Media >The Plain Dealer
Full House
4/10/08
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Making room for father
Hudson family remodels nearby house for elder
Hudson family remodels nearby house for elder
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Story by Susan Condon Love
Photographs by Marvin Fong
After Fred Bayer fell and broke his leg in November, interior designer Pamela Bayer knew that her father could not live on his own anymore.
Bayer's family lived in New Jersey, where she moved from nearly three years ago following her marriage to Ralph O'Connor, a director of environmental affairs for Graphic Communications.
While happy in Hudson, she was frustrated at being unable to help her father every day. Her 36-year-old brother was able to move in with him to help with care, but he was at work for a large chunk of each day. Twice he came home to find his father had fallen. The last time was the final straw.
Assisted living or a nursing home were out of the question for the still-vibrant 83-year-old when he had children eager to help him.
The answer had occurred to Bayer last summer, after a simple glance out the window of her home, a converted barn off an unpaved road in Hudson, just a few miles from the Ohio Turnpike.
There, just down a sloping field, was a small, two-bedroom, yellow house. Bayer, 49, and her husband had bought the structure, formerly a rental, because they were afraid developers might grab it and build a house out of character with the neighborhood.
"There are only five of us on the street," said Bayer. "We wanted to protect ourselves."
The original plan was to continue using the 1,700-square-foot house as rental property. Then came the increasing concern about Poppi, as Bayer and her siblings call their father.
As an interior designer and owner of Pamela Bayer Interiors since 1994, Bayer felt she had the design experience, common sense and contacts in the construction industry to update the rental and make it handicap accessible - all on a budget of about $15,000.
Her father told her he'd move there at some point, and Bayer started getting permits and making plans. But the second fall changed "at some point" to "as soon as the work is done."
In January, construction began.
First, there was the issue of the bedrooms, located upstairs.
With the help of Lindsey Construction of Akron, Bayer had a wall built down the middle of the large kitchen, creating a bedroom between the newly reconfigured kitchen and living room.
The new space was enlarged by bumping out a small section of an exterior wall and installing sliding glass doors leading out to a new wrap-around wooden deck. Now Fred Bayer can enjoy summer days on the new deck, and the doors are an important escape route in case of a problem like a fire.
Originally, Bayer had intended to replace the kitchen cabinets with lower, handicap-accessible models and install a sink with an open space below, allowing room for a wheelchair. They modified those plans to keep costs down.
But Bayer made sure everything her father needs from the kitchen cupboards is within easy reach. Instead of putting plates and cups in high cupboards, they are in the bottom, floor-level shelves. All the shelves in the refrigerator were lowered for easier access.
Bayer replaced the worn-out appliances, smartly, with "scratch and dented" items from Lowe's. A stainless-steel refrigerator with a ding under the handle only cost $250; the dishwasher, which was missing a rack, cost $99. The rack from the old dishwasher fit in the new one, said Bayer.
They used industrial-grade linoleum on the kitchen floor instead of more stylish ceramic tile or wooden floors. "It has more of a cushion, both for the wheelchair or if he has a fall," she said. "There's more give."
In the living room, Bayer had a friend install cut-pile, low-wear commercial grade carpet from Pro Source Carpet and Tile of Akron. It was fiber sealed, so stains are easily removed.
The house required minimal electrical work, although they lowered some outlets and switches to allow for easier access. In the new bedroom space, the light switch was placed right next to the bed for easier access.
Every hallway and room has motion- and light-activated nightlights, so her father is never walking around in the dark, she said.
The downstairs bathroom redo took the most work. A new shower has a very low lip for Fred Bayer to negotiate and is outfitted with grab bars for safety. There's room enough for a shower chair to be placed inside when needed.
A standard cabinet sink was replaced with a pedestal model that allows for easy access from a wheelchair, said Bayer. Above the sink, they installed a new medicine cabinet, but it contains only the bare minimum of toiletries. A new toilet has a fixed handicapped seat and handles.
The two upstairs bedrooms were updated for potential visitors, but the door to the stairs is shut, making the space inaccessible except when needed.
One of the keys to making space accessible and safe for older people is "to eliminate all the clutter," said Bayer.
Another subtle safety feature? All taller pieces of furniture, such as the bedroom dresser, are attached to the walls with safety clips.
"I thought back on how I baby-proofed my house years ago," said Bayer. "I just used that same logic."
Much of the furniture, including the living room's coffee table and dining room table, have casters, allowing them to be moved out of the way quickly and easily.
Fred Bayer has missed parts of his old life - particularly Pamela's brother, his family network and lifelong friends. For that reason, Pamela Bayer made sure that touches from his old home were brought to Ohio, including hanging all of his art work and moving his cat Simba.
Pamela Bayer, her husband or her stepson Ryan, 17, are with her father from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed.
The total cost of the home renovations ended up being about $24,000, said Bayer, including about $4,000 spent on new furniture. This was more than the original budget, but Bayer considers it money well spent.
"This has been a whole family effort," stressed Bayer. "Every one of us has been involved. We couldn't have done it individually or alone."
To reach Susan Condon Love:
slove@plaind.com, 216-999-4784
Photographs by Marvin Fong
After Fred Bayer fell and broke his leg in November, interior designer Pamela Bayer knew that her father could not live on his own anymore.
Bayer's family lived in New Jersey, where she moved from nearly three years ago following her marriage to Ralph O'Connor, a director of environmental affairs for Graphic Communications.
While happy in Hudson, she was frustrated at being unable to help her father every day. Her 36-year-old brother was able to move in with him to help with care, but he was at work for a large chunk of each day. Twice he came home to find his father had fallen. The last time was the final straw.
 Living room before and after. |
Assisted living or a nursing home were out of the question for the still-vibrant 83-year-old when he had children eager to help him.
The answer had occurred to Bayer last summer, after a simple glance out the window of her home, a converted barn off an unpaved road in Hudson, just a few miles from the Ohio Turnpike.
There, just down a sloping field, was a small, two-bedroom, yellow house. Bayer, 49, and her husband had bought the structure, formerly a rental, because they were afraid developers might grab it and build a house out of character with the neighborhood.
"There are only five of us on the street," said Bayer. "We wanted to protect ourselves."
The original plan was to continue using the 1,700-square-foot house as rental property. Then came the increasing concern about Poppi, as Bayer and her siblings call their father.
As an interior designer and owner of Pamela Bayer Interiors since 1994, Bayer felt she had the design experience, common sense and contacts in the construction industry to update the rental and make it handicap accessible - all on a budget of about $15,000.
Her father told her he'd move there at some point, and Bayer started getting permits and making plans. But the second fall changed "at some point" to "as soon as the work is done."
In January, construction began.
First, there was the issue of the bedrooms, located upstairs.
With the help of Lindsey Construction of Akron, Bayer had a wall built down the middle of the large kitchen, creating a bedroom between the newly reconfigured kitchen and living room.
The new space was enlarged by bumping out a small section of an exterior wall and installing sliding glass doors leading out to a new wrap-around wooden deck. Now Fred Bayer can enjoy summer days on the new deck, and the doors are an important escape route in case of a problem like a fire.
 Kitchen before and after. |
Originally, Bayer had intended to replace the kitchen cabinets with lower, handicap-accessible models and install a sink with an open space below, allowing room for a wheelchair. They modified those plans to keep costs down.
But Bayer made sure everything her father needs from the kitchen cupboards is within easy reach. Instead of putting plates and cups in high cupboards, they are in the bottom, floor-level shelves. All the shelves in the refrigerator were lowered for easier access.
Bayer replaced the worn-out appliances, smartly, with "scratch and dented" items from Lowe's. A stainless-steel refrigerator with a ding under the handle only cost $250; the dishwasher, which was missing a rack, cost $99. The rack from the old dishwasher fit in the new one, said Bayer.
They used industrial-grade linoleum on the kitchen floor instead of more stylish ceramic tile or wooden floors. "It has more of a cushion, both for the wheelchair or if he has a fall," she said. "There's more give."
In the living room, Bayer had a friend install cut-pile, low-wear commercial grade carpet from Pro Source Carpet and Tile of Akron. It was fiber sealed, so stains are easily removed.
The house required minimal electrical work, although they lowered some outlets and switches to allow for easier access. In the new bedroom space, the light switch was placed right next to the bed for easier access.
Every hallway and room has motion- and light-activated nightlights, so her father is never walking around in the dark, she said.
The downstairs bathroom redo took the most work. A new shower has a very low lip for Fred Bayer to negotiate and is outfitted with grab bars for safety. There's room enough for a shower chair to be placed inside when needed.
 Bathroom before. |
 Bathroom after. |
A standard cabinet sink was replaced with a pedestal model that allows for easy access from a wheelchair, said Bayer. Above the sink, they installed a new medicine cabinet, but it contains only the bare minimum of toiletries. A new toilet has a fixed handicapped seat and handles.
The two upstairs bedrooms were updated for potential visitors, but the door to the stairs is shut, making the space inaccessible except when needed.
One of the keys to making space accessible and safe for older people is "to eliminate all the clutter," said Bayer.
Another subtle safety feature? All taller pieces of furniture, such as the bedroom dresser, are attached to the walls with safety clips.
"I thought back on how I baby-proofed my house years ago," said Bayer. "I just used that same logic."
Much of the furniture, including the living room's coffee table and dining room table, have casters, allowing them to be moved out of the way quickly and easily.
Fred Bayer has missed parts of his old life - particularly Pamela's brother, his family network and lifelong friends. For that reason, Pamela Bayer made sure that touches from his old home were brought to Ohio, including hanging all of his art work and moving his cat Simba.
Pamela Bayer, her husband or her stepson Ryan, 17, are with her father from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed.
The total cost of the home renovations ended up being about $24,000, said Bayer, including about $4,000 spent on new furniture. This was more than the original budget, but Bayer considers it money well spent.
"This has been a whole family effort," stressed Bayer. "Every one of us has been involved. We couldn't have done it individually or alone."
To reach Susan Condon Love:
slove@plaind.com, 216-999-4784
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