IMAGINE HOW MUCH easier it would be for a parent with a toddler and an infant to get from the garage or driveway into their new house without having to navigate even one step up to the door, or to haul a load of laundry or groceries, with one kid in tow and another one on hip, through slightly wider door openings and hallways. How much more would that family pay for a house with those and similar lifestyle or convenience features, or at least be more likely to purchase it instead of one without them?

Somewhere in the complexity of today's housing market, the concept of universal design (UD) got a little lost in the shuffle, or at least pushed down the priority ladder, as a point of marketable (and profitable) distinction for home builders. Or maybe it is simply masked in a variety of increasingly popular products and design schemes, including refrigerator drawers, walk-in showers, covered porches, and modular garage and closet storage systems.

But make no mistake: UD is a sleeping giant awaiting the alarm of demand from aging baby boomers, up-and-coming echo boomers, and softening market conditions. “Designing a house for an average-size, able-bodied adult male is no longer realistic given our changing culture and demographics,” says John Salmen, president of Universal Designers & Consultants in Takoma Park, Md. “Accommodating disabilities is only the tip of the iceberg of universal design's value.”

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