Posts

Design Principles for Aging in Place

/by

Many recent surveys show that homeowners are staying in their homes longer. It could be due to the economy with decreasing home values making it difficult to buy a new home or the cost of assisted living facilities or the desire to continue to live in a familiar environment. Many people who plan to stay in their current home consider remodeling over buying a new one.

If you’re staying put for a while, then a well designed home should accommodate your current needs for comfort and safety and also be designed with enough forethought to evolve with your needs as you grow older or as your lifestyle changes. Aging-in-Place design considers creative solutions for wheelchair users, people that rely on mobility aids such as walkers, or crutches and people with visual or physical impairments.

 

Aging-in-Place Home Design Features

 

Consider using these Aging-in-Place design ideas for the ongoing future enjoyment of your home:

Floor Level Changes

  • Minimize change in floor levels. Have the least amount of steps possible. If a ramp is needed, then install one with 12” of length for every inch of rise. For example, if there is an 8” difference in height between floors, than the ramp should be eight feet long.
  • Seniors prefer one level homes over two levels. Stairs can be difficult to climb.
  • The step between the bathroom floor and the shower floor can be inconvenient for wheelchair users. Roll-in showers offer an option – the transition between the bathroom floor and the shower floor is relatively flat – the shower floor slopes from that point down to the drain. This option requires a larger shower to mitigate the shower spray from getting on the bathroom floor. Non-slip tile makes sense for everyone.

Pathway Clearances

  • Hallways and other circulation paths through rooms and around furniture should be between 36”-42” wide. Use this same minimum distance between countertops in a kitchen.
  • All doors should be a minimum of 32” wide with lever handles.

Baby-Boomer-Home-Features

Kitchens

  • Lower the countertops from the typical height of 36” to 32”-34”.
  • Provide roll-under cooktops and sinks. (These are counters with drop-in fixtures at 32”-34” high with knee space below them).
  • Outfit base cabinets with drawers instead of doors. The drawers provide easier access to kitchen items with less bending.
  • Mount built-In wall ovens or microwave ovens at lower heights so the controls are no higher than 48” above the floor.

Bathrooms

  • Use an elongated type toilet bowl with the seat 18” above the floor.
  • Provide blocking in the walls for future grab bars between 33”-36” off the bathroom floor. Install the blocking behind the toilet (24” wide), on a wall beside the toilet (42” wide) and in a shower or around a tub.
  • Specialty accessible tubs are available with a seat and they have doors for easy lateral transfers from a mobility device – grab bars are already pre-installed.
  • Sinks heights are determined for each individual’s needs – 32”-34” for wheelchair users or for people of short stature, 36” for people with bad backs.
  • Good lighting helps those with poor vision.

Laundry Rooms

  • Mount shelves at convenient heights for easy access to cleaning supplies.
  • Choose front-load washers and dryers with lower folding counters.

 

You can make these accessible accommodations by retrofitting your current home, including them in remodeling plans or even in a new custom home design. If you are buying a new home from a homebuilder, ask for these considerations that you are entitled to by law. In any case, work with your design professional to implement these and other universal design principles to ensure the barrier-free use and enjoyment of your home for years to come.

 

Canin Collection: Canin Micro Homes

/by

The Canin Micro Homes respond to a real-world housing shortage of affordable yet desirable products. Achieving densities of 20 to 24 units per acre, the homes range in size from 454 to 1,400 square feet. The designs feature open floor plans, front porches, and customizable options.

Canin Micro Homes

A new frugality is taking shape in the American mindset. A “less is more” attitude based on enhanced quality and attention to detail is reinventing spending patterns, housing choices, and amenity preferences. The Canin Micro Homes, part of the Canin Cottages initiative, are aimed at exploring this “new frugality” by implementing these homes where there is a need for more affordable yet higher-quality housing.

Canin Micro Homes

By attaining higher densities while remaining detached, these homes appeal not only to a wide range of buyers, but also to developers for their higher per-acre return. Additionally for builders, these Micro Homes are perfect for cost-effective systems-built construction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single-Family Can Be Urban, Too

/by

American housing design is in need of a paradigm shift. Recognizing generational preferences, increasing affordability constraints, and sustainable solutions are needed to start a new chapter in the planning of our cities, especially when it comes to housing. But that doesn’t mean the single-family home is dead. In fact, if we begin to build houses around the principles of density, efficiency, and flexibility, a modern version of the single-family home could bridge the gap between what incentivizes builders and developers, and the new reality faced by many potential homebuyers.

 Single-Family Homes in an Urban EnvironmentSeattle, 1947. Photo © Seattle Municipal Archives

 

The nation’s changing demographics are a driving force behind a new focus on the often overlooked needs of two explosive market segments: singles in both Gen Y and Baby Boomer cohorts. With over half of all American adults single1, it’s no surprise that 28% of new-home buyers (18% women and 10% men) are single2. Additionally, Generation Y (now between 20 and 34 years old) and Baby Boomers (currently between 50 and 68 years old) make up nearly two-thirds of homebuyers3. While the housing industry has begun looking at the opportunity to serve Baby Boomers, it often fails to completely understand the needs of Gen Y and single buyers.

 

Singles in the United States

 

While three-quarters of Americans across all cohorts still prefer to live in single-family detached homes4, it has become difficult for Gen Y and single buyers to find affordable, tailored homes in the current stock of home designs and builder offerings. Financial pressures are increasingly affecting young homebuyers’ decisions. Adjusted median household income has remained virtually unchanged since 19895 and is one of the factors behind increased credit card debt and high student loans. Combined, stagnant earnings and growing personal debt are reducing the buying power of many young Americans, which is reflected in a 12% drop in first-time homebuyer market participation in the past decade6. Because the conventional building model does not take these restrictions into account, it misses out on a large portion of potential homebuyers.

 

Median Household Income

Changing demographics, increasing financial constraints, and modern preferences create the perfect springboard for a new era of very different single-family offerings. For example, without losing the quality and appeal of a traditional single-family community, micro homes (under 1000 sq. ft.) can create neighborhoods of truly detached single-family homes at densities of over 20 units per acre. For builders, higher densities can mean lower land costs per unit; for developers, micro neighborhoods can yield significant margins in per-acre sales; and for buyers, the ability to afford a detached home can once again become an aspirational reality.

 

In our site planning tests, we found that micro neighborhood designs can fit between four and six specially-designed homes (ranging from 500 to 900 square feet) onto a quarter-acre lot, allowing for densities of 16, 20, or even 24 units per acre. This model gives developers the ability to create complete, intimate neighborhoods. By limiting the size of the offerings to no more than 20 to 30 homes per neighborhood, it becomes possible to drive rapid absorption by matching demand and opportunity on a finely calibrated scale. Developers can create a sense of buyer urgency with flexible pricing that they can adapt to demand, available inventory, and market pricing.

 

With diversifying preferences and changing economic conditions, increasing residential density is the next logical step in American home design for builders, developers, municipalities, and, most importantly, buyers. By adapting the single-family home to a more urban context, we can take these considerations into account and create walkable, authentic communities.

 

Sources:
[1] Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014
[2] National Associates of Realtors, Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 2011
[3] National Association of Realtors, Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends, 2014
[4] National Association of Realtors, National Community Preference Survey, 2013
[5] US Census Bureau, 2012
[6] National Association of Home Builders, Wall Street Journal, 2014