The home was built for Builder Brooke Greenhouse and his family.  Brooke’s wife, Esther, is a respected environmental gerontologist – an expert in Universal Design and Aging In Place, so naturally this home incorporated many UD ideas.  It is also Energy Star and Green Certified.

“For years weʼve been known as the leading expert in building energy efficient homes.” said Brooke Greenhouse, vice president of Cayuga Country Homes. “When it was time for my next home, it was clear that it had to be green and incorporate my wifeʼs knowledge on how to build homes that are, as she says, easier for everyone…every day. Weʼve had a variety of visitors as we are getting settled in and itʼs a wonderful home for all ages. The Universal Design features make a huge improvement.”

We hope you’ll watch the show, it has a lot of great ideas you can use for your next home or current home to help make it better.

My wife, Esther Greenhouse, was very involved in planning the event and making it happen, so it was especially rewarding to hear exhibitors and other builders discussing it throughout the event.

Many Cayuga Country Homes clients think that when we encourage them to let us incorporate Universal Design features we are talking about Accessibility, Senior Living and “institutional looking” spaces. Esther put together points, with help from others in a special committee of the NAHB 50+ council.

Please remember that Universal Design is not the same as accessible design or aging in place. The best way to see the differences is:

• Aging in Place is a GOAL for a lifestyle.  It needs services, policies, and design to make it a reality.  Design approaches include UD, accessible, and adaptable design.
• UD is a design approach, which is a component of achieving AIP.  While UD helps older persons & persons with disabilities, it may not meet all their needs (add adaptable and/or accessible), but it also meets the needs of many more people than accessible or adaptable alone.
• One of the most important aspects of UD is that it has broad market appeal.  By making sure we design to be inclusive, we meet the needs of people who may need some extra support temporarily or long-term, but we also benefit everyone by making it beautiful and easier for all abilities every day.

Cheryl Petrulis and Brooke Greenhouse of Cayuga Country Homes are Certified Aging in Place Specialists (CAPS), meaning we have had extra training about how we can design homes that are easier to live in as we age, but we also find that most of these features work great for ALL AGES.

Wider doors make it easier to get around, especially when carrying a child or laundry basket – they are not just for walkers and wheelchairs.  Plus, when your mover carries in your big furniture to your new home they will LOVE them!

Pull out trays in kitchen cabinets not only make it so much easier to get to things, but you won’t lose items in the back of your cabinets.

Better lighting and dimmer switches let you enjoy your spaces more, read a book, clean easier and, of course, find missing toys – great for kids.

There are a lot of other examples, but the important part is that UNIVERSAL DESIGN helps EVERYONE, live EASIER in your home…EVERY DAY.

At the WD-40 booth, the company was introducing new products that are in stores now, building on the trusted name and performance of the WD-40 brand.  On product is a powerful rust remover, which could be very helpful for fixing metal railings before repainting.

At Cayuga Country Homes we have built a number of projects for people with mobility problems, wheelchairs, elderly, etc. and we have recognized that many of these features, like walk-in showers, lever door knobs and wider door ways are GREAT for EVERYONE.  Young, old and YOU!

“Universal design is inclusive,” said Esther Greenhouse, a committee member and one of America’s leading environmental gerontologists. “Universal products offer superior functionality, benefit a broad audience and have broad market appeal.” In other words, the successful universal design product not only operates easily and performs well, it looks good and appeals to everyone. Many so-called “accessible design” products are narrowly tailored to appeal to the specific needs of a certain individual, Greenhouse pointed out — “and usually lack the advantage of being attractive.”