Sharon Kikuyama didn't want just a house when she settled on design plans three years ago. She wanted a "forever home."

The 57-year-old investigative analyst and her husband, 62, are part of a growing number of baby boomers who are opting for homes designed to accommodate their needs as they prepare for retirement and grow older.

Kikuyama's 1,903-square-foot Waimanalo home was built with wider-than-normal halls and doorways to accommodate a wheelchair should one be needed; electrical outlets several feet off the ground to avoid unnecessary bending; and other features intended to help her and her husband cope with the physical challenges of aging 10 or more years down the road.

Retrofitting existing homes for the same purpose is also popular in Hawai'i.

Both options are intended to allow people to "age in place," or as Kikuyama plans, "to live here forever."

Housing designers and experts on aging say requests for home modifications that incorporate aging-in-place concepts are becoming more common in Hawai'i and nationwide. Nearly nine in 10 Americans wish to live out their lives at home, according to an AARP study.

"You want to age at home with dignity for as long as possible, so independence is really important," said Bonnie Osaki, a certified aging-in-place specialist with Graham Builders.

Hawai'i has long had a tendency for several generations of families to live together under one roof, owing to the Asian traditions of caring for the elderly, Hawaiian cultural values and the high price of housing.

But even here, more people today are exploring ways to accommodate their aging parents or are looking ahead to their own post-retirement needs, builders and experts on aging said.

One in two homeowners who come to Graham Builders are now exploring such options, Osaki said. That number in 2006 was one in three.

The majority are "multigenerational requests" — either additions or new homes where several generations live together under one roof. Private "ohana units" or "mother-in-law suites" with separate bathrooms and sitting areas can be added to the existing home for an aging parent, who in turn also cares for the family's youngest members.

"That's how people in Hawai'i take care of their elders — they put them all under one roof," said Toby Morris, owner of TM Builders.

Morris is in the process of starting a company called Accessible Homes Hawai'i to address the growing number of requests. He is aware of the difficulties of changing residences in the later stages of life, having witnessed the struggles of his mother, 88, and father, 85.

"When you take somebody out of their home, it creates a lot of stress, including leaving neighbors and the familiarity of their possessions," he said.

In many cases, modifications and renovations that are intended to be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional can also add value to the home.

The Kikuyamas' three-bedroom, two-bathroom house was built with roomy, low-step showers with anti-scald faucets that can be set to a certain temperature. Its rocker light switches, D-shaped handles for drawers and lever handles for doors are easier to use than regular toggle switches and knobs. A device located over the stove fills pots with water for cooking so they don't have to be carried from the sink to the burners.

The house also has a large pantry, a lanai and oversized garage (for Super Bowl parties). And it's just one story. That was important for Kikuyama, who lived in a two-story house in Kaimuki before moving to her new home and started to have difficulties climbing the stairs.

"My girlfriend told me she loved her two-level house when she moved in," Kikuyama said. "But she said as she's getting older, going up and down stairs hurts her knees."

Other frequent home modification requests include additional lighting and motion-detector security systems.

BARRIER-FREE DESIGN

Such features fit with concepts being taught in Chaminade University's "Universal Design" and "Senior Residential Studio" classes, both of which educate young designers about barrier-free design and aging in place.

Universal home design is being incorporated in communities across the United States and focuses on creating living spaces that can accommodate anyone, from age 8 to age 80, as well as those with disabilities.

"Industrywide, this has come up as a major topic in the last five years," said professor Joan Riggs, who has taught Chaminade's universal design course with an emphasis on healthcare and aging in place for five years.

This month, the design program will graduate its largest class yet — 20 students, instead of the usual seven to 10, Riggs said.

Among them is Leigha Oaks, 24, who added wheelchair-friendly wider doorways and a gardening area (for recreation) to her final project for the semester.

"As designers, a lot of the time we enrich lives, but this is changing the course of someone's life," Oaks said.

HIGH CARE COSTS

The high cost of institutional care may also encourage seniors to age in place rather than seek out a care home. According to AARP-Hawaii, the average cost of one year at a care home is $107,000 and is higher in Hawai'i than on the Mainland.

Availability can be an issue too. Long waiting lists greet those who want to move into care homes in Hawai'i, with just 23 beds for every 1,000 residents over 65, less than half the average 48-bed capacity on the Mainland, according to AARP studies.

On top of that, Hawai'i's 65-and-older population is increasing. The latest census estimates show that people 65 and older accounted for 14.3 percent of the state's population of 1.28 million in 2007, up from 13.2 percent in 2000. The AARP says nearly one in four Hawai'i residents will be 65 or older in 2030.

Experts in aging say allowing seniors to live out their lives in familiar surroundings with the proper care gives them an independence that is often lost with a move to a nursing home or even a spare bedroom in a family member's house.

"There is a definite movement," said Wes Lum, of the University of Hawai'i's Center on Aging. "People do want to remain in their homes to age in place. "

But modifications can be expensive, he said. The cost of building a wheelchair-accessible room, such as a bathroom, or modifying that room can cost between $20,000 and $50,000. Major retrofitting can often be more expensive.

Some families can receive money for modifications through Medicaid, and some long-term care insurance policies cover the cost of some modifications. Other options include community organizations like Project Dana, a volunteer caregiving program that assists seniors.

Fortunately, "there are little things you can do around the house that don't necessarily cost a lot of money," Lum said, suggesting simple steps such as replacing or getting rid of rugs that could be slip-hazards.

For Kikuyama, her "forever home" was born of a revelation.

Bouts with ovarian cancer in 1992 and 1998 left her vulnerable to osteoporosis. In 1996, she suffered a crushed vertebrae after a fall, which she said was a wake-up call about future care.

"I was at the doctor's office and you see all these people in wheelchairs," she said. "My husband still thinks he's young, but we're getting ready to retire."

The added worries of the Boomer generation of caring for children and elders, as well as themselves, makes planning even more important, Kikuyama said.

"It's on us to relieve some of that stress and make things easier and practical," she said.