You’ve heard of boomerang kids – young adults who move back in with their parents. Another trend: aging parents moving in with their middle-age children. One in six American families now live in multigenerational households, an increase of 10 percent since the start of the economic downturn in 2008, according to Generations United, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.
The rise in multigenerational households, as well as a rapidly aging population, has fueled interest in universal design – barrier-free access for people of all ages and abilities. Stepless entries, wide doorways, pull-out kitchen storage and lever-type door handles are just as handy for a young mother with a stroller as for an elder with a walker.
A health emergency often spotlights a home’s difficulties for elders. “When you pull up to your driveway, you don’t see all the obstacles your house poses for an older person,” says Tom Ashley, who has special certification for remodeling homes for seniors. “A flight of stairs or narrow doorways and a lack of a ground-floor bathroom may be the reason your mom isn’t visiting anymore.”
More than 3,700 remodelers, as well as builders, architects and designers, are certified as aging-in-place specialists by the National Association of Home Builders. To find a specialist in your area, go to nahb.org and type “aging in place” in the search engine.
If budgets are tight, remodelers advise concentrating on bathrooms and transitions into the house. A landscaped ramp or walkway costs from $2,000 to $5,000. A bathroom remodeled with grab bars, an elevated toilet and a curbless shower will run $6,000 to $18,000 or more.
In your loved one’s bedroom, focus on safe flooring, lighting and bed height, says New York City gerontologist and interior designer Rosemary Bakker. “Area carpets can cause a fractured hip,” she says. “Replace them with a bare floor or nonplush wall-to-wall carpeting and a thin underpad.” A bed should be no higher than 18 to 24 inches, for ease in climbing in and out.
Lavish mother-in-law suites and two-story additions can run as high as $100,000 or more. “But an assisted-living facility can cost upward of $60,000 a year, so a big remodeling project can be cheaper in the long run,” Ashley says. “Plus you add value to your property, and someday you, too, can age in place gracefully.”
If you can’t afford a major remodel, you can elder-proof a house by removing clutter, says Wid Chapman, an architect and co-author of “Unassisted Living: Ageless Homes for Later Life” (Monacelli Press, $45). “Get rid of lamps with cords and any unstable furniture,” he says.
Elizabeth Pope writes for Kiplinger’s Money Power. Send your questions and comments to moneypower@kiplinger.com. And for more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.
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