While you might move into a home thinking it won’t be your “forever” home, you never know what life will throw at you and what the real estate market might look like in the years to come.

I know there are a lot of boomers out there who would normally be thinking of downsizing, but it just doesn’t make sense in today’s housing market. It is better for them to sit tight and hold on to the home that is perhaps paid for.

Planning ahead to get your home in a more accessible state, even when you are younger, even if you are not in the boomer generation, can be very mindful. :-)

I’ve worked with a few clients that have designed with aging-in-place in mind. I have also experienced the need for some of these features I describe below, as a young boomer myself, especially pronounced when I had my knee replacement almost two years ago.

Accessible Home Features To Consider

1) Railings or Grab Bars

Of course, we all know about grab bars at showers, right? We know they are a good idea for almost any age and even if you don’t want a grab bar now, installing blocking for grab bars to be added later when you remodel, is always a good idea.

However, what about other railings or grab bars throughout your home?

Anytime you have a step or especially multiple steps, it is a good idea to add some kind of railing for support. This really hit home for me when I had my knee replacement last year.

I wanted to get outside pretty soon after my surgery, but we had 3 steps going down to the patio. There was literally nothing to hold onto. Putting your hand on a wall is not supportive at all….I tried that!

I had a client that had installed a grab bar at their back garage door since there was a step going into the house and they loved having that. They said it came in so handy.

So, I looked online for grab bars that could work outside and my husband installed this one by the back door. I love it! While I would love a whole handrail, this is a cheaper option and gets me down to the bottom step where I’m okay to go from there.

I can remember when we rented this Airbnb in San Diego right before I had my surgery, I had to wait for my kids to come and escort me up and down the steps to get in the house.

Boy, does that make you feel old!

BTW, I found these beautiful grab bars at KBIS 2025 this year. Love the look of these from Life Valet.

Maybe you don’t need a grab bar now. It’s always a good idea to block in the shower for future installation though.

2) Curbless or Zero Entry Showers

Here are a bunch of curbless shower examples below. They do make it easier to get in and out of the shower and most importantly, reduce the risk of falling as well.

Curbless shower and grab bars make for a safer shower.

3) Wider Door Openings

So many houses in our area built in the 90’s have 24” wide doors. Not only does that feel tight to most people these days, but it is not appropriate for accessibility. You can’t get wheelchairs or walkers through a doorway of this size. Just from a design aesthetic, they tend to look undersized for the rooms too. Especially if you have 8’ doors, they are really tall and skinny looking.

See how disproportionate this 4” door casing looks with the 24” wide door?

24” wide doors are really narrow and not good for accessible design.

If you are remodeling and have 24” wide doors, try to go for 32” which is a minimum clearance.

4) Induction Cooktops

5 years ago induction cooking was just catching on, now all the brands have a nice induction cooktop of some kind in their product line. I cannot wait to get one myself, even though after our power outages I swore I’d never be without gas. Since we’ve gotten a generator now, I think I’d not miss my gas cooktop at all if we went induction.

Induction cooktops are becoming more and more popular.

Induction cooking is safer and has a sleek look.

Maybe you don’t think induction is necessarily for people with accessibility issues, but imagine trying to cook on an open flame from a wheelchair or with some type of memory issues. One client had an elderly husband who would often forget to turn off the range, so this was a great solution.

JennAir had a new induction cooktop with a downdraft at KBIS 2025. It looked like a good option for people that need a downdraft.

JennAir’s new induction/downdraft cooktop seen at KBIS 2025.

5) Appliance Garages

This is a convenient feature for anyone, but especially if you have trouble lifting heavy appliances on and off your countertop. The average kitchen certainly has no shortage of countertop appliances these days and having them conveniently stored behind a door for easy access just makes good design sense.

The airfryer and instapot are key appliances for many these days.

This client opted for a whole appliance pantry.

These are really popular and I can only see them becoming more so in the future.

This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.

Plan Ahead to Make Your Home More Accessible