My garden backs onto sheltered housing – designed for people aged over 55.
These compact, purpose-built bungalow homes each have with their own front door and outdoor space. A mix of one or two bedrooms, the site accommodates both couples and singletons
Set in quiet cul-de-sacs (with parking) residents of this fold live in a community that lies beside private and social housing developments. This means they are not isolated from society, and indeed many people still drive their own cars.
I first met Gertie as she was hanging out her washing.
We used to chat through our shared fence.
She was German, but had lived in Canada with her husband George. Because they had no children, they moved back to Northern Ireland to be closer to his family.
At that time she was probably well into her eighties. She would say to me: “Don’t get old Nuala, don’t get old…”
What she meant was…. that it is no fun to be old – and in poor health.
As an older person with health issues her day to day living was difficult.
Some time later George’s sister spoke to me through the fence to tell me the sad news that Gertie had died. And not long after that George went into a care home.
Since then, there has been a steady turnover and many occupants of this home.
Designed to suit people’s needs at a certain stage of life these homes are small, compact and easy to manage
Each home comes with internal safety features and there is support staff on hand.
As a rental property, the maintenance is all taken care of so the occupants will never have to face a huge bill for a new boiler, roof tiles or windows. That in itself removes a lot of the hassle and anxiety of homeownership.
We are an ageing population so there is a huge demand for this type of housing.
I used to wave in to an elderly man who lived in the corner house.
One day I noticed an ambulance at his door. A few days later the house was cleared. Then the decorators moved in… and within ten days someone else was living there.
That’s the way it works.
From my bedroom window I used to see one of the residents quietly tending her plants, sitting in the sun and enjoying the peace and quiet of her back garden.
Someone else lives there now.
Almost as soon as they moved in, all the climbing plants that she so carefully cultivated, were removed.
And so the circle of occupancy and spatial appropriation begins again…..
Gardens can be a burden – or a pleasure.
Not every resident wants – or is able to look after – a garden. For some it gives them outside space to create, to tend to sit in and enjoy.
But, a garden is not just a solitary pursuit.
When people are outside in their garden other people who are passing by stop to chat. The garden becomes a talking point, a way in to a conversation. It gives people a reason to be outside, as well as a creative focus. Though, not everyone has the energy, or interest, to cope with a garden.
Until they had to move into nursing care my great-aunt Annie, and Uncle Joe lived in the same home all their lives.
They had no reason or urge to live anywhere else.
Despite the fact there was no running water and they still cooked over an open fire Joe and Annie were used to this house and way of life. They probably couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
There are the tell-tale signs of occupancy.
On property websites the appeal of a grand old period style house usually comes with: overgrown gardens, very large rooms and shabby décor. All in a dubious state of repair.
In the outdated kitchen beside a very old range there may be a single hard-backed chair (with crocheted rug). There are all the indications that this is the home of an elderly person. That is, someone, who in a vast house like this, spends all their time in one room to keep warm.
Property and auction websites often sell homes marketed as: ‘ in need of some modernisation’.
With some TLC a quality period home can be sold, reimagined, modernised and re-made into a home again to suit contemporary needs.
Typically with these homes, the upkeep stopped many years ago.
It does not take long for a house to lapse through stages of untidiness… to neglect… to total disrepair.
In most homes décor can be removed, the layout re-modelled and appearance completely transformed.
But there may still be some trace of the people who lived there before. Such as an … a layer of wallpaper… a doodle etched into the woodwork… a well-worn balustrade.
With period homes there is a certain romance about a ‘human touch’ that can connect current and past residents (and their stories).
A ‘Blue Plaque’ on a wall – because someone famous once lived there – radically changes how we see that home. It is not just a house, it is the home of ‘somebody’.
However, too much ‘personality’ in the decor can put people off. It may feel like someone else still lives there: their taste, their life, their home – their personality.
Over our lifetime, most of us will live in many different homes.
A 2017 report by Zoopla indicated that homeowners in UK move once every 23 years – compared to every 8.6 years in more buoyant times. This does not include renters in metropolitan areas where moving home is more frequent.
As we get older our outlook, circumstances and needs change.
Our much-loved home may become too difficult to manage – or to afford. To move from a much loved home is a life-decision that we would hope to be able to make ourselves. In some cases it may be decision that is made for us.
For people looking to downsize “Tiny homes” may be an alternative housing model. Popular in the US, they are built mainly as high-spec homes for semi-retirement or holidays.
Tiny Homes are clever and inventive in their use of interior space. In scale and size of course it means they limit choice in furniture, belongings and lifestyle.
When you buy a Tiny Home you work closely with the design so that all decisions are tailored for your tastes and way of living.
As one couple points out: the secret to living in a Tiny House is that “you have to get in touch with your relationship with stuff’.
At some point we all have to ask ourselves: what possessions do we really need?
What do we actually use?
For residents living in the fold beside me their interior design decisions will be largely cosmetic – and removable.
Each resident has the freedom to decorate the internal space to make it their home. From the outside you can easily tell those who have engaged with the space – and those who have not.
Old age… it’s not something any of us looks forward to. Suddenly it comes upon us.
Some friends of mine recently set about future-proofing their home.
They are thinking ahead.
What if there’s come a time when one, or both of them, cannot manage the stairs?
Working with an architect they re-organised the existing layout and extended their house so that – if they have to – they can live very comfortably on one level.
From 2012 all Housing Associations in Northern Ireland must adhere to standards based on Lifetime Homes (LTH).
The General Needs Design Standards indicates that bungalow-style housing ‘ is wasteful in terms of land use required compared to other forms of development‘. It is only in exceptional circumstances in a mixed-use social housing development that bungalows will be permitted.
Apartment dwellings for older people spatialises a demographic. Without private outdoor space and without a ‘front door’, it becomes a purely internalised form of dwelling. This means there is less opportunity for occupants to encounter other people – or other types of people.
A ‘Lifetime Home’ is designed to accommodate people’s needs longterm. The idea is that they should still be able to continue to live on in their home even as/when/if their physical needs change.
However, a one-sized fit-out that comes with inbuilt hand rails and low-level baths does not suit – or appeal – to everyone at every stage of life.
