Disabililty News in Home Design: In-Home Elevators the New Trend

by Anna
(The Special Life)

They say that there is safety in numbers. Well, since the number of people with disabilities is ever growing, the building industry is finally beginning to take notice, and add new features for safety and convenience. The trendy phrase being bandied about is "allowing people to age in place". What that means is that designers and architects are figuring out ways for people to be able to stay in their own home as they age.

It's a great concept, and it's about time too.

It's no surprise that stairs often become more difficult as people age, and many seniors face the use of walkers or wheelchairs to get around. Now, since seniors often do have money saved up from a lifetime of work, many can afford to have their home retrofitted to accommodate them. Elevators is one of the many ways to do so.

According to an August 2006 article by homebuilder Cheryl Gillespie in my local paper, the Toronto Star, new competition in this growing field means that prices have come down considerably while options and quality have improved.

Now, we can have an in-home elevator installed for about $ 15,000 and it will only need about the space of a medium closet. It can even be placed behind a standard interior door to maintain the home asthetic appeal, and also provide an additional safety barrier for small children.

The interior of an in-home elevator can also be decorated to suit your taste, which is a refreshing feature after spending years using drab corporate elevators.

For those of us with special need children, this is an important trend in real estate. It means that if we invest in adapting our own home for wheelchair access, that the home's resale value will also increase. It also means that it should become easier to find a home to purchase that has an in-home elevator already in place.

As our children age and we're not around to look out for them, this is an important item that will make independent living much more feasible.