We recently connected with Felice Eckhouse and have shared our conversation below.

Felice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.

We are experts at helping Chicagoland’s aging residents stay safely in their own homes and communities. Whether someone is planning ahead or dealing with immediate remodeling needs related to the Aging process, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Arthritis, a stroke or a recent fall, Elderspaces has customized design solutions for every budget for all areas of the home. From product recommendations to adaptive space design, we create spaces that fit one’s needs. We do our work:
as we ourselves are aging,
as only 10% of US housing is ready for older adults
as the number of seniors explode to 30% of the population who need guidance for their environment in which to live safely.
As Design Consultants, we work with builders and architects to create a safe living environment that extends beyond one individual home. Through our partnerships with architects, builders and urban planners, we make changes during the planning stages of construction to ensure that communities are built with Universal Design, Accessibility & Visitability.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Felice is a Gerontologist (one who studies Aging, throughout the lifespan , tracking populations of increasing numbers of people living longer in the US and worldwide). Felice has been an Occupational Therapist for over 30 years and is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist. From these professional work and interests, she developed a passion for the environment : what spaces are we living in, who is designing for our aging bodies who understands the needs of this aging population..

How will we be able to function at our best? “It’s the Environment stupid” . Felice created Elderspaces to consider this: good design will make the difference between being able to live in your current space, or having to move into a facility. Good design plays a role in one’s health and well being.
We can and do modify people’s homes so that the space fits their needs. Imagine a future where there is less modification of poorly designed spaces, -where people can live in spaces that can be changed as their needs change, without moving. No longer the need for a starter house, a large house and then need to downsize for fewer people living together- just one place with good design of space that fits us.
Consider building for the most neediest of us will help all of us.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Consistently passing the message of the importance and safety of where we live as we age. Understanding that the way we have been building up to now does not meet the needs of most people. As we age our bodies change, and in many cases those of us who live in old houses have to change- rooms are too small, bedrooms are all on the second floor, cabinets are too high, lighting has too much glare.
Understanding Urban Planning and the importance of good design. Preventing falls, easy to use sink faucets and stove controls. Understanding disease processes as we age, and accidents that can happen to anyone at any time.
How good products can help to do a task. Should we include stairs in planning a building? Where are the handrails going to be- from the top of the stairway to the bottom. Safety in all rooms bedrooms, hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, entry and exits.:.
Understanding Universal Design- to not look institutional or disabled.
Helping people to plan- for aging, for aging in place, financially

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

a) HMOTA the Home Moidfications Occupational Therapy Alliance

b) Universal Design for the Home: Great-Looking, Great Living Design for All Ages, Abilities and Circumstances, by Wendy Jordan

c) AARP Guide to Revitalizing Your Home Beautiful Living for the Second Half of Life, by Rosemary Bakker

d) the Accessible Home, Designing for All Ages and Abilities, by Deborah Pierce

We are called “Old People” but perhaps we should be called Perennials or even Poppies.
Perennials are flowers and plants that grow and return season after season.
They need care, and sometimes they struggle to be at their best. This is similar to what happens to us as we age. When perennials are living in the right conditions, they thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Elderspaces.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elderspaces
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/elderspaces

Image Credits
Unsplash and general photos from the web