What to Expect When Planning Your 55+ Housing

55+ housing

When you meet with us for a Needs and Options Review, we will ask you about your lifestyle, about what brings you comfort and excitement. As a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist and the Principal of LKB Architecture, I believe it’s important for our 55+ clients to consider not only the logistics but also the feelings involved in creating a new home.

The theme in senior residential centers is often community connection. However, some people prefer to stay connected with their current friends and family, rather than meet a whole new group. You may or may not want to stay in your current house. We can help you with all of these scenarios.

Sustaining Family Traditions With 55+ Housing

We understand what makes a house or apartment a home, and that there are choices.

Your very first meeting will be with Lisa, and she will ask, ‘When do you feel most grounded in your current home?’

Your home is your sanctuary, where you return to recharge your batteries and feel centered. What do you love about it?

Many people naturally feel anxiety about leaving home.

‘Some older seniors hang on to being in their house,’ Lisa says. ‘There’s a sense of comfort. Our job is to recognize this comfort and integrate it into a solution that better addresses their current and future needs.’

Oftentimes, clients will tell us about solid family traditions, such as hosting their children and grandchildren for holidays. That can still be possible. Whether you are considering making modifications to your existing home or finally building that dream house by the lake, when everyone comes to Grandma’s for Christmas, it’s a place they’ll love to go.

Maintaining Active Lifestyles

Our ideas grow out of what you want, so Lisa will ask, ‘How do you enjoy spending your time?’

Aging shouldn’t mean giving up the activities that are nearest to your heart and your identity.

Maybe you love gardening and landscaping or taking your dog for long walks around the park.

Perhaps you’re working toward a goal, such as building a dining table in a wood shop. We encourage our clients not to sacrifice those life-affirming interests. We will integrate your core desires into your home, whether this is an apartment, a cottage in a 55+ complex, or a house.

 

Read the rest of this article and learn more about aging-in-place and how to plan your 55+ home at greataginginplace.com/your-55-housing/.

About the author

Lisa Bixler

Lisa B. Bixler, AIA, CAPS, LEED AP is a Houston-based Certified Aging in Place Specialist. Principal of LKB Architecture, she is also a licensed architect. Her interest in this area developed while researching options for a family member facing mobility challenges and wanting to remain at home. Lisa has worked in commercial, institutional and residential architecture, and her first goal has always been design that helps people feel good. She has been published numerous times on PrimeWomen.