Building a beautiful retirement home is the perfect way to celebrate the end of your working years. As you select a location, choose a home builder, and conduct other research, it’s important to think about the comfort, safety, and accessibility of your retirement home. Keep the following tips in mind as you make plans for your new residence. 

4 Things to Consider When Building a Retirement Home 

1. First-Floor Living 

Ascending and descending steps can be cumbersome and risky as your body ages. To avoid potential falls, it’s wise to only have one floor in your retirement home. You can still incorporate all the special features you’d like – and have plenty of space for multiple bedrooms and bathrooms – in a one-floor home. Review different first-floor layouts with a home builder so that you can compare various options. 

2. Open Floor Plan 

In homes with open floor plans, the common areas are seamlessly connected without imposing walls, hallways, or doors. In these houses, it’s common for the kitchen, dining area, entryway, and living room to feel like one space. The bedrooms and bathrooms are completely private. Open-floor plans are ideal for maneuverability, which is especially important if you use a device like a cane, walker, or wheelchair to assist with mobility. 

3. Night Lighting 

Night lighting in common areas, as well as bedrooms and bathrooms, is helpful for nighttime maneuverability. There are simple ways to integrate subdued lighting throughout the house so that you don’t have to set up nightlights in every space. Your home builder can propose creative ways to design your lighting so that you have additional visibility in the dark. 

4. Bathroom Fixtures 

While designing bathrooms for your retirement home, it’s important to decide if you’d like accessible fixtures, such as toilets that are higher off the ground than usual, low-rise bathtubs, and shower seats. These are subtle design choices that may come in handy if you experience diminished mobility later in life. 

If you need help designing and building a retirement home, get in touch with Roider Contracting in Columbia, IL. This family-owned contracting firm builds and remodels homes of all sizes and styles. See some of their building projects online or contact them today for more information at (314) 807-0492.