Your Home for Living, Your Home for Life

While standard toilets are 14 inches from the floor, some manufacturers make "comfort height" or "chair height" models that are 17 to 19 inches tall.

• Today's Benefit: All adults will appreciate the added height, which creates a more natural seated stance. Children can easily reach the toilet with a step-stool.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Aging knees will thank you for the extra height, making it easier to sit down and rise up unassisted from the toilet.

A walk-in shower is a sleek, stylish solution for your bathroom. It is easy to get in and out, and the uncluttered look will add a Zen-like feel to your bathroom. Make sure the shower door is at least 32 inches wide, and keep the shower and bathroom floor heights on the same level. A zero-clearance glass door, which will extend fully to the floor without a threshold to step over, will prevent a slip-and-fall hazard and help keep water inside the shower. A built-in bench will allow added convenience for storing shower items and shaving while preparing your shower for your aging body.

• Today's Benefit: What could be more soothing than a shower with multiple shower heads? Also, it's easy to convince the family dog (or toddler, for that matter) to walk into a shower without having to leap over a ledge or hop into the bathtub.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Enjoy the ease of walking straight into your shower without the risk of slipping and falling. Sit down on your built-in bench and relax, or have easy access for a caregiver to help with bathing.

Modern manufacturers offer elegant alternatives to the institutional look of old-school grab bars. These accessories add functionality to your home, decreasing slip-and-fall risks for young and old alike.

• Today's Benefit: Instead of supporting yourself on a slippery shower door while shaving or washing your feet, grab onto a bar that is sure to support your weight and allow you to balance.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Installing grab bars now will allow you to get used to using them in future, and incorporating them into the design from the beginning will make sure they are exactly where you want.

Slide-out wire baskets and other cabinetry solutions will increase accessibility for everyone. Easily organize your appliances, pots and pans, and more with convenient, clever accessories for your cabinets.

• Today's Benefit: Enjoy a clear, uncluttered kitchen with storage spaces that will make gourmet cooking fun. Staying organized is easy when there's a designated space for everything, and busy families will appreciate the no-fuss approach to housekeeping. Drawer appliances installed below the counter make it easy for family members of all ages to load and unload dishwashers or cook food in the microwave without having to lift hot foods above their heads.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Reduce the need for bending and reaching with slide-out storage. Even family members with limited mobility will be able to reach items stored in the back of cabinets and enjoy the use of appliance drawers, minimizing the risk of injury.

A clean, uncluttered floor plan will allow a person using a wheelchair the necessary clearance to maneuver in your kitchen. Instead of a fixed island, add a peninsula or a freestanding island that can be removed down the line to accommodate your changing needs.

• Today's Benefit: A peninsula will give family members and guests a place where they can hang out while you cook without getting in the way. The open floor plan will give your kitchen a modern, airy look, creating a refreshing space for your family to gather.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Your kitchen will have no barriers to people with limited mobility, allowing them to enjoy preparing food for themselves well into advanced age.

One of the easiest ways to keep your kitchen functional for everyone in your family for years to come is to create workstations at several different heights. Creating counter spaces at standard height (36 inches), bar height (42 inches) and table height (30 inches) will create an environment where everyone can be comfortable.

• Today's Benefit: Varying the heights of your countertops will make your kitchen a multi-functional space where family members of all ages can gather for food prep, snacking or working on homework.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: As your needs change, your kitchen will have lots of options for sitting or standing comfortably at various counter heights.

If you have the space in your kitchen, build in a bill-paying desk using cabinet and counter material that will match the rest of your design.

• Today's Benefit: Enjoy a convenient, organized space to pay bills, keep track of mail and conduct other business right in the heart of your home.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: You will appreciate this workstation with open legroom underneath, allowing you to sit comfortably to prepare meals.

Even if you have decided to include custom cabinets in your kitchen, make sure you use standard sizes so that it will be easy and affordable to modify your kitchen cabinetry as your family's needs change.

• Today's Benefit: Your easily customizable, stylish kitchen cabinetry will have a seamless look.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Upgrading to accessible appliances (such as drawer-style microwaves) will not require you to tear out all your cabinetry.

For the home's exterior, choose low-maintenance materials for siding, decking, landscaping and even gutters. Long-lasting, prefinished siding means less cumbersome repainting; composite decking means never refinishing again; the right shrubs and plants can mean less trimming and watering; and gutter guards eliminate an often-dangerous fall cleaning chore.

• Today's Benefit: Spend weekends and vacations enjoying your home instead of maintaining it. These low-maintenance solutions will accommodate your busy lifestyle.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Experience lasting beauty and enjoyment in your home without worrying about costly repairs or slip-and-fall hazards.

For the path to the house, create a smooth walkway to the front door that anyone can take, regardless of their overall mobility. Ensure there is a way to enter without using stairs by incorporating ramps or other means to create a barrier-free pathway. Ramps can be integrated seamlessly into the overall exterior in a manner that is both practical and unobtrusive.

• Today's Benefit: Seamless design and spacious, uncluttered landscapes will welcome you home every day.
• Tomorrow's Bonus: Smooth walkways and barrier-free access to your home will allow the entire family easy access for many years.

At the entry, consider the size necessary to accommodate a wheelchair or walker, and look for door handles that are easily manipulated by hands of all ages. The front door should be at least 35 inches wide, and the door handle should be a lever. The change in level from the exterior entry floor to the interior floor should be no more than a half inch. The entry door should be protected against rain and weather by an overhead covering such as a roof extension, a broad overhang or an awning.

• Today's Benefit: A wider door makes it much easier to bring in large boxes from your car. Parents and grandparents of small children will appreciate the wider door when bringing kids in and out of the home. A dry spot at the front door makes it more pleasant to find the keys on a rainy day. And wouldn't you appreciate a reasonably flat threshold if you were returning home with a sprained ankle?
• Tomorrow's Bonus: An inviting entryway that can accommodate changes in your mobility will help you live at home longer.