Designs 4 Living is a magazine by Todd Brickhouse in the US with a focus on home designs for people with disability and older adults. The latest issue covers a wide variety of design solutions. They include home lighting, bathroom and kitchen trends, home workplaces and cognitive and sensory solutions.
Lighting the home
As we get older our vision degrades and in many instances and higher levels of illumination become more important. However, it’s important to avoid glare and “pooling” of light. Indirect light sources such as recessed lighting under and over cabinets is good. LED lighting uses less power and lasts much longer.
Different scenarios for different rooms in the home are presented in the article along with a useful list of terms used for lighting and illumination. There is a link to a free guidebook to lighting the whole house.
Bathroom trends
Making a bathroom safe and accessible is just the beginning – why not make it look stylish too. That’s the content of the article by Mike Foti. While white tiles are still popular, light wood grains have gained popularity and come as tiles and panels. Flooring can provide the necessary visual contrast to the walls and fittings. Shower and bathroom treatments that don’t involve grout are a bonus. The article has more with links to useful solutions.
Cognitive and sensory solutions
Shelly Rosenberg is an interior designer with ADHD and her article is framed around 8 human senses. We all learned the five senses at school but we need to add Vestibular, Proprioception and Interoception. She begins with vision and the quality of light and level of visual ‘busyness’.
Smell is about air quality, fragrance, memory and mood. Building materials and furnishings can give off toxic gasses. Controlling moisture temperature and using air filters and purifiers are some of the solutions. Rosenberg goes through all 8 senses
Gen X and Baby Boomer needs
This article explores the divergent needs of Generation X and Baby Boomers as they age. Marketing professionals like to label different age groups, but the old labels for older adults don’t gel with Gen X. Indeed, why should older people wear a label at all? And terms such as Silver Tsunami present older people as a burden. An interesting discussion.
The Summer edition 2024 of Designs 4 Living also has items on pets, and workplaces.