MURRIETA -- You are in the home you want to live in for the rest of your life, but an accident leaves you permanently or temporarily in a wheelchair and suddenly you are bound to one floor of a two-story home.

You scrape your knuckles maneuvering the wheelchair through doorways because they are too narrow; you can't cook or help in the kitchen because the counters are too high and you dread using the bathroom and shower -- if you're lucky enough to have a full bathroom on the first floor. Suddenly it becomes painfully clear your home no longer fits you.

But a recent trend in California aims to change that.

Homes designed to accommodate life changes are becoming more popular as baby-boomers age and are more likely to need, or have a family member who needs, an accessible home, said Susan Mack, president of Murrieta-based Homes for Easy Living.

Think of accessible homes as ergonomic homes, Mack said, because they fit better and continue to fit over time. She has designed accessible homes, also known as universal-design homes, for local developers such as K. Hovnanian and Pacific Century. One of the models Mack designed for Pacific Century in Murrieta won an award from the National Association of Home Builders in 2001 for senior housing.

Firsthand experience

Murrieta resident Susan Dye understands the importance of accessibility.

Dye, 48, lived in a home in The Colony, but after an accident left her a wheelchair user, she and her husband, Doug, had to move to a home that could accommodate her needs.

"There are so many things you have to worry about in a wheelchair," Dye said. Kitchen islands don't leave much room to maneuver, bathrooms are too small and doorways are too narrow.

Accessible homes have at least one bedroom and a full bathroom on the first floor, no steps at entryways, wider doorways, more space in bathrooms and more room between kitchen counters and islands.

Other features include level driveways that are easier for people using a wheelchair or walker, lower kitchen and bathroom counters, grab bars next to the toilet and bath, floors without wall-to-wall carpeting, lever door handles and rocker light switches.

Dye and her husband considered buying a previously owned home and making the necessary changes, but that option was too expensive. The couple decided instead to buy a house before it was built and asked the builder to make modifications.

Population 'graying'

Accessible home designs started about 20 years ago in Florida, said Steve Johnson, director of Riverside-based Metro Study, a real-estate consulting company. Since then, builders and architects have toyed with the idea and improved on it, Johnson said.

California now has more accessible designs because of the "graying" of the population, he said.

Borre Winckel, executive director of the Riverside County chapter of the Building Industry Association, said more builders are offering accessibility features as options.

An accessible home is a natural evolution, Winckel said. In the 1990s, builders started designing homes with the idea of "most likely use" in which they catered to segments of the population, he said.

"But some people just don't want it -- there's a stigma to it," Winckel said.

Dye said accessible features can blend into a home's decor and do not have to be ugly or industrial-looking.

"I have a grab bar by the toilet and shower, but they are the same color as the wall," she said, adding that most of the modifications to her home are almost invisible. And the bars could be easily removed if the house was sold, Dye said.

"We wouldn't have any trouble reselling this home. If you walked in, you wouldn't even notice," she said.

Subtle features

Some accessible features are so subtle, a couple who two years ago bought Mack's award-winning home in Murrieta, Anna and Paul Whipple, didn't even realize the home was built for wheelchair accessibility.

The couple's daughter lives in Murrieta and recommended the model as a "cute home" for her parents, Anna Whipple said.

"We just like it," Whipple said, adding they were attracted to the wide-open feel of the home, especially the dining room and kitchen.

"We have a large family -- there's about 18 of us when we all get together," she said. During holidays, the family gathers in the kitchen, which is very open and has a lot of space, Whipple said.

Susan Whipple is a member of the American Association of University Women and often holds meetings at her home.

A woman called before the group's December meeting and asked if she could get into the home because she uses a walker, Whipple said. Of course that was no problem, and this woman saw friends at that meeting she had not seen for several months because she could not get to past meetings, she said.

Not just for seniors

Dye also said visiting someone else's home can be a worry because she often has to wonder if she'll be able get in the host's front door.

"We recently went to a funeral, but the reception was at the top of a whole flight of steps. I could not even be with my family," she said.

But accessibility is not a problem just for seniors or those in wheelchairs.

An AARP survey on housing and home modifications in 2000, Fixing to Stay, shows arthritis as the No. 1 problem for people getting around for 25 percent of those surveyed. Back problems, at 13 percent, are the second highest challenge to mobility, followed by knee injuries or replacement at 9 percent and the need for a wheelchair at 7 percent.

Mack, an occupational therapist, said 88 percent of her clients in Murrieta are able-bodied and just want a home that accommodates all family members and that they can live in the rest of their life.

Building accessibility into a home is easier and much less expensive than making the changes after the fact, she said. Accessibility adds between 3 percent and 5 percent to a new home's building cost and since it adds great value to a home, there's no reason not to do it, Mack said.

But she said developers are slow to change how they do business. Builders targeting senior buyers, such as Hovnanian's project in Hemet, are more open to the idea of universal design.

Metro Study's Johnson said builders lose money if they have to build a home for a smaller percentage of the population. An average family would not benefit from accessibility features such as wider doorways or walk-in showers, Johnson said, but the options work well in senior housing.

Contact staff writer Laura Mitchell at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2621, or lmitchell@californian.com.