8 tips for designing a kitchen for aging in place

Successfully planning a kitchen that will work well for you and other family members later in life comes down to a number of factors. Considerations include security, functionality, ease of use — and sustainability, because you’re building something that will last.

“We often think about how things will work in 20 years and what’s in between,” says designer Steve Root of Roots kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. “That means thinking about how the homeowner’s needs might change, how lifestyles might evolve, how things will wear and break and, therefore, how they might be maintained.”

But that doesn’t mean a kitchen without character. Because when form and function work hand in hand, you win in design.