Cherie and Len Case Study

Cherie and Len

*This is a fictional case study and character(s) based on a variety of real situations.

Cherie and Len are a couple in their mid 70s. They live in a beautiful waterfront house in Halfmoon Bay. They love their home and they had it constructed perfectly for their lifestyle when they were in their 30’s and for when they were bringing up their kids. Now the house and its upkeep are starting to feel like hard work, particularly as Cherie suffers from chronic pain related to fibromyalgia, and Len’s hip is starting to bother him more and more over the years. They were determined to stay in their beloved house for as long as possible into their older years, but they knew they had to make some changes if that was going to happen.

Long Story Short

  • A neighbour mentioned to Cherie that she had seen an advertisement for Living By Design. Cherie called Mel, the Interior Designer, to set up an initial meeting at the house.

  • Both Tom the occupational therapist and Mel attended the initial meeting. Tom conducted an assessment that gathered information on the couple’s current level of functioning and their medical history. He identified the areas of the house that were causing accessibility issues now and areas that could potentially cause issues in the future. He provided Cherie and Len with recommendations of home modifications that could be made to adapt the home to their changing abilities.
  • The couple wanted the modifications to be tasteful, so as not to make the house look medical or institutional. They also felt that orchestrating the changes themselves would be stressful and time consuming – they barely felt able to stay on top of day to day appointments. They contracted Interior Designer Mel to manage the renovation project. Mel took care of all aspects of the project, including determining the budget, finding reliable trades and keeping all parties accountable so that the work was completed in a timely manner.