Building Your Perfect Retirement Home
You'll be retiring soon and you want to create a retirement home that looks great and makes you feel comfortable and happy. However, you aren't sure what kind of design you want to integrate or how you can add them to a house without spending too much money. If you want to work with home builders in Iowa City, Iowa on this type of concept, you need to fully understand a multitude of features and amenities to ensure that your house is comfortable for you.
Make Your Home Senior Safe
A good retirement home from home builders near you needs to compliment the idea of aging in place fully. Simply put, a home for retirement needs to utilize elements that make the house accessible to you as you age. For example, some home designs may seem convenient or accessible when you are young but will become an issue for you if mobility concerns affect your health.
As a result, you need to talk to builders who fully understand this concept and know how to implement it in your home. Just as importantly, you have to grasp each of these ideas so that you can ask for them from your builder. Remember, the average house builder won't add anything to your design unless you ask them. Just a few of these design elements include:
Single Story Design – A senior-friendly home should have a single story to prevent the occupants from falling down stairs later in life. This step also ensures that you don't have a ton of staircases to walk up when you feel weak later in your senior years. Have at least one no-step entrance in your home to ensure that it is as safe as possible for you and others in your home.
Open and Wide Floor Plans – Your home needs to have wide-open floor plans that are easy for you to get around in later in life. For example, you should have rooms that have a clear space of at least five feet by five feet to ensure you can safely walk and use walkers, wheelchairs, and other devices. All doorways must be at least 32-inches wide and hallways 36-inches wide for the same reason.
Safe Bathrooms – The bathroom is one of the most dangerous rooms in the house and can be deadly to many seniors. As a result, you need to add elements such as grab bars, flush showers, seating that you can use without slipping, and non-slip floors. All of your walls should be reinforced, too, to ensure that they are safe and can hold your weight when you lift yourself with a grab bar.
Comfortable Storage Areas – Later in life, you're going to have many belongings that need to be stored safely somewhere. Try to build flush and wide-open closets with plenty of pull-out shelves that you can easily access and that don't go too far over your head. This step ensures that you can access anything that you want without having to reach too high to grab them or strain yourself.
While these steps may seem somewhat depressing, they are absolutely essential for any retirement home. Any home builders you talk to will tell you that these steps will ensure that your home is both safe and a place where you can feel comfortable. These steps also make visits from your siblings and your older friends and family members easier to handle as well.
Just as importantly, you can add elements of relaxation and luxury to your retirement home that compliment these elements. The second section highlighted here will, undoubtedly, be made up of the aspects that are the most interesting to you and which you feel you most deserve in your retirement. And who can blame you? You deserve a comfortable home that feels relaxing and luxurious.
Add Luxuries You Can Afford
High-quality home builders can not only ensure that your home is senior safe but also luxurious and relaxing. After all, you're retired: you need a house that makes you feel happy that you're not working. Just a few elements that you can add to your new house include:
Hot Tubs – A hot tub is a surprisingly useful addition to a home because it can provide real medical benefits, such as a relaxed mind and improved aching muscles. They also make a fun meeting place for friends and family members during parties.
Entertainment Room – As a retired senior, you have a lot of free time on your hands. While you should go wild and travel the world, you should also have an entertainment room where you relax when at home. Add items such as televisions, magazines, books, music players, and even video games
Comfortable Beds – Aging often robs many seniors of the ability to comfortably sleep. However, comfortable beds and bedding can improve your resting period by allowing you the luxury your aging body robbed you. Comfy beds also make your visitors happy at the same time.
Advanced Communication Methods – Staying in touch with family members is critical as you age because they may end up moving away or leaving you alone. Therefore, you should spend the time investing in items such as high-quality cellular phones, computers that let you use communication apps, and much more. Put all of these items in a comfortable room to get the best results.
Try to avoid going too crazy with the home additions from your home builders, though, because you might end up spending a little too much on the house. People at your age need to diversify their investments to avoid losing everything. For example, if your house burns down and you've invested most of your money in it, you would be in a very tough situation until your insurance pays to replace the home.
This kind of morale-destroying event can be very hard on a retired person. You'll likely lose a lot of items, such as photos and family heirlooms, that no money can ever bring back. Therefore, you need to spend money on making your home luxurious but also spread your wealth elsewhere, such as in stocks, bonds, and other stable areas that ensure you don't spend too much on your home.
Get Help From Professionals
So if you need help creating a retirement home and you want to work with home builders in Iowa City, Iowa or the surrounding areas, please don't hesitate to contact us today to learn more. Our professionals will work with you to help you get the retirement home that you deserve at a price that you can more than afford.