the changes that you're going to be making in the home you know, based on the current needs and then, of course, any anticipated needs that you feel may be coming. And then, of course, you may not know what's coming unless you speak to a professional like an occupational therapist, aging in place specialists and so on.

Speaker 1:

And you want to implement these modifications gradually because one some of them can be expensive, especially if you're doing major remodeling. Others may just cost a hundred bucks, 200 bucks, whatever may not cost all that much, but you want to spread out the costs and minimize the disruption in the home. One of the first things you may have to do if you're looking at remodeling a home of someone who's been living in there a very long time is the very painful process of decluttering, getting rid of excess furniture, changing furniture that may be too big for the environment. You know for the area that it's in getting rid of a lot of things that can cause future falls or injury, step to take towards making a home safe and keeping you as independent and mobile and healthy as possible. Isn't that what you really want? I think we all do, I think everyone wants that.

Speaker 1:

All right, I want to thank you so much for listening to our podcast. Of course, subscribe our podcast. Of course subscribe. We appreciate each and every single subscriber and I look forward to seeing you, or, yep, seeing you next time. Take care, bye.

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Esther C. Kane, CAPS, C.D.S.

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