Your needs change as you begin to age. While you may have loved living in a large home when your children were still in your care, a large home can become a burden once you hit retirement age.

Many retirees are choosing to construct new homes that they can maintain and enjoy well into their senior years. If you are thinking about building a custom home, here are three senior-friendly design tips that you should keep in mind during the construction process.

1. Choose Smooth Flooring

Aging joints can make walking a challenge for many older people. It's important that you select smooth and soft flooring for your custom retirement home if you are planning to age in place.

Flooring like cork, linoleum, and rubber have a little bit of give. This slight give can reduce strain on your joints and help you ease arthritis pain over time.

Smooth flooring like cork, linoleum, and rubber can also help reduce your likelihood of tripping in your home. Some high-pile carpets can limit mobility by making it hard to maneuver a walker or catching your shoe and causing a fall.

Smooth, soft flooring is the best option for your custom retirement home.

2. Install Versatile Decorative Features

One of the most exciting parts of building your own home is having the ability to select decorative features for your living space. You can finally have the vaulted ceilings and arched doorways that you have always wanted.

As you consider which decorative features to incorporate into your retirement home's design, be sure that you are installing elements that can serve multiple purposes.

Simple decorative features like wainscoting or chair rails will not only make your home look great, you can use them to help steady yourself while walking as you age.

3. Use Mechanisms That Are Easy to Operate

There are many different mechanisms located throughout a home that help homeowners operate various features with ease. You must carefully consider how you will navigate each of these mechanisms as you age when you are designing a custom retirement home.

Some of the most common mechanisms that elderly homeowners struggle with include doorknobs, light switches, and windows.

Instead of traditional doorknobs, install doors that have levers. Have your contractor install rocker light switches instead of the toggle variety. Invest in casement windows that can be opened with a crank.

Levers, rocker switches, and casement windows can easily be operated by someone with arthritis. For more ideas, talk with a custom home design service.