How to prepare your home to age with comfort and autonomy traduzido por: OPENROUTER

Aging at home — an expression that specialists call aging in place — is the stated desire of most people when asked how they want to live their old age: in their own home, with their own history accumulated on the walls. But for this desire to be viable, the home needs to be able to keep up with the changes the body goes through as it ages — in mobility, balance, vision and strength.

Leticia Nannetti - Âmbar. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2026. (Bia Nauiack/CASACOR)

This does not mean having a residence without personality. It means, rather, making design decisions that broaden the range of use of the space without compromising its identity. Check out below what changes when the home is designed to last as long as those who inhabit it.

Flooring, lighting and circulation

AD|VP Arquitetura - Estúdio Refúgio de Memórias. “Trouxemos à tona a essência da nostalgia, não como evocação do que já foi, mas como celebração do presente, enriquecido pela bagagem das experiências vividas.” Assim a dupla Andressa Danielli e Vanessa Pasqual apresenta seu estúdio acessível de 88 m². As referências sutis ao tema desta edição da CASACOR começam no piso de formato orgânico, que remete à fluidez do tempo. No painel retroiluminado atrás do sofá, o revestimento com base de argila dá nova vida a resíduos de brita e rejeitos da indústria de placas refratárias. (Carolina Mossin/CASACOR)

The most effective adaptations are usually the least visible. A well-chosen non-slip floor, for example, can (and should!) be made of materials with a sophisticated finish and a friction coefficient suitable for bathrooms, kitchens and outdoor areas. The same applies to lighting: well-distributed light points, with no shadows in the corners and easy to switch on, reduce risks and improve the quality of use of the space for any age group.

In circulation, the width of the hallways deserves attention from the design stage — 90 centimeters is the minimum for a wheelchair user, but 1.20 meters ensures real comfort for any person, with or without mobility aids. Wider doors, with no raised thresholds, and lever-type handles instead of round ones also make a difference.

The bathroom as a priority

ARQTAB | Maycon Fogliene - A Casa do Ser. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2023. (Amanda Bibiano/CASACOR)

If there is one room that concentrates the greatest risks and the greatest opportunities for adaptation, it is the bathroom. A level-free shower box, strategically placed grab bars and enough space for movement are interventions that transform the space without altering its appearance. A built-in bench in the shower box, for example, is comfortable for anyone and indispensable for those with reduced mobility.

When floors become an obstacle

Restaurante Raiz, de Marta Martins. (Adriana Barbosa/CASACOR)

Houses with two or more floors raise a question that no grab bar can solve: how to continue using the entire space when climbing stairs is no longer simple? This is where solutions such as residential elevators and lifting platforms, like those offered by Montele Elevadores, come in not as a last resort, but as a design decision — and, increasingly, as an element that adds value to the property.

The installation can take place during renovations or new construction, and the result is a solution that preserves autonomy without requiring the person to leave the home they built.

Planning early is cheaper (and smarter)

Leticia Nannetti - Âmbar. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2026. (Bia Nauiack/CASACOR)

The most expensive adaptation is always the emergency one. Architects and interior designers who work with the concept of universal design — spaces designed to function well for the greatest possible number of people, regardless of age or physical ability — argue that the best interventions are those made before they are needed.

A home designed for the long term is not a project of resignation. It is, most of the time, simply a better home — easier to use, safer, more generous to those who live in it and to those who visit.

traduzido por: OPENROUTER