Creating a Mechanicsburg Forever Home
BEFORE AND AFTER: I’ve never been much of a fan of the term “aging in place”. It sounds so passive and defeatist! So how would I describe designing and remodeling a home for the specialized needs of senior living? I like to call it designing for a forever home! Follow my client – my sister – as she and her husband make their forever home.
I’ve never been much of a fan of the term “aging in place”. It sounds so passive and defeatist! So how would I describe designing and remodeling a home for the specialized needs of senior living? I like to call it designing for a forever home!
At Mother Hubbard’s we most definitely design forever homes for those whose age requires special attention, but who still have a passion for life and who want to live and thrive in their own home. This ever-expanding group of customers understand and embrace the changes and challenges that aging brings.
In my own family I have a sister, Megan, and brother-in-law, John, who after raising children right here in Mechanicsburg, decided that not only do they want to forever remain in the area, but also to be safe and self-sufficient in their own home.
PURCHASING A NEW FOREVER HOME
Having lived and raised a family in the same single family for over 25 years, my sister and her husband determined that it was time to move from their two story plus basement colonial into a no-maintenance home that would allow for living on a single floor.
Once the new home search began in earnest the empty-nesters quickly found a townhome in a maintenance-free community that would allow for single-floor living while still also offering a stairway to a second-level patio that took advantage of the hillside upon which the home is set.
It won’t come as a surprise that being able to live comfortably and efficiently on one floor is often the most important criteria that customers have when planning a forever home. Having the bedrooms, the laundry, kitchen and entertaining areas all on one level can be hugely important when mobility issues set in. The elimination of multiple trips up and down a set of steps can make a real difference in the quality of one’s life, especially when traversing steps becomes more than a challenge, but rather an impediment.
LIVING AND LEARNING BEFORE REMODELING
Before Megan and John began to consider remodeling their relatively modern nine-year-old townhome, they wanted to live in it a bit, to understand what they liked, how they navigated in the spaces, and to imagine how they’d want to improve it. As a kitchen designer, I think this is a very smart move, and not just because they’re family! While it might be tempting to remodel spaces of a new-to-you home before you move in, it’s almost always better to experience the home. Sometimes viewing a sunrise with coffee in the morning can be a transformative experience that helps determine where seating at a kitchen island should face, or where cabinetry should be placed.
As the “Before” photos highlight below, the townhome already benefited from an open floorplan with the kitchen, dining room and family room combined into one great room. This offered many possibilities including expanding the footprint of the kitchen, which is something my sister definitely desired after living in the home for just a few months.
PAINLESS DOWNSIZING REQUIRES SMART STORAGE
Coming from a home of well over 2,500 square feet and twenty five years of accumulating just about everything, my sister both wanted and needed an increase in storage. To achieve this we focused first on an existing pantry along the primary kitchen wall. (photo). Built-in pantries with standard hung doors waste a ton of useful space, as the 2” x 4” wood framing and the drywall all take us space. By replacing this existing drywall-hung pantry shelves with cabinetry and sliding drawers, we not only gained 8” of usable space but also made access much easier.
Another more significant upgrade to the storage came along the outside wall that spanned both the kitchen and erstwhile dining/breakfast area of the open floorplan.
As the photo highlights, the home featured an odd, three-foot-wide wall that spanned upwards of twelve feet to the vaulted ceiling. This wall kind-of, sort-of separated the two areas creating both a visual and functional dissonance in the space. By removing this non-load bearing wall we were able to continue the line of cabinetry from the kitchen right up to the west-facing double hung windows along the wall. To echo that large vertical cabinetry now nestled beside the window, we removed the fixed pane of the patio door, allowing for the addition of another tall cabinet on the other side of the window. (photo). To finish off this now harmonious line of cabinetry we built a window seat that made the area much cozier while providing even more accessible storage. (photos)
PAINLESS DOWNSIZING REQUIRES SMART STORAGE
Coming from a home of well over 2,500 square feet and twenty five years of accumulating just about everything, my sister both wanted and needed an increase in storage. To achieve this we focused first on an existing pantry along the primary kitchen wall. Built-in pantries with standard hung doors waste a ton of useful space, as the 2” x 4” wood framing and the drywall all take us space. By replacing this existing drywall-hung pantry shelves with cabinetry and sliding drawers, we not only gained 8” of usable space but also made access much easier.
Another more significant upgrade to the storage came along the outside wall that spanned both the kitchen and erstwhile dining/breakfast area of the open floorplan.
As the next photo highlights, the home featured an odd, three-foot-wide wall that spanned upwards of twelve feet to the vaulted ceiling. This wall kind-of, sort-of separated the two areas creating both a visual and functional dissonance in the space. By removing this non-load bearing wall we were able to continue the line of cabinetry from the kitchen right up to the west-facing double hung windows along the wall.
To echo that large vertical cabinetry now nestled beside the window, we removed the fixed pane of the patio door.
The deletion of the fixed patio door frame allowed for the addition of another tall cabinet on the other side of the window. To finish off this now harmonious line of cabinetry we built a window seat that made the area much cozier while providing even more accessible storage.
THE BEST KITCHEN TODAY, PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Designing a kitchen in a forever home doesn’t mean you have to create a boring space that looks like it was plucked out of an assisted living magazine. In fact, good design will create a space that incorporates all of the features most would want in a modern kitchen while building in functionality for the future. For example, Megan wanted a double wall oven. No problem! As the photos show the stacked double ovens provide excellent ergonomics. My brother-in-law wanted a 48” wide Sub-Zero fridge. His wish was our command and with the expanded aisle space we created between the island and the wall of cabinetry, access to the massive fridge is easy!
Let’s focus on the extra walkway space for just a minute. In the original layout there was a standard 36” between the island and the cabinetry. We expanded that walk space to 48” on all sides of the island, effectively moving the island out a bit into what was visually the dining area. Not only did this immediately add space for more than one person to be comfortably work in the kitchen, it will also, if needed, allow for easy wheelchair or walker access in the coming years.
We also designed the base cabinetry in the island with plenty of roll-outs so that pots, pans and other heavy items can be accessed more easily. And of course, we LOVE a microwave drawer installed in base cabinetry, in this case in the island, that eliminates any lifting of hot items above waist level.
A LAUNDRY AND UTILITY ROOM LIKE NO OTHER
Need more proof that creating an accessible forever space doesn’t need to be boring? Take a look at Megan’s utility room. (That’s not me calling it her space, that’s Megan laying claim to it!) As the before photo suggests, the laundry room was very utilitarian. From the free-standing plastic sink to the wire shelving above the side-by-side washer and dryer, it was builder standard blah!
One thing that those who know my sister know well is that she hates clutter. When re-imaging this laundry/utility room she wanted to be sure that not only was there storage space, but that all of the tools of domesticity, like the vacuum, ironing board, mop, etc. were both hidden and accessible without rummaging through or re-arranging things.
A LAUNDRY AND UTILITY ROOM LIKE NO OTHER
The “after” photos below highlight how we started with a stacked washer and drier at the entrance of the room. This gave us the floor space for nearly 7 feet of lower cabinetry that is topped by a beautiful chocolate solid surface countertop and a large undermount sink. The most interesting element in the room is the nearly nine foot tall cabinetry closet that we created to hold the cleaning and ironing tools. True to her desires, we were able to create a space where there was a place for everything and everything was in its place.
Other small but wonderful touches in the room include the clothes bar that Rebecca fabricated for Megan from a cast iron pipe, the tile floor featuring two foot long ceramic tiles, and then what you don’t see – the attic door – which we moved to just above the laundry room door where it’s nearly invisible.
Hopefully this space makes up for any childhood torment I caused Megan, and judging by her reaction, I think all is forgiven! In fact, she just commented to me how wonderful the space served as a butler’s pantry during Thanksgiving this year, and how she keeps the door to the room open because its sight brings such a smile to her face.
A FOREVER HOME WITH SO MUCH MORE
In this blog post I’ve focused on just two of the spaces we remodeled in the home. In a future post we’ll talk about the master bathroom and the features that make it a stunning space today, and a very safe, accessible space for whatever the future might bring.
If you’re looking to update your house to a forever home, hopefully I’ve shared some ideas to help you imagine the possibilities. Whether it’s single floor living like this townhome, or remodeling a two story home that maximizes future functionality, give us a call and let’s discuss the possibilities