Making an Accessory Dwelling Unit Age-friendly
How to create an ideal future home right in your backyard
Sometimes I wish the acronym ADU stood for Assistive Dwelling Unit, not Accessory Dwelling Unit. Its purpose would be much clearer—a home that assists, enables, and compensates for all the changes that come with the aging process and increases the capacity to live on one’s own terms for as long as possible.
ADUs are second houses that people are allowed to build in their backyards. They can be up to 1, 200 square feet, depending on which state you live in. They’ve become synonymous with age-friendly homes and aging in place; but many are simply shrunken, standard homes and miss the mark in becoming lifelong dwellings.
So, what makes ADUs a good candidate for aging in place? Since they’re jointly located with another house on a property, they naturally create proximity and encourage occupants to tap into an established neighborhood—a big plus for many older adults, who often become more isolated and lonely—a documented health risk. They’re also smaller than most standard homes, which makes them easier and more affordable to maintain (and to build). For many older adults, managing a standard home becomes too much, leading to its disrepair or worse.
The standard ADU toolkit should include basic accessibility features that support shifts in mobility, such as a step-free entry, a curbless shower with a safety bar, and minimum 32-inch- wide doorways. Incentivizing such features by lowering building permit fees and providing informational resources at the permit counter for architects, builders, and homeowners would be an easy and inexpensive way for cities to create much needed life-span homes.
But there’s much more to creating an age-friendly home and fortunately, this is not expensive. For example, a simple kitchen design that avoids the standard upper cabinets can prevent falls that often result from using a step stool as well as encourage cooking for oneself and others because everything needed, is in easy reach.
An age-friendly home also should invite connection to the world beyond. In addition to a no-step entry, generous windows with a low sill height offer a connection to the outside whether from a bed, chair, or sofa; lever handles, instead of door knobs allow someone with arthritis to easily open a door.
Additionally, It should enable connection to one’s history and identity. Downsizing to a smaller footprint doesn’t have to mean giving up all of one’s prized possessions. A smaller home should entail well-thought-out, easy-to-access storage throughout as well as opportunities for displaying one’s collections. So, instead of upper kitchen cabinets, built-in shelves or a vitrine can hold cherished items. Rediscovering and thus using a favorite item more often can bring a simple pleasure.
Delight is one of those overlooked but key principles in age-friendly design. It can come from a purely decorative item but also from something practical.
For example, a red toilet seat is not only fun and bold, but since the color red has a long wavelength it is also more visible to someone with poor vision. Red acts as a signal color for people living with dementia; a crimson toilet seat clearly sets it apart from other bathroom fixtures.
Designing an ADU can offer a fresh slate to create an ideal home as we age. By acknowledging and embracing the full range of our future lives, they can support us in the ongoing process of being at home with growing older.
AGE-FRIENDLY ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS /ADUs:
Standard accessibility features (does not cost more if you start from scratch - do your best if you adapt an existing cottage)
No-step entry
Wider doorways—at least 32 inches
Curb-less shower with safety bar
Lever handles for doors
Age-friendly features:
Safety/Comfort:
Avoid upper cabinets in the kitchen
Drawers in lower cabinets
Outlets at 18 inches
Electric appliances
Heat pump
Wall framing to accommodate railings in future
Wall-hung sink (instead of vanity) for more maneuvering space
Comfortable chair in bathroom/ Shower stool
Connection:
Windows: easy to access, easy to open
Storage:optimize use,easily accessible, and specific throughout the home
Delight:
“Functional” colors (i.e.: red toilet seat, )
Built-in wall shelves to display collections, photos, books, etc.
Hand-held shower head—weight, spray, grip
I believe in choice: Make sure the ADU design supports your passions. Whether it’s gardening, reading, or crafting, you can have it all—even in a compact space.
