Tag Archives: #accessiblehome

We are a Family of Three Generations Living Under 1 Roof

Let me help you transform your home into a comfortable, safe, accessible and beautiful
space that you can call home for many years. Why not invest in your current residence
instead of paying for a retirement village or assisted living?
Your future begins now!

As an expert in Universal Design and Living in Place design, I have the education and experience to help you achieve your goals. I am the only Interior Designer in the Wichita area who is a Certified Living Place Professional (CLIPP) and a practitioner of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). My specialties include multi-generational design, and I always anticipate the changes that life may bring to your family when working on your design plan. My ultimate goal is to create a space you and your family will love to call home today and tomorrow.

OUR STORY

After a 30-year career in a retail design company, I started my own design firm called “Designs for Life.” The tagline “Interiors Designed for the Way You Live … Today and Tomorrow” reflects that a well-designed home should be able to adapt to life’s changes.

My family should be the Poster Children for the Living in Place design movement. We are a family of three generations living under one roof. My late husband, Jim, and I were in our late 60s with a few health issues; we both enjoyed our work and had no plans to retire. Our son, Bryan, was diagnosed with ALS 20 years ago. He has increasing limitations with mobility and independence. My mother, Dot, who just celebrated her 97th birthday, remains active in helping us care for one another.

It became apparent that we would need to find a home to renovate to help us all live our best lives. Completing our new home was the most daunting and satisfying project of my career. I always prided myself on my ability to meet the needs of my clients. My personal experiences and newfound knowledge allow me to provide so much more.

We are replacing the outdated “Aging in Place” design with a proactive “Living in Place” approach. By discreetly incorporating long-term adaptive features into everyday decor, homes can be prepared for expected and unexpected life changes. The goal is to provide everyone with a comfortable, safe, and accessible home that can support them through any injury, illness, or age challenges. The Living in Place Institute helps eliminate the stigma of “Aging in Place” and allows people to embrace the inevitable life changes while still living independently in their own homes.

Vicki Flores, a Living In Place Pro, has mastered creating homes that exude beauty, safety, and comfort. With her exceptional skills and expertise, she transforms living spaces into havens that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also safe and practical. Give your home the touch of Vicki’s magic and experience the joy of living in a place that is both beautiful and function

Slide Show of Flores “Forever Home”

In January 2020 I was invited by the institute founders to give a presentation at the National Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas about how the Living In Place Principals have affected my life. Well… my family members could pretty much be the poster children for Living In Place. It felt intimidating at the time but I put together this slideshow and it was very well received by my piers and other industry professionals.

Click on the link below to see the presentation featuring our Forever Home for 3 Generations

I am am honored to have been selected as one of thirty five International Ambassadors for The Living In Place Institute. Our purpose as a group is to initiate awareness of the benefits of the principals of Living In Place to the public as well as to the building and medical communities. I am thrilled to be among these amazing people who are so passionate about making all homes, safe, comfortable and accessible as a norm, a reality! We meet monthly online to share knowledge and experiences.

Is it time for your Forever Home?

AND RENOVATION SERVICE

Six years ago, I met my biggest challenge in my 30 years as an Interior Designer – the need to renovate house into a comfortable, safe and accessible home that met the long term needs of my multi-generational family. Easier said than done! At that time it was not “fashionable” to create a home that was comfortable-safe-healthy as well as beautiful. I relied on my own experiments, research, input from our son with (ALS) disabilities and trusted tradespeople to guide me.

About a year after moving into our renovated home, I learned of a new “design movement” called Living In Place. Their goal is that all homes be comfortable, healthy and safe for all people who live or visit there no matter their age or circumstance!

I became one of the first graduates of their program in 2015 and am now one of 35 international ambassadors dedicated to promoting this design philosophy to the public, medical and building communities.

Change is life’s only certainty. Everyone deserves a comfortable-healthy-safe home that can Consequently, my perspective on design has evolved. I have always prided myself on my ability to meet the needs of my clients. Now, my personal experiences and new found knowledge allow me to provide so much more. I can help their home support them through an unexpected injury, a debilitating diagnosis or the inevitable challenges that come with age. With the help of the Living in Place Institute the stigma of “Aging in Place” design is being replaced with a more proactive “Living in Place” mindset. Through its intensive certification program designers are taught the importance of incorporating long-term adaptive features discreetly into everyday décor; preparing the home for both the unexpected and the inevitable changes in life.

Jim and I want this to be our “forever” home and because of pre-planning and a few simple adaptations, that is now possible. I want to be able to provide the same for you – to create a proactive plan for your home to work for you as long as you want it to.

In the spring of 2020, I joined forces with my good friend CKD, ASID, kitchen and bath designer, Wendy Mayes in an office space at 3211 East Douglas Avenue so that we could collaborate together to make more homes comfortable safe and healthy for everyone. there.https://studiodesignsforlife.com/about/

t 316 -992-1855

Wake-up Call

In July of 2014, I took some downtime with Megan and Matt in Kansas City and designed an elevator location for our Longwood house. On the trip home, I was struck with severe abdominal pain. Major surgery fixed the problem.

While recuperating at home, with my walker bumping along the walls, and showering being a major struggle, I had a great epiphany; we had to move from my beloved home. Adding an elevator would only be a little band aid and a costly one. Much more needed to be done to make our house not only barrier friendly to Bryan, but Jim and I were not getting any younger or more agile.

We (Jim, Bryan and I) decided that if we were going to move, we should have a place for Grandma Dot, my fabulous, then 87-year-old mother, to join us. So our list of requirements grew; exterior space to add an addition to house an elevator, a suite large enough for Bryan to have privacy and a bath large enough to add a roll in shower, a two room suite for Grandma and two offices spaces for Jim and I to be able to work from home.

House hunting began that day. Thank God for our daughter, Megan, and Zillow! Megan was staying with us to help with my recovery, but I added “head house hunter” to her nursing duties. We looked at hundreds of homes online and if anything looked promising, Megan, Jim, Dot, and Bryan would join our realtor Janelle to check it out. I, of course, was still on drugs and pretty immobile since surgery was less two weeks prior.

As I reflect on those weeks, I must nominate my entire family for Sainthood. It all seemed perfectly natural to me. I needed to get my family in a safe, comfortable and accessible home as soon as possible.

After just a few weeks, we stumbled upon this 4 bedroom 3 bath ranch. It required a lot of updating but it had the spaces to fit the needs of our multigenerational family.