Designing Homes for All of Life’s Changes
Adaptiv Home Renovation & Interior Design
At Mathews Design Company, we have always believed that a well-designed home should do more than look beautiful. It should work for the people who live there today, tomorrow, and through all of life’s changes.
We’re excited to share that Danielle Mathews is now a Qualified Adaptiv Home Specialist, adding specialized training in aging-in-place, accessibility and adaptable home design to the renovation and interior design services we already provide.
This certification allows us to take an even more thoughtful approach to renovations and new home planning, helping clients create spaces that are beautiful, functional and designed with the future in mind.
What is Adaptiv Home Renovation?
Adaptiv Home Renovation is an approach to home design and modification that helps people remain safely and comfortably in their homes for as long as possible, regardless of age or changing physical needs.
And it isn’t just for seniors.
Adaptiv design can benefit someone planning ahead for aging in place, a family caring for a loved one with changing mobility, an individual living with a disability or progressive condition, or someone recovering from an injury. It can also simply mean designing a home today that is better prepared for whatever life may bring tomorrow.
According to Adaptiv Home, nearly 75% of Canadians over age 60 wish to remain in their homes for the rest of their lives. Thoughtful planning can make that goal much more achievable.
What Does a Qualified Adaptiv Home Specialist Do?
Qualified Adaptiv Home Specialists receive specialized education in modifying and designing homes to accommodate people with disabilities, progressive conditions and those who want to age in place.
The training goes beyond understanding physical modifications. It also includes considerations surrounding client communication, empathy, privacy, insurance and legal considerations, along with identifying potential safety hazards and developing responsive design solutions based on both current and future needs.
Sometimes the right solution is a significant renovation. Other times, relatively simple decisions made during the initial design stage can make a home considerably easier and safer to use later.
That could include wider doorways and circulation areas, accessible bathrooms and walk-in showers, thoughtful kitchen layouts, safer flooring and transitions, improved lighting, stair or elevator planning, appropriate hardware and fixtures, and space that can accommodate a walker, wheelchair or other mobility device if needed.
The key is planning before those changes become urgent.
Where Adaptiv Design Meets Interior Design
This is where our experience at Mathews Design Company brings something unique to the process.
Accessibility and aging-in-place design do not need to feel institutional or clinical. In fact, many of the best Adaptiv design decisions are virtually invisible when they are thoughtfully incorporated into a home from the beginning.
Our goal is to bring together function, accessibility and beautiful interior design.
We can become involved at the very beginning of a renovation or new build, helping evaluate how a home currently functions and identifying opportunities to make it safer, more accessible and better suited to changing needs.
From there, we can help develop the renovation concept and space planning, work alongside contractors and other professionals, and continue through the complete interior design process — including cabinetry, flooring, plumbing fixtures, lighting, countertops, tile, paint colours, hardware, furniture and finishing selections.
Rather than addressing accessibility after a home has already been designed, we can incorporate it into the overall vision.
Planning for Tomorrow, Today
You don’t need to wait until mobility becomes an issue to think about aging in place.
If you’re already renovating a bathroom, could we design the shower so it will continue to work if your mobility changes?
If you’re building a new home, could slightly wider doorways and better clearances be incorporated now at relatively little additional cost?
Could a mainfloor room eventually become a bedroom? Is there an accessible bathroom nearby? Could the home accommodate a stair lift or residential elevator in the future? Are the kitchen and laundry spaces designed so they remain comfortable and functional through different stages of life?
These decisions can be much easier and often far less expensive when they’re considered during the planning stage rather than retrofitted later.
And importantly, a home designed for aging in place can still feel like a beautiful, thoughtfully designed home.
How Mathews Design Company Can Help
Whether you’re planning ahead for yourself, helping aging parents remain safely at home, accommodating a disability or mobility challenge, or simply want your next renovation or new build to work well for many years to come, we can help guide the process.
Our services can begin with an Adaptiv Home and renovation consultation to identify needs, priorities and opportunities within your home. From there, we can assist with space planning and renovation design and carry the project all the way through to interior finishes, fixtures, cabinetry and selections.
It’s an approach that combines our experience in renovation and interior design with specialized Adaptiv Home training — creating spaces that don’t just look good, but genuinely work for the people who live in them.
Thinking about renovating, building, or helping a loved one remain safely in their home?
Contact Mathews Design Company to book a consultation and start planning a home designed for all of life’s changes.