For an aging parent, an in-law suite can provide a home within a home

By Wendy A. Jordan August 14 at 11:00 AM

Two years ago, Diane Harris moved out of her longtime home and moved in with her daughter, Rachael, and Rachaels spouse, Wendy Harris. Now Rachael and Wendy have created a home of Dianes own under their roof in Springfield.

Because health issues made it unsafe for Diane, now 78, to live alone, Rachael and Wendy moved Diane into their guest room in 2012. But the split-level house had steps between rooms that were risky for Diane to negotiate, and the guest room was tight quarters for Diane, Wendy says.

The Harrises hired Moss Building and Design of Chantilly to build a 1,000-square-foot addition that incorporates a new kitchen and a great room as well as an in-law suite where Diane enjoys the comfort, privacy and personal touches of her old home, all without stairs.

The suite features a spacious bedroom-living area and an attractive bathroom equipped for safety and ease of use. The bathroom has a large, low-curb shower with ramp entry, a hand-held shower head, a built-in bench and stylish grab bars. Although it is close to the kitchen and great room, the suite has a door that provides nice privacy, Diane says. Doorways are wide for accessibility.

Furniture and collectibles from Dianes old house bring a sense of home and the familiar to her new space. There are bedroom and other furnishings, glassware, paintings and family photographs, decorative hats that belonged to her mother and a tall, antique corner cabinet positioned under a 10-foot-high ceiling section specially designed for it.

Diane loves ice cream, and now she can easily visit the kitchen for late-night ice cream snacks. The new kitchen includes a chair-height counter near the refrigerator and ice cream parlor chairs brought from her house. The suite and other new rooms are working really well, she said.

Demand for in-law suites is growing, says Rodney Harrell, an AARP senior policy adviser and housing expert. With baby boomers aging, the U.S. population of people 65 or older is expected to burgeon from 39.6 million in 2009 to about 72.1 million in 2030, according to federal Administration on Aging data. Thus, more families are looking to provide space in their homes for an elderly relative.

Joe and Janie Mack remodeled their house in Annandale recently to create an in-law suite for Janies mother, Dunny. She was happy as a clam in the suite, Joe says of his mother-in-law, who called it my castle. Dunny, who has since died, regretted only that she had not made the move sooner.

Michael Winn, owner of Winn Design + Build in Falls Church, handled the Mack project, adding an accessible first-floor bedroom and a bathroom suite next to a new family room that replaced a carport. All the new rooms are on one level, with flush thresholds and wide doorways between them. The sitting area of the suite is big enough for a couch and chair. It adjoins a porch, so that it has plenty of natural light and views of the yard where the Macks four children play.

View original post here:
For an aging parent, an in-law suite can provide a home within a home