Design Home Renovations for Future Needs

Being visionary in accessible renovations, rather that reactionary, can help homes be ready before life changes force the issue.

There’s nothing cookie cutter about Linda Johnson’s home except, perhaps, this home’s original bones.

Instead, you would probably use the words bold, vivacious and artistic to describe it. Enter the upstairs guest bedroom and the joy continues, even if you may want to utter that Charlie Brown catchphrase: “Good grief!”

Johnson, with her late husband, built and moved into what would back then be a typical 1990s Fort Saskatchewan home. It had three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms and a sunken living room while blue vinyl siding clad the exterior. The original interior of this WestPark Estates home was a combination of whites and beiges.

Then life happened, transporting Johnson on a journey that would transform everything — including her home — taking her on an entirely new path.

The home would now need changes for her husband, and eventually for her mother, so it would be accessible. Later, Johnson would take these renovations even further to help accommodate her more recently passed pet dog, Bernard, who had been paralyzed and needed to learn to walk again.

Today’s version of the house — it has been through seven renovations; some smaller, others more major like the one to put in an elevator that goes from the basement to the main floor and then the upper level — is not necessarily the final iteration.

A New Beginning

At least it was supposed to be.

Cancer took a toll on Johnson’s husband and the original home just wouldn’t work when he would be ready to come home. She would connect with Ackard Contractors through a mutual contact and stay with them throughout each and every renovation, a journey that started back in 2012.

At the time, medical staff thought they would be able to stabilize Johnson’s husband.

“I was on a quest then to see what we could do to bring him back to the house because this house was not set up in any way for somebody to be in a wheelchair,” said Johnson, who would search out potential solutions.

That meant, among other things, raising the floor in the then sunken living room, what was once a den was transformed into a bathroom with a roll-in shower, every doorway in the house was widened to accommodate for wheelchair access, some light switches were lowered, an induction stove was installed so no one would get accidentally burned, the microwave oven was incorporated into a lower part of the kitchen island, and a bedroom was added to the main floor removing the problem of accessing the second floor sleeping quarters.

But Johnson’s husband never made it home before those renovations were completed.

A New Direction

Fast forward to 2018, and Johnson would take the next major step in her home’s evolution.

At that point, the house, though changed, was still very traditional reflecting the original style and much more reminiscent of her late husband’s taste. But it wasn’t hers.

Hers could be called post-modern eclectic. White, black and even more black and white. Zebra striped carpet tiles — good for her dogs if they need to be replaced; a welcome mat notes the house actually belongs to her two dogs and the human just lives with them — shiplap walls (Johnson is not a fan of drywall) and artistic pops of colour via numerous large paintings by American artist Jenny Foster, whose artistry brings an elegant yet childlike whimsy to her animal subjects.

While there were renovations to the main floor, and the cosmetic changes that reflected Johnson’s style, it was around that time that another round of accessible related renovations came into play, those for her now late mother.

With mobility concerns front and centre, the idea of adding an elevator came into play. It was a more difficult project as the elevator would need to land in the basement, right where a furnace, electrical and plumbing were sitting.

Always a Way

That elevator, small and narrow, also incorporates Johnson’s colourful taste: red and white, punctuated with zebras while a red old-style payphone hangs on one of its wall panels. That was in 2022.

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In 2023, Johnson would have Ackard renovate the upstairs bathroom, making it accessible as well, including a large modern sink (in black, of course) that you could roll a wheelchair to, right up and under.

In 2024, Bernard’s “bunnel” (think a makeshift covered ramp taking its name, in part, from the Chunnel tunnel from London to Paris) gave way to a lengthy proper indoor ramp that takes you out to the backyard (which also includes an exterior ramp to the deck). With a gallery wall of Foster paintings above it, one’s mind does not think of this ramp necessarily in accessible terms. In fact, this home’s accessible features don’t stand out but rather blend into the home itself.

Along the overall renovation route, this house also saw additions to the rear. What was once the rear of the home now is a large open pass-through to the kitchen. From the pass-through you can see the ramp, the dining space, another area that Johnson calls the “cabin” (an indoor four-season room) and a sunroom.

As for that earlier Peanuts reference, it turns out Johnson has been a Charlie Brown fan since she was little, collecting a multitude of Peanuts memorabilia. That collection, displaced during one of the renovations, spurred Johnson to transform one room, now the guest bedroom, into a Charlie Brown gallery.

A Plan For The Future

She never thought of building an accessible home, but Johnson quickly learned what she could and embraced the concept.

“I love watching renovation shows,” she said. “I watched one where this lady was in health care and she said, you know, people wait until it’s too late, and then it’s reactionary.”

While her first accessible renovation was indeed reactionary, since then she has tried to look ahead.

“I didn’t build this house to sell it,” said Johnson, emphasizing she built it to enjoy and live in. “In fact, I don’t need to go anywhere. I have room for somebody, a caregiver, if need be. I have all the amenities I need to function. And if worse came to worse, we’re all set up.”

It was also a learning process for Ackard but they embraced it and welcomed the opportunity, noting they are seeing accessible concerns playing a larger part in renovations.

“It was forward thinking,” said Ackard’s Travis Plamondon, also a partner, about Johnson’s renovations. “The whole thing is forward thinking. It’s your forever home, right? People talk about forever homes; this is truly a forever home.”

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