Being that I myself am a member of the Baby Boomer generation (defined by those of us born between 1946 and 1964!) and having spent over the past 2 decades immersed in the renovation industry, I am extremely passionate about providing creative renovation solutions for those that wish to stay in their homes longer.

For many of us, our homes resonate with life’s many memories; it is where we began our life together as a couple, built our careers and raised our family. It is no surprise that this happens to be one of the primary demographics we serve in the home renovation industry. Many of our clients express a desire to stay in their beautifully-matured neighborhoods, surrounded by familiar amenities, large property footprints, but wish to modernize their surroundings and make layout modifications that will make their life transitions comfortable as their home needs change. This was a statistic supported at the recent CHBA National Conference held in Victoria where Don Drummond, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist with the TD Bank Financial Group, discussed the desire for Boomers to say in their homes longer; indeed for the vast majority they wish to have options to stay in their homes to perpetuity!

I recently accepted an appointment as a member of the Calgary Mount Royal University Advisory Committee for the Study of Aging-In-Place. Earlier this month the MRU sent their video crew to the Pinnacle Design Studio to interview me so I could share my views and industry perspective on how we can help folks stay in their homes longer. I will be collaborating with MRU for the balance of 2010 on initiatives deemed helpful from the renovation industry on this topic.

Pinnacle is currently working on an amazing initiative involving focus groups and market analysis on ‘home for life’ concepts; look for reference to this as we determine the response from homeowner’s! It is a pleasure to be a part of this project at MRU and I will continue to share information as my ongoing involvement continues.