The Forever Home: The Design Choices You Can Only Make at the Plan Stage

Only about 40 percent of American homes are what the Census Bureau calls aging-ready: a step-free entry with a bedroom and a full bathroom on the main floor (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 data). That is a striking number in a state like South Carolina, where 21.1 percent of residents are 65 or older, well above the roughly 18 percent national share, and the older population is projected to keep climbing (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025; South Carolina Department on Aging, 2025). The features that let a home carry you through decades, and make room for aging parents or grown kids, are decided on the floor plan. They cost almost nothing to draw and a fortune to retrofit.

What aging-ready actually means

An aging-ready home has three basics on the main level: a no-step entry, a bedroom, and a full bathroom (U.S. Census Bureau). Only about 40 percent of US homes have all three, and very few older households ever renovate to add them: only about 6 percent had near-term plans to improve their home's accessibility, in the Census Bureau's 2019 data.

The cheapest time to get these is on the plan, not with a contractor ten years later. Widening a hallway or moving a bathroom downstairs after the house is built means opening walls and moving plumbing. Drawing it in from the start costs a few lines.

The features to design in

The building blocks of a home you can age in are all set by the plan: a first-floor primary bedroom and full bath, a no-step entry, and doorways and halls wide enough to stay comfortable if mobility changes.

• A first-floor primary suite, so daily life can happen on one level
• At least one no-step entry into the home
• Doorways with 32 inches of clear width (a 36-inch door) and hallways at least 36 inches wide (NAHB aging-in-place guidance)
• A curbless, walk-in shower at least 36 inches wide, with the walls blocked for grab bars
• Lever handles, rocker switches, and good lighting, which cost nothing extra when specified up front

None of these have to look clinical. Designed in from the start, they read as a wide, bright, single-level home, not a medical retrofit.

Why South Carolina, and why now

South Carolina is a retirement destination, and the demand for homes people can stay in is rising. 21.1 percent of South Carolinians are 65 or older (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025), and in Lexington County, on Lake Murray, the share is 19.3 percent. The state's older population is projected to roughly double by 2030 (South Carolina Department on Aging, 2025).

Nationally, 75 percent of older adults say they want to stay in their current home as they age, and 43 percent expect they will eventually need a more accessible one (AARP, 2024). The gap between those two numbers is exactly the problem a well-designed plan solves up front.

One roof, more than one generation

Multigenerational living, three or more generations under one roof, has quadrupled since 1971 and reached 59.7 million people, about 18 percent of the US population (Pew Research Center, 2022). It is more common across the South than in the country as a whole (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023).

On a plan, that looks like a main-floor in-law suite with its own bath, a flexible room that can be an office now and a bedroom later, or an accessory dwelling unit over the garage. A second primary suite, a private entrance, or a soundproofed shared wall are all cheap to draw and expensive to add. Zoning for an accessory dwelling varies by town, so we confirm what your lot allows before we design one.

How Divine Homestead Design approaches it

We design around how you actually live, and how you are likely to live in twenty years. That is a plan-stage conversation: single-level living, an accessible entry and bath, and flexible rooms that change jobs as your family does. Our three tiers make it practical at any budget. Tailored Stock adapts a proven single-level plan into a permit-ready set. Semi-Custom reshapes a layout you like to add a first-floor primary or an in-law suite. Fully Custom designs the whole home around your family from the first sketch.

If you are planning a forever home around Lake Murray, Lexington, Chapin, or the surrounding areas, the best time to build these choices in is before the plan is drawn. We are glad to talk through what your family needs now, and what it may need later.