Home Modification

  The really frightening thing about middle age is that you know you'll grow out of it! — Doris Day  A tweet from Kohler got me thinking: What do you think of Barbie's new eco-friendly dream home from Mattel and;@AIANational http://huff.to/obGmER? We love the low-flow toilet!  Seems Barbie is trending green after years of Pink convertibles and end-less wardrobes; not exactly a sustainability lifestyle (making up for past sins?). The joint effort is a synergy of The AIA and Mattel, who have teamed up for the design competition in honor of

  Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young.  -Fred Astaire I returned from Europe last week, which always gives me a fresh perspective on my own country. Yesterday doing pre-holiday tasks I got caught up in the bustle of shopping and completing my to-do list. I was in an old school hardware store watching customers buy plastic American flags, charcoal briquettes, portable grills, and soft drinks—the usual stuff. I began to notice a trend with the folks around me that I didn’t

  A Chinese proverb says that we naturally see the beauty of youth, but must learn to see the beauty of age.   I read an article recently by Susan Jacoby titled The Myth of Aging Gracefully. It is a thought provoking piece about the over exuberance with which our culture embraces anti-aging—or the triumph of hope over experience. Since January 1, 2011, the demographic transition became real for baby boomers…the oldest turned 65. This frequently stated fact is almost tired now, but the reality is still settling in (however uneasy it makes us all feel).

  Everything I do is the environment. -Arthur Boyd Green Home Modifications for Elder Comfort and Safety I told my grandmother about our plans and asked her to walk through the house with me to share any problems she might currently have or could envision in the future. Her first suggestion was to move everything upstairs, including her bed, to a lower floor, but this seemed impractical. Instead, we’re going to look at reconditioned stair lifts. Most have been used for only a short time, and we like the idea of being able to

  Design is intelligence made visible. - Alina Wheeler   Each year I attend the ASA conference on Aging and reoccurring themes begin to emerge and persist throughout the week; this session remained true to form. One mantra I picked up early; “Design is for all.” Design on the Brain Each of us has a brain equipped with a tightly bundled grouping of nerve cells about the size of an apple wedge located from the top of the spinal cord into the middle of the brain. This part of our brain contains about 70% of its estimated 200 billion nerve