After our story here last week about caring for ageing parents, we were interested to see that Queensland-based Land Lease developer Halcyon has announced its new residents can now fit out their homes for later life under the new Livable Housing Design (LHD) scheme.
Designed to make residences safer for ageing, it offers three levels – Silver, Gold and Platinum – that new homes can achieve.
So a Silver-designed home will boast eight ‘age-friendly’ features including:
- At least one step-free and level entry;
- A bathroom with a hobless shower recess;
- Reinforced walls around the bath, shower and toilet to install grab rails; and
- A continuous handrail on one side of any stairway where there is a rise of more than one metre.
And they really can save lives.
Creating age-friendly homes
Wayne and Marion Clarke chose a Platinum-level home when they purchased at Halcyon’s Glades community in Caboolture earlier this year.
“My mother-in-law, who lived in an over 50s community, was making her way to the community centre when she tripped and fell over the runner of the flyscreen in the door – she was sadly unable to recover from the fall,” Mr Clarke said. “After experiencing this first-hand, we knew we had to make smart decisions to future-proof our home.”
It’s also more cost effective. Halcyon says building in the LHD design features is 22 times more efficient than retro-fitting down the track.
It’s a clever idea. When my parents retired, they moved into a home that had been re-configured for the previous owner who had mobility issues – but it’s not cheap to re-model.
Why not save money – and give yourself some peace of mind – now?
