Aging in place: We will all be there eventually

Many have heard this term, but many do not know the depth of its meaning. 'Aging in place' means staying in your home or community as you age instead of moving to an assisted living or nursing home facility.

As your clientele comes through your showroom to build their dream home, dream bathroom, or dream kitchen, they ask you for your valued opinion and trusted design sense. This opens the opportunity to assist in designing the safest spaces for all projects and all budgets.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says 80% of seniors have fallen in the bathroom, resulting in over 200,000 seniors being treated annually in emergency rooms.

But the truth is bathrooms can be hazardous for everyone in the home. The CDC also says roughly 235,000 Americans, ages 15 and older, fall in bathrooms annually, resulting in lifelong issues at times.

In 2025, the oldest baby boomers will turn 80. Some numbers say as many as 10,000 Americans will turn 80 every day in 2025 - and 73 million will be of retirement age by 2030.

To meet the needs of this aging population, the US needs roughly 530,000 senior living facilities by 2030. However, the pace of construction is severely behind this growth rate. The US will only have 191,000 senior living facilities built by 2030 due to the pandemic and inflation.

Many Americans will be priced beyond their budgets and forced into alternative choices for care.

Seniors electing to stay in their homes or move in with family can make great strides to have the safest, most efficient spaces possible with a good plan and design. Your showrooms should have an aging-in-space display mocked up with all the accouterments.

This is one of the fastest-growing segments in our industry, with a plethora of opportunities in showroom space.

The future of our safety is in your hands, and as showroom operators, you should suggest appropriate preparations when meeting with consumers. Luxury showrooms can directly impact the design placement to assist homeowners with confidence going into their golden years. Having the right training, displays, and implementing tools to assist in aging-in-place design is imperative and lucrative.

Adding SKUs for any bathroom sale can add thousands to a fixture package AND make the client safer in the long run.

Upgrading your home to be ready to age in place can mean a variety of future projects:

• Adding blocking behind shower walls for installing grab bars;
• Updating flooring to remove unsafe rugs and tripping hazards;
• Floor transition platforms;
• Adding ramps and more expansive walkways to accommodate wheelchairs;
• Adding roll-in shower capabilities;
• Adding shower seats and personal handheld showerheads;
• Installing power by the toilet for future bidet-type toilet seats;
• Installing Taller toilets - up to 19" on the market now; and
• Installing walk-in bathtubs for ease of bathing.

Difficult conversations are eased by using intake forms to "preload" these ideas into a consumer's head based on their needs. Here you can detail questions such as the need for an enlarging makeup mirror; a washlet toilet seat for personal/medical reasons; or other special needs such as a toilet seat for heavier weight capacity.

"Rachel Weise, showroom channel marketing manager for one of our faucet vendor partners, can relate to the needs of the baby boomer generation, especially when it comes to her retired mother. Rachel's mother plans to age in place in her current home and is slowly remodeling to not only update the design aesthetic but to ensure that the spaces are functional as she gets older. A few examples of this include decorative grab bars in the bathrooms, touchless faucets in both the kitchen and bathrooms and easily accessible hand showers in the tub/shower spaces. Rest assured, these upgrades are worth the investment and provide peace of mind."

Aging in place allows for personal comfort and is often funded or assisted by insurance companies. While not all insurance companies are created equally, you can get grants to help with the cost of aging-in-place upgrades through USDA, VA, and Medicaid.

While researching this article, I found multiple grants for residences and businesses:

• Specially Adapted Housing (SAH): Grants up to $117,014 to modify a home for a veteran or service member with a qualifying disability;
• Special Home Adaptation (SHA): Grants up to $23,444 to modify a home for a person with a qualifying disability;
• Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA): Grants to alter a family member's home for a person who qualifies for an SAH or SHA grant;
• Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA): Grants up to $6,800 for service-connected veterans and up to $2,000 for non-service-connected veterans.

Research found federal grants for small businesses to make updates to comply with ADA requirements. A tax credit of up to $5,000 is available to remove barriers that prevent access for people with disabilities.

Regarding kitchens, the upgrades are more basic but still worth a good chat. Raising kitchen counter height requires in-depth remodeling and adding pullouts for drawers in cabinets. These both ease the accessibility for seniors and can reduce injuries.

Other minor upgrades could include:

• Adding hardware to ease the opening/closing of cabinet doors;
• Adding under-cabinet lighting;
• Installing touch- or hands-free faucets and soap dispensers -with pre-set water temperature to reduce burn possibilities;
• Drawer-style microwaves to eliminate hot items at face level;
• Ensure some storage space is reachable from wheelchairs;
• Adding induction stoves to eliminate the possibility of burns. Many appliances also have auto start/stop capabilities;
• Shallow kitchen sinks to assist with wheel-chair access.

Many cultures have a different view on aging in place. In Eastern societies, there is a strong presence of respecting seniors, their home space, and their knowledge. Latin American families tend to prioritize close family ties, often with multiple generations living together or close by.

As societies become more urbanized, multi-generational living can become more common, impacting caregiving arrangements and forcing more families into living together. With this comes opportunity as it relates to luxury showrooms.

Adding an Aging in Place Certification can increase your education and knowledge base. The Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation is a joint program of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and AARP. To become a CAPS, complete three courses and submit an application. Adding design service certifications can advance your showroom over your competition and also provide your community with loads of knowledge.

Suggested additions in your showroom space would be to add taller toilets (some models boast a 19-inch height); walk-in tubs; shallow kitchen and bathroom sinks; roll-in shower opportunities; decorative grab bars; magnifying makeup mirrors; and others.

Showing mock-up displays of roll-in showers with ADA grab bars, ADA slide bars for personal handhelds, and taller toilets can make a big impact and speak volumes over your competition.

When researching for this column, several showrooms reported working with contractors for age-in-place events in communities. Sending invitations to locals can increase your opportunity to showcase these products and spread awareness.