AGING GRACEFULLY

kitchen design

A kitchen redo typically lasts 20 years.

McClatchy Newspapers

Leslie Rivera wants to do something about her kitchen. But what?

Julia Johnston, a certified kitchen designer, is only too happy to tell her.

Surveying the room in Rivera’s Coral Gables, Fla., home, she slips into fix-up mode, measuring stove-top height with her yardstick, rifling through drawers and testing cabinet shelves.

“This,” Johnston says, pulling a Christmas-themed pot holder from a drawer crammed with odds and ends, “has to go.”

Rivera nods sheepishly.

“And this — out. This, too, and this. In the kitchen you want to keep items that you use daily or regularly. Everything else should be stored away.”

Johnston is a featured speaker at the first Dishing it Up! Tour of Kitchens, a production that features a visit to some of Coral Gables’ most fabulous kitchens.

It’s part of the Coral Gables Community Foundation that aims to help residents 50 and older stay in their homes as they age.

It provides such services as transportation, catered meals, free prescription delivery, discounts on home repairs and background-checked providers.

“Our program is all about helping people stay at home comfortably,” says Marli Lutz, executive director of the group CoralGables@Home, “and the kitchen is the heart of the home.”

But don’t assume that redesigning a kitchen for the golden years is all about grab bars, neutral colors and boring cabinets.

“People don’t want to talk about aging and they don’t want to think about redoing their kitchen in those terms,” Johnston says. “But really good design takes into account a cook’s mobility and reach. Good design is about good living at any age.”

Designing a kitchen with the idea that one day you won’t be so limber is actually good planning.

A kitchen redo typically lasts 20 years, so for those in their 40s or 50s, that “is actually perfect timing,” Johnston adds.

Rivera is in her late 50s. She moved into her three-bedroom house in 1998, with her late mother, and feels she can grow old there.

Johnston’s advice for her included tips anyone can use.

“Safety should be the No. 1 concern regardless of age, whether you’re spending $200, $2,000 or $20,000,” she says. “You want to minimize burning, scalding, spilling, breaking.”

She suggests people ask themselves these questions before redoing a kitchen — or even cleaning out drawers and cabinets:

UHow can I make my life easier?

UWhat items do I use daily?

UHow can I maximize my kitchen layout while having enough room to cook?

She’s a big fan of the spare look.

“Uncluttering your kitchen is the safest thing you can do. Don’t stack things on the counter. Don’t store anything up high, especially if you use it regularly.”

Rivera opens a cabinet where she keeps fine china she inherited but rarely uses. Johnston notes that the top shelf is bowing under the weight, and suggests moving the dishes to the garage.

She recommended a clever exercise to determine what else should go: Put a piece of red tape on every item in the kitchen, remove it when you use the item and, after six months, store or give away the things that still have the tape.

Rivera has lighting under her cabinets — a good idea to offset shadows. Johnston likes LED strips and suggests seeking a lighting specialist. Good lighting can be pricey, “but it’s an excellent investment.”

Johnston checks the height of the oven — a little low for the tall Rivera. She doesn’t like the second oven above the stove top, either, because it leaves too little work space between the two appliances.

“Kitchens should be designed for the cook,” Johnston says. “A kitchen for me would not be good for Shaquille O’Neal.”

She continues her examination, making recommendations for flooring, appliances, cabinets, countertops, even light switches. Rivera takes it in, sometimes with a smile, occasionally with a gasp.

“Whatever I do to the kitchen, I see as an investment,” Rivera says. “That’s what people look at when they’re buying a house.”