The In-Law's New House
My girlfriend's parents have been spending the past winter building a new house in Ann Arbor, MI, and I finally got to go home and see the results this past weekend. The house is very, very well designed. It's a timber frame house, but I'm not referring to the architecture when I say that the design is good. I'm referring more to the little things that make living (or visiting) the place much more enjoyable in ways that most people probably are not aware of.
As one example, all of the doorknobs in the house are the type that you have to push down on (the so-called "lever handles") instead of the typical "grab and twist". It was one of the first things I noticed, and I immediately knew why: the squeezing and twisting motion required to open usual doorknobs wreaks havoc on arthritic hands or those with other afflictions or injuries. My girlfriend's mom and step-dad actually took the time to think this through, and they decided to use lever handles for all of the doors in their house.
Now, my girlfriend's parents are not old. They have no trouble using regular doorknobs. But they understand that they will not be the only ones using them, that one day they will grow old and may require the ease of these doorknobs, and that if they ever choose to sell their house, little things like this might command a premium for the cost of the house by a buyer who is mindful of these kinds of issues. (attention real estate developers...hint! hint!)
We're all dimly aware of the eventual journey we need to make to visit the "spirit in they sky", and while this fact gets a lot of press (and radio play), there is a lesser-discussed long road a lot of us will have to travel before we get to that point: old age. It makes sense to try and create a world where we won't be left behind. And for those of us that are not handicapped or disabled, we have been lucky...but that luck could change any day now. Accessibility should be something everyone considers when they're creating something for use by others, no matter what it is. As the elderly population grows and the demand for these kinds of things rises, the economic benefits of these choices will become clearer.
As one example, all of the doorknobs in the house are the type that you have to push down on (the so-called "lever handles") instead of the typical "grab and twist". It was one of the first things I noticed, and I immediately knew why: the squeezing and twisting motion required to open usual doorknobs wreaks havoc on arthritic hands or those with other afflictions or injuries. My girlfriend's mom and step-dad actually took the time to think this through, and they decided to use lever handles for all of the doors in their house.
Now, my girlfriend's parents are not old. They have no trouble using regular doorknobs. But they understand that they will not be the only ones using them, that one day they will grow old and may require the ease of these doorknobs, and that if they ever choose to sell their house, little things like this might command a premium for the cost of the house by a buyer who is mindful of these kinds of issues. (attention real estate developers...hint! hint!)
We're all dimly aware of the eventual journey we need to make to visit the "spirit in they sky", and while this fact gets a lot of press (and radio play), there is a lesser-discussed long road a lot of us will have to travel before we get to that point: old age. It makes sense to try and create a world where we won't be left behind. And for those of us that are not handicapped or disabled, we have been lucky...but that luck could change any day now. Accessibility should be something everyone considers when they're creating something for use by others, no matter what it is. As the elderly population grows and the demand for these kinds of things rises, the economic benefits of these choices will become clearer.