Most people who ask us about accessible design are not thinking about themselves. They are thinking about a parent, or about a specific event that made stairs feel different than they used to. What almost nobody realizes is how little it costs to build these features in from the start, and how much it costs to add them afterward. Three inches of door width is free on a drawing and expensive in a finished wall. We have drafted plans in Cache Valley since 1997, and this is the category where good drafting saves the most money over a lifetime.
This is a different question from planning for extended family under one roof, which we cover in our post on multi-generational home design. This one is about the people who already live in the house.
Key Takeaways
- Almost every aging in place feature is free or nearly free at the drafting stage
- The essentials are a step-free entry, wider doors and halls, and a curbless shower
- Blocking in the walls for future grab bars costs a few dollars and saves a demolition
- A main-floor primary suite is the single decision that matters most
- None of this has to look clinical, and done properly none of it is visible
Why This Belongs on the Plan, Not on a Remodel List
Widening a doorway after the fact means opening the wall, moving the header, patching the drywall, refinishing the floor, and replacing the trim and the door. Doing it on the plan means typing a different number. The same is true for hallway width, shower thresholds, and the height of the electrical. Every one of these is a drafting decision. That is the entire argument, and it is why we build the flexibility into main-floor plans by default and let clients decide what to keep.
It also helps that Cache Valley families tend to stay put. Homes here get handed between generations more often than they get flipped, which makes a thirty-year view a reasonable way to draw.
The Dimensions That Do the Work
- Doors: 36 inch doors give roughly 32 inches of clear opening, which is the practical threshold for a walker or wheelchair. 32 inch doors leave about 29 inches and do not work
- Hallways: 42 to 48 inches instead of the usual 36, which also simply feels better to walk through
- Turning space: a 60 inch clear circle in the primary bath and kitchen is the target, and it usually already exists in a reasonably sized room
- Thresholds: flush transitions between rooms, with no lips at doorways or flooring changes
- Shower: a curbless entry at 36 by 60 inches or larger, sized so a bench and a helper both fit
- Blocking: solid backing in the bathroom walls beside the toilet and in the shower, so grab bars can be added in an afternoon rather than a week
Notice how few of these are visible. A wider hallway reads as generous, not medical. A curbless shower is currently the thing everyone wants anyway, as covered in our post on curbless showers and wet rooms. That is the point: universal design done well simply looks like good design.
The Entry Is the Whole Ballgame
A house with a step at every door is a house that stops working the moment someone cannot manage a step. In a Utah build, the practical answer is usually the garage. The garage entry is covered, it is the door the family actually uses, and the slab height can be planned so the transition into the house is flush or nearly so. It is a foundation and framing detail, which means it is decided long before anyone thinks about accessibility.
The front door deserves attention too, ideally with a gently graded walk rather than steps, and a covered landing large enough to stand on with an umbrella and a bag of groceries. In a climate with real winters, a covered entry is a safety feature as much as an architectural one.
Room by Room
The primary suite
On the main floor, near the entry, with a bathroom you can reach without crossing the house. If the plan has a second story or a basement, everything essential still needs to work on one level: sleeping, bathing, cooking, laundry. That is the test. A rambler passes it naturally, which is a large part of why we recommend one for long-term homeowners in our comparison of rambler or two-story plans.
The bathroom
Curbless shower, comfort-height toilet, a vanity with knee space at one sink, lever handles, and blocking in the walls. Skip the deep soaking tub if you are choosing between it and a properly sized shower. Put the light where it actually helps, which is at the mirror rather than behind you on the ceiling.
The kitchen
Vary the counter heights so at least one work surface sits lower. Drawers instead of low cabinets, because pulling a drawer out beats kneeling on the floor. A wall oven at chest height instead of a range with a low oven. Pull-out shelves in the pantry. None of this costs more than the conventional version if it is specified from the start.
Laundry and storage
Main floor, always, and ideally near the primary suite rather than in a basement. Front-loading machines on a raised platform, with a folding surface at the same height. This is also the room where a bench and a place to set a basket down matter more than square footage.
What to Frame For Without Building
A few items are worth accommodating now even if you never use them. Stacked closets on two floors can become an elevator shaft later with far less demolition. A main-floor room near a bathroom can be drawn so it converts to a bedroom without structural work. A wider garage bay leaves room for a vehicle with a ramp. None of these cost anything today beyond a little thought at the layout stage, and each one removes a future renovation from the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does aging in place design cost more to build?
Very little, when it is planned from the start. Wider doors and a slightly wider hallway cost a small amount of framing and finish. Blocking is a few dollars of lumber. A curbless shower costs about the same as a conventional one when the floor is designed for it, though it costs a great deal to retrofit. The expensive version is always the one added later.
Does it make the house harder to sell?
No. Wider hallways, a main-floor primary suite, a step-free entry, and a curbless shower are all features buyers actively look for, for reasons that have nothing to do with age. The features that read as clinical are typically the visible add-ons like exterior ramps and surface-mounted grab bars, which is precisely what building it in from the start avoids.
Can we do this in an existing home?
Partly. Grab bars, lever handles, better lighting, and comfort-height fixtures are straightforward. Door widths, hallway widths, and shower thresholds mean opening walls and floors. Where an existing home cannot accommodate a main-floor suite, an addition is sometimes the better answer, which we cover in our post on home addition design.
Is a rambler the only option?
No, but it is the simplest. A two-story works if everything essential exists on the main floor and the upper level is genuinely optional. What does not work is a plan where the only full bath or the laundry is up a flight of stairs.
What is the single most important decision?
The main-floor primary suite. Everything else can be adapted with effort. A house where the only bedroom you can sleep in is upstairs cannot be fixed without a major project.
Draw for the House You Will Still Want
Nobody plans a home around their eighties, and nobody should. But the choices that make a house work at eighty are the same ones that make it comfortable at forty: wider halls, easier doors, a shower you step straight into, and everything you need on one level. Build them in while it is free, and then forget about them.
Poulsen Home Design has drafted custom plans for Cache Valley families since 1997. Mont and Mary-Ellen Poulsen worked as general contractors before moving to design and drafting full time, which means we know exactly what each of these choices costs to build now and to add later.
Planning to stay put? Call Poulsen Home Design at (435) 512-5852 or visit poulsenhomedesign.com and we will draw it in from the start, where it costs almost nothing.