Household Hints & Help

I’m mobility challenged and hard of hearing. I find open floor plans painfully loud. Kitchens are noisy at the best of times; try it with microphones on your ears! I would pull the things out of my ears and then my husband would start talking. He got really tired of hearing “You’re in the kitchen…I can’t heeeaaarrr yooooo!” 6 times a day. The echoes from all that wall space made comprehension of speech from even 5 feet away stressful and tiring. We finally found an apartment with a separate kitchen. The “great room” is a combined dining and living room, and the kitchen has a roomy “breakfast nook”. First thing I did was was paint the gray walls a pale creamy yellow, spend way too much money on carpets and curtains for insulation (Minnesota!) and noise dampening. The breakfast nook has table and chairs, along with extra storage for the kitchen. (Whole foods!) The dining area is a combination office and exercise area with occasional chairs that can be extra seating for the living room. The smaller rooms are lined with furniture I can grab if I start to lose my balance. We are going to install doors and close off the Kitchen and Bedroom/bathroom/laundry areas to modify the noise level further. Napping, at our age is a luxury! I think it all depends on your stage of life and physical challenges, whether actual or anticipated. Flexibilty is a key consideration for long term planning!