Mixer lift has been much appreciated the older I get. Under cabinet lighting AND inside cabinet lighting, especially the deep drawers and pantry cabinet. Can't have too much light when your eyes are fading. Pull down spice racks or spice drawer. Anything that will get high things down without climbing.

When we did our hall bathroom we went with a curbless shower.

The kitchen does have a lower countertop because we kept some orginal (1920s) built in Hoosier style cabinets that have a lower countertop. We lit the ktichen really well and used light colored counter tops which are easier for aging eyes. We do have induction, which is safer than gas, though I didn't choose it for aging in place. That's about it for the kitchen.

Our house was designed to be handicap accessible, so we already have smooth transitions in elevation from outside to indoors including our back patio. We are moving our washer and dryer to the basement and this was a big concern for my BF, because of loosing the accessibility. In the end, though, it was the most logical placement. We are hoping we'll be able to add a laundry chute, and if needed at some point we'll put in a dumbwaiter. Our master bath has a low curb and perhaps as we continue updating the house we'll change that over to a zero curb.

In the new kitchen we will have an appliance garage so that lifting the heavy mixer won't need to happen. The trash/recycling cabinet will have a UTRUSTA push opener. We are going with as many base drawers as possible, few upper wall cabinets, and a microwave drawer.

L shaped layout with an island so it's easy to maneuver around.

Separate oven that opens at waist height.

Almost all drawers vs doors on lower cabinets.

Drawer microwave so it's easy to lift up out of the drawer.

Induction cooktop to avoid burns and for easier cleanup.

Counter height island vs bar height.

Under counter lighting.

Lots of overhead lighting

Parents' kitchen: all cabinets are slightly lower than normal (mom was 5'1" at her peak) including base cabinets. DW right next to peninsula with overhead cabinet (no one does this anymore) for ease in putting dishes away and in setting the table on the other side of the peninsula. Upper and lower peninsula cabinets open on both sides. Almost all drawers or roll-outs. Silverware drawer opens toward the table.

Both parents now using walkers. If they ever move to wheelchairs, the kitchen will not be very usable. But they have a caregiver now.

Didn't worry about this at all! It's a long way off and none of the rest of our house is at all accessible - the kitchen will really be the least of our concerns if we can't get into the house in the first place . :)

I wish I had thought of it more. We have a 3 inch curb into shower. We can easily change to no curb and wheel in if needed. With the kitchen, we would lose the island for a smaller low table to include a microwave drawer. Convert the library to a bedroom (that's MILs right now). Not perfect, but workable.

We built in a 55+ development 2 years ago. Other than all drawers that others have mentioned, we also raised our DW about 6". It makes a huge difference and is DHs favorite thing in our kitchen.

I live in a 1 1/2 story house that is, in fact, a 3 story house! I have a basement garage, my washer/dryer are down there (no possible, reasonable place upstairs), guest room on first floor that is quite small - could never be a MBR, and two more bedrooms and two ensuite baths on the 2n flr (this is where the MBR is).

I'm almost 73 and have pulmonary problems. Various people have tried to convince me to make changes to my house (use the breakfast room as a laundry room - awful - you see it when you walk in the front door!), and to move into what is now my library. I do have a full and a 1/2 bath on the first floor.

I've thought about this a lot and decided that for me "aging in place" will work only as long as I can do stairs. I do not want to park my car in the driveway, and probably slip and fall on the front walk if the weather is bad. I don't want to give up my library and turn it into a MBR, or the breakfast room into a laundry room. In other words, I have a lovely home that I will NOT turn into a nursing home in order to stay in it. When that time comes, then I'll either move into a one story house with attached garage, or assisted living.

Our house is somewhat set up for aging in place. Everything important is on one level, the doorways are 36", and no carpet. I consider our many windows looking out on forest views to be a nice touch, especially if we can't easily get outside. In one of my mother's last places, she had nothing to look at.

In the kitchen, I didn't think about it much, as many things can be added/changed to suit. We do have a lot of lighting, both natural and electric, all drawers, a wide 5' between the end of the peninsula and the fridge, plenty of room to maneuver a wheelchair, and most importantly, a seated prep area. The maple cutting surface could be easily lowered if necessary.

We live in a century old 2 1/2 story home and it is not and will never be wheelchair accessible, but I have done improvement with aging in place in mind. We will live here as long as we can navigate the stairs. All things being equal, my experience has made me a firm believer in stairs keeping you mobile. I have 2 showers, both with built in bench seating, overhead, handheld and wall shower jets. One has a minimum curb (1.5") and the other is curbless.

When renovating the kitchen I used all drawers and pullouts. I replaced my DF stove with an induction cooktop and side swing wall ovens (one convection, one combi steam) placed at the right height for me. Everything I need is/can be within easy reach of my 5'2".

Other things I'm doing for the house are:

All hallways are minimum of 42" wide

All doorways are 36" wide

Curbless shower in master bath.

Right now the toilet in the master is in a closet, but it's designed so it can be removed if needed for better access.

Elevator to second floor.

While I have stairs into the house (can't be helped because we are in flood zone), I did arrange so if needed garage stairs could be turned into a ramp instead. Same with front door stairs.

@cpartist. Ooooh elevator. so nice.

@Anglophilia - Unfortunately, my parents associate nursing home with death - i.e. we're trying to kill them. My mother literally went insane whenever she's forced to be in a nursing home short term for rehab after her annual hospital stays. I have to physically sit with her 18 hrs/day in the nursing home during her stints and reassure her. She has dementia and you just can't reason with her.

As a result, my house has been turned into a nursing home as the entire first floor is geared around my parents. I didn't expect to deal with these problems for another 20 years but all it took was one bout of pneumonia and my mom went from dynamic and exercising 2 hrs a day to wheelchair bound at 60.

@crl You brought up a great point, lighting. I had to convert to LED lighting but ended up changing them all out again to 5000K so that the kitchen would be bright enough for my dad to see things. I'm trying to figure out low cost LED lighting for in drawers as well.

Moving in two weeks, to a house we're in the midst of renovating. Master bath has curbless, walk-in shower. Shower has both wall shower head, and a hand-held shower, and a large built-in bench. Grab bars (Delta has nice looking ones) at toilet, and in shower. Drawers under both sinks.

Kitchen, which will be delivered mid November, will have wood floors. Wanted the practicality of tile, but in deference to the increased chances of falling as one ages, went with the softer surface. All drawers in lower cabs, even under sinks. Baking center will have lower cabs that can be removed, so a wheelchair can slide in, for prepping. Cabs to have pulls, which are easier to maneuver, than knobs.

We are also raising the floor of the sunken family room, making it level with the rest of the floors.

All doorways are 36". All doors have levers, instead of knobs. All window shades to be remotely controlled. All lighting-long lasting LED- to be remotely controlled, when desired. Redoing front entrance to eliminate one largish step.

In the "you never know" department, I was recently diagnosed with interstitial lung disease (no, never smoked), and am hooked up to oxygen, 24/7. We are actually removing the fireplace, (chimney and wall), from the family room, as it can never be used with oxygen (kaboom!). In it's place will be a wall of glass, including french doors leading out to the backyard.

Yes grab bars. Forgot I'm including those. In fact my hand held shower head will be on a grab bar/slide combo.

All doors will have levers instead of door knobs.

"Didn't worry about this at all! It's a long way off..."

• Injuries - knees, ankles, feet, hips, etc.
• C-Sections
• Hernia operations
• Any abdominal surgery
• etc.

None of these are necessarily for "old people" only.

My house is 60 years old and would be almost impossible to convert to an accessible home. When I fixed up my kitchen I put in all lower drawers and when I did the bathroom I added a grab bar/shelf for getting in and out of the tub.

The 30 (ish) year old daughter of the older people next door had a stroke and is wheelchair bound now, and they had a deck built at the back of the house and put in a wheelchair lift. I can only imagine that she is confined to the main floor and must be carried in and out of the back door as well as the bathroom. I also find it hard to believe her wheelchair could fit through the tiny galley kitchen. They had only been in the house a few months when she had the stroke. I was honestly surprised they didn't move knowing the layout of the house and how difficult it must be with the wheelchair.

How interesting.

I have a lot of aging-in-place stuff I didn't know I was making.
42" wide hallways with 32" doors. Not 36" like I'd have preferred, but better than the 30" they were.

I have a curbless MBR shower, and when I build my guest/front bath, I plan another. Moreso now because of this thread than fashion.
Toilets are high because ex- was 6'5" My 5'2" feet dangle, but at least I have toilets.

I cut the peninsula off to make a rolling island -- with drawers.
I have a base microwave cabinet I dislike, because I find I hate bending down to it. I'm putting a drawer in the whole. That said, it could easily be reconverted to a base microwave because the shelf is still there.
All my base cabinets are drawers. I had drawers before drawers were cool. Yup. I am a trend setter that way.
When I finish my front porch, it'll be able to be ramped easily. My back porch will be accessible from the outside, but given the build of the house, I can't easily make a back door accessible to it.

I have a LOT of light. Comes from living in a Tyvek papered, dark home for several years. Someone once referenced a Polish cathedral...
All my windows are casement, with lower locks.
My doors are all pocket except for the three exterior doors.
My bedrooms are big, so someone could wheel around the bed easily.
I hate my kitchen cabinet height, MBR cabinets and will someday lower them. Again, built for a much larger ex-.
All one level home. He wanted to smack a 2nd floor on the house after the fire, but thank GOD in HEAVEN I drew the line. I'd have a giant, unfinished, open hole on top of the house.

Anyway, I feel good about the ability to modify my house if I end up needing more help.

New person on this block & planning a kitchen remodel. I think I read that it is safer to put a stove on the same wall as a sink, less walking to transfer boiling foods etc. I could do that but would have only 24" to split for both sides of the stove. Placing the stove across the room about 52" away would give slightly more space both sides of the stove. Also, placing the stove next to the sink would mean I could vent the fan directly through the wall. Any opinions?

3z3z3 - a separate post on kitchens would get you more help. if you want to set things up more for handicap/injury use be sure to post that. any of us can get an injury that will cause mobility problems at any time.

about 14 yrs ago now (wow... that long ago?) I broke my knee cap. that was painful... and painful to move around. and I'll tell you it was painful to get down/up on/from the toilet. horrible pain. we don't normally realize how much weight / use we need from our hips, thighs, legs to do these normally simple normal life things.

when I moved to my new place I did what I could to make things easier for me now and in the future. it started with it having a tubless shower. no more climbing over a tub edge! that's made a world of difference for me!

I put in levers on doors and changed a floor (nice one too) that had a too high lip on it from the hallway and DR area. and have plans to change out the bathroom / kit faucets to 1 lever handle.

I had some vinyl plank flooring put in cause I do fall frequently (more than normal people) and wanted a softer landing. also, if there's a leak, it'll be easier for me to pull up so subfloor doesn't stay soaked.

no cabinet handles with sharp ends and at least a 1.25" projection - also at least 5" long. plenty of room for getting my fingers in/around the handle. the no sharp ends is in case I do fall, nothing sharp to hurt me.

I also made sure the place was big enough that I could get around with a walker or wc.

I have plans to have 1 lower cabinet changed to drawers in the kitchen (it doesn't have many cabs anyway). I do have a good sized pantry off the side of the kitchen where I could keep more things if necessary.

and a ramp is in the back of my mind. unless something rushes it, it'll probably be 2 yrs or so down the road. I have 4 steps in/out any ext doors.

I recently bought an AF to use instead of the oven (mostly). some of that is that I'm single and what I use the oven for is usually very little. I also bought a 1 pot cooker (3.5 qt) so I could hopefully use less 'pots' for cooking and not use the stove. this pot will cook something for the time set and then go to 'warm'. if I doze off or forget about it, it won't burn anything up like the stove burner would. I'm also considering an induction hot plate for when I do want/need an actual burner. I think it's less likely to cause a fire than my electric coil stove top burner. I can't remember when I ever had need of more than 1 burner. I lived in the old place 14 yrs with a 1 burner hot plate and survived nicely. Then i'll probably just detach the coils and cover the top - maybe with a piece of SS.