The Smartest Time to Plan for Your 70s Is Right Now (Yes, Really)
There’s a stat that quietly stuck with us recently:
94% of older Americans say they want to stay in their current home rather than move into assisted living.
Almost everyone… And yet most of those same people are living in houses that weren’t designed to make staying possible.
It’s a strange disconnect when you think about it.
We spend decades putting money, energy, and care into our homes.
We renovate kitchens, finish basements, redo bathrooms…
But we almost never think about whether the home will still work for us in 20 or 30 years.
That conversation usually happens after something goes wrong, after a fall, a knee surgery, a health scare.
By then, the renovation isn’t a choice anymore.
The thing is, most of the design decisions that future-proof a home don’t look like “senior renovations” at all.
They look like good design. A curbless shower is sleek and modern, and it also happens to be safer to step into.
Wider doorways feel more open and luxurious and they also fit a walker if one ever becomes necessary.
Counter heights that vary across a kitchen are great for tall people, short people, kids learning to bake, and yes, eventually for sitting down while you cook.
You don’t have to label it anything. You just build it in.
We’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because a lot of our clients are in the exact stage where these decisions matter most.
They’re not old. They’re in their 40s, 50s, maybe early 60s.
They’re renovating now for the home they love now.
But they have one shot to make these layout-level decisions, and once the walls go back up, changing them later costs a lot more than getting them right the first time.
If you’re already considering a renovation in the next year or two, this is genuinely the moment to think about it.
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The framing we use with clients is pretty simple:
Don’t design for who you are at 50.
Design for who you’ll be at 75, while still loving the home at every age in between.
Done well, you don’t see the universal design at all.
The home just feels generous, easy to move through, and quietly thoughtful in ways you only really appreciate later.
This is the kind of conversation we love having early in the design process, before anyone has fallen in love with a specific layout that won’t age well.
There’s almost always a way to get the look you want and the longevity you’ll need, but it has to be planned for from the beginning.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your current home will still feel like home in 20 years, or whether your next renovation could quietly take care of that question for you, we’d love to walk through it with you 🙂
Katherine Droguett - CEO
With over 10 years of experience and extensive studies in such areas as marketing and media journalism, Katherine has the knowledge, skills and mental resources needed to meet whatever challenge we face as we move from one level to another. She has proven over and over that she will not quit and she has the requisite skills needed to work with people and anticipate their needs. She is resourceful and competent and she manages all office operations, including the implementation of various marketing strategies and systems for the growth for the company.