I would like to break the short-sighted thought pattern that we must relocate to a different home each time our family cycle changes. Surely sometimes moving is the correct decision, but often the home you are currently in can be made to “sing” and “perform” for you and your family over many decades of change if long-range foresight is given to the changes that should be incorporated into your home.

Having lived in my own remodeled “Forever Home” for almost a year now, I wonder why I waited so long to make the place I call home such a magical respite from the busy world that surrounds me. My partner and I purchased our home 16 years ago and we knew then that we were going to stay in it “until the undertaker comes to take us out with our boots on,” as we say in Texas.

Before completing our home transformation, we had slowly stopped having people over for dinner. It was hard to cook and visit at the same time and because both of us cook, we would stumble over each other in the previous kitchen set up. Now we love to have guests over for dinner. We cook simultaneously and complete our activities while talking with our guests. With two sinks and two dishwasher drawers, cleaning up is twice as fast as it used to be.

A week’s worth of laundry used to be daunting, partially due to lack of space and proper equipment and partially because the laundry room was in an unfinished crawl space. There’s something about seeing dirt, mud and spider webs that is not condusive with the concept of cleaning your clothes! Now I can take care of four loads in very short order in a spacious, well-lighted, well-ventilated room that happens to be in my newly finished basement. I can hang my clothes without putting them in the dryer and not worry about the moisture from the clothes creating mold or mildew, since indoor air quality issues were addressed in the early design phase of this basement laundry center.

It’s not just chores that are simpler. Just about everything I do in my home is more convenient because the items I need for each activity are at the “point of use” – where the activity happens. I can find my clothes in a snap, as they are now easily seen in a well-lighted walk-in closet. My jewelry is displayed so I can see each piece without having to untangle necklaces that were lying all together with earrings (and God knows what else) in a jewelry box. Taking a shower or shaving my legs using a built-in shower seat is now a joy and can be quickly completed without injuring myself. My home office has an adjustable height table for me to write or draft on. My desk area is nearby with a computer counter and pencil and file drawers. My favorite antique reading chair with ottoman is also in my office with a floor lamp and magazine stand reachable from the chair.

The other big concern we had about our home before our transformation was that it was not totally accessible to all of our family and friends. We have a 2-story home on a hillside. There are four steps down from the driveway to the front porch and two floor levels when you enter the home. The only guest rooms were downstairs. Because of this, I could not take care of my brother at my home when he was temporarily in a wheel chair. I had to fly to his home instead. When visiting, my 92 year old mother-in-law was uncomfortable going downstairs to the guest room and my 5-year old great nephew could not brush his teeth at the bathroom sink without standing on a chair. All of these problems have been addressed with our Forever Home transformation.

Now there’s a gently sloped meandering ramp from the driveway to the front door that just looks like part of our deck going through our oak trees. My mother-in-law uses the newly installed elevator to move between her upstairs guest room and the downstairs big screen night-time movie. When she returns to her guest room, she is able to push a button to pull her window shade down and can turn off her lights from her bed. She has an intercom button she can push to call us should there be an emergency. My great nephew pushes a button to lower the bathroom countertop so he can stand on the floor and brush his teeth like a big boy. If my brother or any other family member should ever be in a wheelchair again, they could wheel into the curbless shower for bathing. Now we look forward to having overnight guests without worrying if they will be comfortable or safe, while we feel privately tucked away in a different part of the house at bedtime.

Every generation has been thought of in the planning of our Forever Home transformation. Every size person has been considered in our design details. Every ability and disability has been considered, down to the width of the interior doors and the style of door handles chosen for easy gripping.

If you hire a designer and a builder who both understand the importance and details of full accessibility and “visit-ability,” you will not be forced to leave the home you love. You will always be at the point of choice. And as for me, I choose to stay in my transformed home forever.