Universal Design & Inclusive Design in Custom Homes

Luxury, at its heart, is about feeling welcome in your own space, feeling taken care of, feeling loved. When spaces are more welcoming, more inclusive, more thoughtful, they feel more luxury. Further, when accessibility is seamless and beautiful, accessible features are more likely to be used and admired. We admire, and use, Universal Design features in our all of our homes we build, and encourage everyone to feel welcome in their own home. The following are just a few ways to think about your home as an oasis of luxury through thoughtful design, and here are Ten Universal Design Features (link: Universal Design Features) that we believe in that will make home feel more luxury, more welcoming, and more inclusive.

During the last handful of years, residences have welcomed all manner of new spaces and activities: from home offices, to schooling at home with childcare, and a greater focus on self-care and seeing home as a sanctuary. Families are also more likely to care for their aging members, support their young adults longer, provide care for children with unique needs, and have individuals with increasingly unique hobbies in their homes. All of growth is about making your home more welcoming to people, activities and to change. But, what are Universal Design (UD) and Inclusive Design (ID)?

Try in your Design: Use high-contrast color options to compliment and differentiate areas within a space.

Think About Adding: A variety of seating options and points of egress from a scene to maintain flow and the coming and going of guests in your entertainment areas.

Now, imagine designing your kitchen space for a specific sushi chef. You might build the sushi bar to the exact height of the chef’s hands to avoid repetitive motion injuries, while creating easy access to specialty tools of Japanese cooking; you’d create something specific to a single person. This is Inclusive Design. ID can make a person feel entirely seen, understood and thought of within your home, and whether that is you or someone you love, that is a powerful thing.

The biggest reason to consider UD and ID in your home now, whether you are looking to build with a company like Paragon, or are looking to optimize what you currently have, is the feeling of luxury and wellbeing that comes from accommodating yourself and your life in your own home. When you plan for who you are, and how you live in your home, you’ll feel more relaxed, more loved, and more taken care of in your daily activities as well as your special moments. No other feature in your home will impact your life more.