Stanley Hudson

Dian Green wrote:One aspect of planning, since you are thinking long term, is to plan in full accessibility. If you want to age in place, it's good to make sure in advance that you are covered if either of you develop health or mobility issues.
Roll-in showers are very simple, if you do them from the start, but are a major pain to retrofit. (I would only do full wetroom bathrooms going forward myself. Easier to clean too)
If you are going for more than one level, think about if you want to leave space for a lift to be added later or at least put in a plug for a stairlift option.

Think about entrance grading. Could you make it direct entry or build so a ramp is easy to add?

Don't add unnecessary interior steps, if you can avoid them. I've seen lots of places with single steps up or down into sections or rooms and it's no big deal, until it starts limiting access to those areas.

If you're building, you can also make the doors wheelchair width without it being a big deal or expense.

This isn't something anyone likes to think about when they are healthy, but a bit of planning can make a huge difference in terms of how many years you can stay in your dream home and how comfortable that time will be.

Dian’s point about planning for accessibility from the beginning is a really good one. Even if the intention is to keep using the stairs for as long as possible, it seems sensible to design them so that adding a stairlift later wouldn’t require major changes to the house.

Things like having enough width at the staircase, clear space at the top and bottom, and access to power nearby could make a future installation much easier. A fairly straightforward stair layout would probably help as well.

One other thing that may be worth keeping in mind is that a stairlift later on doesn’t necessarily mean having to buy a completely new unit. For a suitable straight staircase, professionally reconditioned stairlifts can sometimes be a more affordable option, provided they’ve been properly inspected, installed, and come with warranty and servicing support.

I like the idea of designing for activity now while still leaving yourself a practical backup option if circumstances change years down the road.

One thing I did not fully appreciate until helping my mother recover at home was how quickly small house design choices start to matter.

Everyone thinks first about the big mobility problems, but the everyday things cause just as much stress. Getting in and out of the bathroom, reaching items on higher shelves, walking through narrow/cluttered areas, and carrying laundry all became harder than expected.

The most useful changes for us were simple ones: better lighting, grab bars near the bathroom, moving daily items to waist height, clearing walkways, and keeping a chair nearby in places where she might need to pause. None of it was fancy, but it made the house feel much safer and more manageable for her.

We went through something pretty similar in our house, so I get both of your concerns—especially the power outage part and how much space these things take.

In our case, we replaced an older unit with a newer stairlift from a local provider, and there were two noticeable improvements. First, it runs on a built-in battery, so it still works during power outages. That alone made a big difference because we didn’t have to worry about someone getting stuck midway.

Second, the newer model is a lot more compact. It still takes up space (there’s no way around that completely), but it’s nowhere near as bulky as the older ones. When folded, it leaves enough room to move up and down more safely without that awkward leaning or squeezing past it.

We also looked into alternatives. Things like motorized grab systems still require the person to walk, so they didn’t really solve the problem. And single-person elevators were an option, but they were way more expensive and needed structural changes.

So if you’re not planning major renovations, a recent stairlift model is still probably the most practical solution. The tech has improved enough that both of the issues you mentioned are handled better now, especially if you go with a recent model.  

I have nothing to say right now, but if moving forward, I  want to share anything. I will do come back