Building For Long Term Comfort and Accessibility: Our Certification in Aging In Place Remodels
Whether you’ve just settled into what feels like a near-perfect home, or you’re determined to keep a beloved house working for you as life changes, aging-in-place projects are increasingly a smart choice for many families today.
After all, improving your current home avoids costly moving expenses, maintains familiar shopping habits, and preserves longstanding relationships with neighbors.
That spirit of safe, adaptable home features built with uncompromising craftsmanship created a drive for one of our most recent tools in the toolbox. Recently our CEO, Chris Smith, became a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS).
The CAPS designation was first established by the National Association of Home Builders in 2002. This specialized training focuses on adapting spaces to further comfort and safety as a person’s needs change.
We are now Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS)
Here’s why we are excited. Aging-in-place projects can include small upgrades, complete renovations brand-new builds that include:
Safer bathrooms with walk-in & wheelchair accessible showers, grab bars, vanities, and slip-resistant flooring.
Easy home access with zero-step entries, wider hallways, and lever-style door handles.
Smarter kitchens with adjustable-height counters, pull-out shelving, accessible appliances, and improved lighting.
Future-ready spaces that eliminate obstacles and make everyday living easier.
Each of these are designed with the seven core principles for Universal Design. With the homeowner in mind in each, the gist is essentially that the upgrades are useful to wide ranges of a physical capabilities, they can accommodate a range of individual preferences, the designs are easy to understand and use, they can be used even with reduced sensory abilities, hazards through accidental use are minimized, efficient usage without fatigue, and that space is used specifically for desired actions in that area.
The remodels being functionally-driven in ways that make someone’s day easier is the main driver.
What Does This Look Like In A Kitchen, For Instance?
CAPS kitchen remodels are about ergonomics and flow. Improvements to the height of access and the physical movements involved to operate things makes everything feel seamless. For those with less range of motion or grip strength than they once had, these changes keep everything accessible and frustration-free.
Pull-out shelves and drawers reduce bending and reaching.
Adjustable-height counters also require less hunching over or holding arms in an elevated way to prepare food.
Accessible appliances like a drawer microwave, a stove with front control knobs, or a lower range hood with controls on the face.
Task lighting improves visibility for cooking and cleaning.
Lever-handle faucets are easier to operate because they don’t require gripping a knob. Just pushing a lever to one side.
These changes keep kitchens functional, efficient, and welcoming—so families can keep cooking, gathering, and enjoying meals together without frustration.
Whole-Home Comfort and Peace of Mind
Luxury you can feel is having a home that’s tailored for hassle-free living. Beyond ergonomic choices, CAPS projects can also include niceties like:
Better air quality systems to reduce allergens and purify the air in all seasons.
Strategic storage solutions maximize square footage, reduce trip hazards, and allow your home to feel bigger and more robust with clever designs.
Future-proof planning anticipates tomorrow’s needs and efficiently works those into the project so there’s less need to keep revisiting the same spaces for further work.
While you may not need these items today, a family member might benefit from your home being more accessible or you may need it in the future. The best time to prepare for those moments is before the need arises. While Aging-In-Place reasonably leads you to think you’ll need this at a point in the future, a simple injury or surgery can put you in a place where a more accessible home would be a major benefit now.