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Considering all of the plans that we had for the acreage, we had to be very careful about where we divided the lot.  The setback requirements for the lot are ten feet on each side, thirty-five feet to the rear of the house, and forty feet to the front of the house.  For those of you not familiar with setbacks, this is the term the government uses to determine the amount of space between homes.  It varies from area to area, and it is possible that in some rural areas there are no setbacks.  A setback is the measurement of space that must be left (not built upon) between the property line and the building.  It is possible to get a variance for this should your structure encroach upon the setback.  A variance is simply written permission from the controlling government that allows you to build upon the area that has been deemed part of the setback.  We established a depth of almost fifty feet by a width of almost a hundred and fifty feet as the buildable space.  Now the challenge was to create a plan that would fit within this space and meet the client’s criteria.  We began this process by having the client create a list of desires for this home and then to prioritize the list.  The number one item on the list is that the entire home be step free.  My client is planning to live here for a number of years, and she currently has her 93 year-old mother living with her.  While her mother can still stand a walk her strength and mobility is very limited and she frequently uses her wheelchair to increase her mobility.  While she didn’t request that the entire home be wheelchair accessible, we plan to do our best to have very little if any space that isn’t accessible.  The advantage of this is that, should my client find herself in a situation that would lessen her mobility, she would still be able to live in her home and maintain her lifestyle without any major modifications to her home. 

While we studied handicapped accessible space in school, Design Details has taken that one step further by aligning the designers on our staff with Universal Design Alliance.  This is a non-profit organization that furthers the education of designers and the public alike in the idea of aging in place.  Simply put, this is the idea of constructing homes in a manner that the entire home is accessible and adaptable to any changes you might encounter in life.  All doorways are wide enough for wheelchairs.  Bathrooms are large enough to access via wheelchair, and at least one bathroom has a shower that has a no-step entry.  There are other requirements, and I invite you to visit www.universaldesignalliance.com to explore the idea of aging in place further.

Tomorrow we will explore another of my client’s priorities – green design!  Have a beautiful day.