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The kitchen is often the heart of the home – where friends and family come together to eat, drink and socialise. Lifemark kitchens are positioned in an easily accessible part of the home and are designed to be spacious and open plan. Stew’s kitchen is designed to support ease of movement between benches and ease of use of kitchen appliances and storage. Aspects such as slip-resistant flooring, ample lighting and easy to open drawers ensures the whole kitchen can be used by a variety of people in the home.

Some Lifemark homes will have a platform lift installed. These can be incorporated into design and therefore not obviously visible. Stew’s lift has been disguised with the same wood cladding of the rest of the room. Other homes will be designed with the space and sub-floor framing adapted to provide for the future installation of a lift. 

Corridors in Lifemark homes must be wide enough for pushchairs, wheelchairs and to easily manoeuvre through with bags. They must be well-lit to maximise safety. Stew’s minimalist corridors fill with light, inviting you into the next room…

Lifemark designed bathrooms have level-entry showers with step-free access. The shower will often be located in the corner of the room, to allow for installation of grab rails or a shower seat, and will be fitted with an anti-scald device. Stew’s bathroom is sleek, spacious and beautifully designed. 

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Very few homes are designed to cater to older people, those with disabilities or families with young children. Many have architectural challenges such as steps and stairs, narrow halls and doorways, and other obstacles that make it difficult to manoeuvre around the home.

The Lifemark rating is awarded to new homes that meet the Lifemark Standards, based on design principles of adaptability, accessibility, usability, safety and lifetime value. The Lifemark home accreditation system is about forethought, planning and function.

A rating of either 3, 4 or 5 stars is awarded to a dwelling depending on how many of the Lifemark Standards are applied to the home. Lifemark Standards work with any design and any size home. It's about designing to have space in the right place.

Designing a home to be easier to use by all doesn’t mean it will look institutional or medical. Modifications can be made to the home that are both beautiful and functional.

Amongst New Zealand's ageing population, just 10 per cent of people move into a retirement home – with the majority wanting to stay in our own homes. But rarely are we thinking of our later years and the changes to our future lifestyles when caught up in the excitement of planning our house build. That’s where Lifemark gets involved.