Category Archives: certified living in place professional

We are a Family of Three Generations Living Under 1 Roof

Let me help you transform your home into a comfortable, safe, accessible and beautiful
space that you can call home for many years. Why not invest in your current residence
instead of paying for a retirement village or assisted living?
Your future begins now!

As an expert in Universal Design and Living in Place design, I have the education and experience to help you achieve your goals. I am the only Interior Designer in the Wichita area who is a Certified Living Place Professional (CLIPP) and a practitioner of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). My specialties include multi-generational design, and I always anticipate the changes that life may bring to your family when working on your design plan. My ultimate goal is to create a space you and your family will love to call home today and tomorrow.

OUR STORY

After a 30-year career in a retail design company, I started my own design firm called “Designs for Life.” The tagline “Interiors Designed for the Way You Live … Today and Tomorrow” reflects that a well-designed home should be able to adapt to life’s changes.

My family should be the Poster Children for the Living in Place design movement. We are a family of three generations living under one roof. My late husband, Jim, and I were in our late 60s with a few health issues; we both enjoyed our work and had no plans to retire. Our son, Bryan, was diagnosed with ALS 20 years ago. He has increasing limitations with mobility and independence. My mother, Dot, who just celebrated her 97th birthday, remains active in helping us care for one another.

It became apparent that we would need to find a home to renovate to help us all live our best lives. Completing our new home was the most daunting and satisfying project of my career. I always prided myself on my ability to meet the needs of my clients. My personal experiences and newfound knowledge allow me to provide so much more.

We are replacing the outdated “Aging in Place” design with a proactive “Living in Place” approach. By discreetly incorporating long-term adaptive features into everyday decor, homes can be prepared for expected and unexpected life changes. The goal is to provide everyone with a comfortable, safe, and accessible home that can support them through any injury, illness, or age challenges. The Living in Place Institute helps eliminate the stigma of “Aging in Place” and allows people to embrace the inevitable life changes while still living independently in their own homes.

Vicki Flores, a Living In Place Pro, has mastered creating homes that exude beauty, safety, and comfort. With her exceptional skills and expertise, she transforms living spaces into havens that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also safe and practical. Give your home the touch of Vicki’s magic and experience the joy of living in a place that is both beautiful and function

Hospice and ALS

Most people actuate HOSPICE with end of life. In most cases hospice care givers come into a patient and their families lives when the diagnosis is terminal and the patient has around 6 months until end of life. The purpose of hospice is to make “end of life” more comfortable for the patient and their loved ones. Frankly, most families wait too long for this service because they don’t want their loved one to think they are giving up on them or admit that they are actually facing the end of their life.

We waited too long to call hospice when my dad had terminal cancer and chose not to have treatment because no medical person suggested it to us. I had gone pick up some meds for him and found myself facing a Hospice office. I went in not knowing what to expect and came out with an appointment to visit us the next day. They came with a hospital bed and all the essentials for his care and set up in the family room. Someone was with the family most of the time and were a phone call away. He died two weeks later. How I wish we had taken advantage of this months earlier.

HOSPICE and ALS

My experience with Hospice is much different today. My son has ALS. He as been living with it for nearly 20 years. He has been in hospice for 3 years and we both are so thankful that we made the call.

ALS is a fatal disease as you are all aware. There is no cure and there is no treatment. There is also no timetable for end of life. A PALS can go on hospice as soon as they are diagnosed. Our Phoenix Home Health and Hospice in Kansas provides all equipment delivered by Broadway Medical and set up in our home. A nurse visits us at least once a week and has a physician available for her to call and they provide all his ALS meds. (Much better than your Neurologist giving you a diagnosis and telling you to go get ready to die?) A bath aid comes twice a week. This compassionate group of people have an essential place in our daily lives.

You may have heard that to be on Hospice, the patient needs to sign a DNR. That can be revoked at any time by the patient or his legal medical representative. Bryan has gone to the hospital by ambulance twice since being on hospice Each time his hospice nurse came to sign a waiver that he was off hospice so he could be treated. When he was released he was signed back in. This is one of the few benefits we as PALS and CALS are offered at no charge. They work together with the ALS local chapter in my area.

As a mother and caregiver, I m asking you to use this valuable aid available to you without cost. Many still say “It’s not time yet or I don’t want my pal to think I’m giving up on them”. You are taking this advantage of a benefit to make all your lives easier for however many months, years, or decades, you fight this horrible disease.

If you have questions or concerns or just want to talk, leave me a message here and I will be happy to help in any way that I can.

Slide Show of Flores “Forever Home”

In January 2020 I was invited by the institute founders to give a presentation at the National Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas about how the Living In Place Principals have affected my life. Well… my family members could pretty much be the poster children for Living In Place. It felt intimidating at the time but I put together this slideshow and it was very well received by my piers and other industry professionals.

Click on the link below to see the presentation featuring our Forever Home for 3 Generations

I am am honored to have been selected as one of thirty five International Ambassadors for The Living In Place Institute. Our purpose as a group is to initiate awareness of the benefits of the principals of Living In Place to the public as well as to the building and medical communities. I am thrilled to be among these amazing people who are so passionate about making all homes, safe, comfortable and accessible as a norm, a reality! We meet monthly online to share knowledge and experiences.

Is it time for your Forever Home?

AND RENOVATION SERVICE

Six years ago, I met my biggest challenge in my 30 years as an Interior Designer – the need to renovate house into a comfortable, safe and accessible home that met the long term needs of my multi-generational family. Easier said than done! At that time it was not “fashionable” to create a home that was comfortable-safe-healthy as well as beautiful. I relied on my own experiments, research, input from our son with (ALS) disabilities and trusted tradespeople to guide me.

About a year after moving into our renovated home, I learned of a new “design movement” called Living In Place. Their goal is that all homes be comfortable, healthy and safe for all people who live or visit there no matter their age or circumstance!

I became one of the first graduates of their program in 2015 and am now one of 35 international ambassadors dedicated to promoting this design philosophy to the public, medical and building communities.

Change is life’s only certainty. Everyone deserves a comfortable-healthy-safe home that can Consequently, my perspective on design has evolved. I have always prided myself on my ability to meet the needs of my clients. Now, my personal experiences and new found knowledge allow me to provide so much more. I can help their home support them through an unexpected injury, a debilitating diagnosis or the inevitable challenges that come with age. With the help of the Living in Place Institute the stigma of “Aging in Place” design is being replaced with a more proactive “Living in Place” mindset. Through its intensive certification program designers are taught the importance of incorporating long-term adaptive features discreetly into everyday décor; preparing the home for both the unexpected and the inevitable changes in life.

Jim and I want this to be our “forever” home and because of pre-planning and a few simple adaptations, that is now possible. I want to be able to provide the same for you – to create a proactive plan for your home to work for you as long as you want it to.

In the spring of 2020, I joined forces with my good friend CKD, ASID, kitchen and bath designer, Wendy Mayes in an office space at 3211 East Douglas Avenue so that we could collaborate together to make more homes comfortable safe and healthy for everyone. there.https://studiodesignsforlife.com/about/

t 316 -992-1855

Wake-up Call

In July of 2014, I took some downtime with Megan and Matt in Kansas City and designed an elevator location for our Longwood house. On the trip home, I was struck with severe abdominal pain. Major surgery fixed the problem.

While recuperating at home, with my walker bumping along the walls, and showering being a major struggle, I had a great epiphany; we had to move from my beloved home. Adding an elevator would only be a little band aid and a costly one. Much more needed to be done to make our house not only barrier friendly to Bryan, but Jim and I were not getting any younger or more agile.

We (Jim, Bryan and I) decided that if we were going to move, we should have a place for Grandma Dot, my fabulous, then 87-year-old mother, to join us. So our list of requirements grew; exterior space to add an addition to house an elevator, a suite large enough for Bryan to have privacy and a bath large enough to add a roll in shower, a two room suite for Grandma and two offices spaces for Jim and I to be able to work from home.

House hunting began that day. Thank God for our daughter, Megan, and Zillow! Megan was staying with us to help with my recovery, but I added “head house hunter” to her nursing duties. We looked at hundreds of homes online and if anything looked promising, Megan, Jim, Dot, and Bryan would join our realtor Janelle to check it out. I, of course, was still on drugs and pretty immobile since surgery was less two weeks prior.

As I reflect on those weeks, I must nominate my entire family for Sainthood. It all seemed perfectly natural to me. I needed to get my family in a safe, comfortable and accessible home as soon as possible.

After just a few weeks, we stumbled upon this 4 bedroom 3 bath ranch. It required a lot of updating but it had the spaces to fit the needs of our multigenerational family.

The Blending Begins

A year after we lost my Dad, Dot moved into a condo that we totally renovated. She purchased new furniture and window treatments and was quite comfortable and content.

Let me preface this by saying that we are a very close family and she is at the center because of her unconditional love, amazing personality and sense of humor. She is more of a contemporary than an elder and is a special part of my social circle. We have played in the same Bunko group for over 40 years. Megan calls her” Switzerland” because she tries to stay neutral when there is any conflict.

Before we began house hunting in earnest, we told Dot that we were planning a space for her in the new home. We told her that she didn’t have to come with us right away, but that we were going to be sure that there was a place when she was ready. She told us that she would think it over. Two days later she said that if we were sure, then she was IN! Jim assured her that this is what we all wanted.

I’m not sure that this arrangement would work for every family. But we set out to make this home belong to all of us. Dot and Bryan were not moving in with Jim and Vicki; we would be sharing a home together. They are both paying rent and contributing to food costs. Each paid for certain aspects of the renovations.

Our Plum Tree home required an elevator and three remodeled bathrooms , so we knew that it would be 3-4 months before move in. Dot put her condo on the market and sold it in just a few days to someone who wanted two-week possession. She had to be out by October 31.

The timeline is a little crazy here, I had had major surgery on August 1 so I am less than 100%. At the same time, Jim was being treated for Crohn’s Disease.( I left that out of the beginning because I didn’t want to sound like a soap opera, but it is important now because of what is coming next) On October 14 (Our 48th Wedding Anniversary) Jim had a tumor removed. Seems it wasn’t Crohn’s after all….just a touch of cancer! The Docs felt that they had removed it all but still recommended Chemo.

He came to Dot’s condo from the hospital so that we could care for him while we packed. Again, our incredible Megan had come to help care for her Dad while I worked only to be a part of the great move.

The First Obstical

Five things had to happen before the family could move into our Plum Tree house

The Elevator had to be installed.
Bryan’s bath had to be revamped for a roll- in shower
Dot’s bath needed tub replaced with a walk in shower
The master bath needed a lot of love and the shower enlarged.
And of course, we had to find a way to get Bryan and Dot comfortably and safely into the house in the first place.

The front steps were fairly steep and there was no handrail. The back entrance involved about 20 steps with no adequate handrail to grasp and the garage steps were not easily accessible for any of us. A fabulous handyman, Mark Lawrence, who was very familiar with accessibility issues came to my rescue and installed new garage steps with handrails and grab bars.

Accessibility issues were not uncommon when we were searching for homes. It is one of the things that buyers don’t think much about unless faced with an injury or worn out joints. Safety features are not that expensive when you think of the cost of a fall. I hope that builders and remodelers will join the movement to keep our homes safe, comfortable, and accessible for everyone.

Elevating our Lives

A Little Fancy French to denote that this door leads an Elevator

Just to recap… We are frantically searching for a home to accommodate our multi-generational family with accessibility issues. We require an elevator, 2 offices, 3 accessible bathrooms, a space for my the 88 year young mother, a suite for our 44 year old son who is battling ALS and a guest area for our Kansas City kids. Did I mention that we have a limited budget?

Introduction (click on introduction to check out our story from the beginning)

Between our realtor and Zillow, we had probably looked at over 100 houses. Since I was recovering from major surgery just 3 weeks prior and it was” Kansas August Hot”, I was discouraged. Our daughter, Megan, was still “visiting” from Kansas City to help her crazy Mom recoup and find a new home. (So thankful for her and husband Matt)

This is the first view that I had of the Plum Tree house. I fell in love with the view but it also showed great potential for us to be able to install an elevator built with bulk on the exterior of the house and not take up any interior square footage. Yeah! Although the décor was not my style, it is my training to look for potential and this scored a 10!

The open entry gives every one plenty of space to move around once you mange to get into the home

The addition of the elevator was by far the most costly and valuable part of our renovation. The value it adds to our home can not compare to the value it adds to our lives. The members of the Access Elevator http://www.accesselevatorinc.com/ team were amazing.

Three Baths to Go

As I said at the beginning, we could not move into the Plum Tree house until we had 3 bathrooms complete. If you have ever worked with me, you’ll remember that I like to one or two areas at a time so that we don’t disturb the entire family life. But time was of the essence here so I had three bathrooms and an elevator going at the same time.

Dot’s room was the simplest because we were just replacing the tub with a walk in shower and updating the vanity and lighting.

The vanity that was in place was attractive but it had no storage. Since this would be Dot’s bath as well as the hall guest bath, it was very necessary that she had private storage. We had recently redone her bath at the condo where she had been living and she had loved it so we decided to recreate some of the best parts.

Dot’s favorite colors have always been shades of orange and brown, so it was not difficult for us to blend our tastes together in our home. This shower curtain was exactly like the one she had at her condo. We painted the walls a deep terra cotta, and added a light fixture that can give up to 500 watts of light . We hung art that had been in other areas of her condo and she was home.

In the shower, she selected a moveable shower bench like the one she had been using. The curved shower rod gains a bit of space inside the shower and the slight lip on the shower pan allows easy access and contains the water. (We have never had a damp Floor).

For safety sake, there is a grab bar as you enter the shower and the towel bar is now a grab bar. The soap/shampoo caddy is a grab bar as well as the sliding bar of the hand held faucet.

Adaptive does not have to look adaptive. This is a safe bathroom for a 92 year young woman. Because of a shower curtain, instead of doors, a caregiver could assist her in bathing.

The latest addition to her bath was a Toto Washlet. which can be added to replace any toilet seat. It is lighted, has a seat warmer and self cleaning. Who could ask for more. Don’t knock it until you have tried it. Jim and I and Bryan all have one and would not make any changes.

When I first introduced you to our cast of characters, I carelessly left out some key players. Meet Alexis Elizabeth Armstrong our 24 year-old niece. Alexis was born with cerebral palsy. She is the joy of my life. She is aware that she has a handicap, she must use walker or wheel chair to move from bed or chair to car to destination and then repeat again. But she never complains.

and always, always has that dazzling smile. From the time she could talk, if she tripped or bumped her head getting into the car, she immediately said “I’m Okay don’t worry”. She was born in Wichita but her parents moved to Utah when she was 12 because there seemed to be more opportunities for people with disabilities there than Wichita offered. That proved to be true. She was mainstreamed into Wasatch High School where she became the team mascot so her wheel chair cold be on the floor with the cheerleaders. The next year, she decided that she wanted to try out for the Cheer Squad. Her Dad warned her that it would probably not be possible for her to do all the cheers. She understood this but was willing to take the chance.Thanks to her perseverance and a very special coach , Alexis was on the squad. They cheered for football,basketball,volley ball etc all over Heber Valley and all the way to Salt Lake City. My brother Dan Armstrong and my wonderful sister-in-law, Rhonda drove her and her wheel chair to every game.

They moved back to Wichita after her High School was complete. It was quite a social crash for her and not much for her to do except watch Days of our Life and every football and basketball game televised. Alexis and I made our mission to get her a LIFE in Wichita.

Not so easy.. Developmentally Disabled Services talked to us but we couldn’t do anything without a Case Manager and the wait for that was somewhere around 7 years for one of the few Case Managers. We checked out the ARC for a few social events but they were not really able to accommodate her accessibility issues with their field trips, and she didn’t feel that the group was the right fit for her.

After a few months we made contact with people from Goodwill Industries. Amber was assigned to be her case worker. We met at Wendy’s for a get to know each other lunch and I was so impressed with the way she treated Alexis as a peer. She would not settle until she found Alexis a job that would challenger her and let her contribute her outlook on life to others. She has been working a few hours a week at Families Together. Last month she was honored at the Goodwill Industries Banquet as their graduate of the year. Couldn’t be more proud.