Universal Scavolini Kitchen by Christine Brun on Creators.com

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Universal Scavolini Kitchen

If you are lucky, you will live to a ripe old age. The only trouble is that none of us ever know ahead of time if we will experience physical decline. We have little control over medical issues. Sadly, not all physical ailments and subsequent constraints are related to the aging process either. I know several people who are under the age of 50 and who live daily from a wheelchair. Another friend began to have serious trouble with glaucoma in her forties and now uses a cane to navigate in public spaces. Illness is humbling and indiscriminate in how it affects people of all social and economic strata.

Unsurprisingly, independence is cherished and remains one of the key ingredients to a positive attitude towards aging. Independence is also coveted by completely healthy 20-somethings in a natural progression towards autonomy. Everyone, it seems, loves living as free as possible. Yet, the more one experiences physical change, the more one's home environment needs to respond to new needs. Some people equate accommodation as giving into the illness. This is utter nonsense. It is not uncommon for seniors to be in total denial about the need for a safety bench in the shower or the wisdom of installing grab bars in a shower. I have a friend whose husband cannot walk and can barely stand, but they resist installing a stair lift, saying instead, that they "are not ready for that yet!" Instead, her husband literally crawls up and down the stairs.

I am a pragmatist and believe in facing issues straight on. I am also a two-time cancer survivor and last year dealt with an unruptured brain aneurysm, so I know what it is to receive bad news. You do what you need to do in order to survive. Lucky is the homeowner who can afford to make renovations that will make living with a disability easier. Not everyone has the resources to completely re-do the most important utility areas in a home: Kitchen and bathroom.

Nevertheless, it is useful to know what to look for in an optimum plan. Shown is an ADA compliant kitchen with a lowered food preparation area, including cook top and prep space. Upper cabinets are mounted at lower height. The wall oven is installed at about ten inches above the floor for practical use. The dishwasher is installed to the right of the food prep area at about ten inches above the finished floor. A person in a chair can open the appliance and use the dishwasher from a seated position. Notice the smooth, light colored flooring that creates maximum contrast between surfaces.

In an older home, very often you must compromise. It may be that you are able to create only one path to the master bedroom or a single way from the front door into the kitchen. Perhaps, in order to get into the backyard, you must install a chair lift outside one door. Maybe a bathroom must be converted into a wet room, one where all surface are covered in water resistant materials and where all fixtures are exposed. Such a renovation might mean that a separate toilet room must be gutted in order to create the extra space required for an attendant to assist a person in a chair or scooter. Move ahead and make the amendments to the floor plan that most efficiently gives the needy family member access to what they most want to use, keeping independence in mind.

It is not uncommon for healthy 50-somethings to be in total denial about the practicality of installing grab bars during a remodel. Most fit middle-age people do not want to even discuss the subject of aging, so if you are an older person married to one of those people, be patient with the planning process. If your partner won't install safety devices, at least install blocking behind the drywall now, so that eventually you will have proper support for grab bars. Know that there is likely no other subject so feared as the discussion of aging.

Photo Credit: Scavolini America

Christine Brun, ASID, 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. To find out more about Christine Brun and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.