COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Senior living designer and aging expert, Lisa M. Cini, is proud to announce the transformation and opening of the Werner House Woodland Manor Mansion into a first-of-its-kind immersive experience showcasing the latest technology and design for senior living and the future of aging in place. Whether aging adults choose retirement, senior living communities, or aging at home, the Manor Mansion provides an elegant, comfortable venue to spend a week or weekend trying out all the latest tech-enabled products designed for seniors made by the country’s foremost manufactures like Shaw, JACLO, William Sonoma, Pressalit, Samsung, and Brondell, among others. A stay at the Manor Mansion will help people make more informed decisions about technology that can enable independent living, promote safety, security, mobility, and achieve an overall better quality of life.
“Transforming this magnificent French Opera-style mansion, built in 1914, into an accessible space for not just seniors, but Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Boomers to connect and test the most innovative technology demonstrates how folks can move from fear to FREEDOM with confidence,” says Lisa M. Cini, Senior Living Designer and CEO of Mosaic Design Studio. “Whether it’s proper lighting, no transitions in flooring, height adjustable sinks, cabinets, toilets and countertops, people can gain independence and dignity. It’s my passion to help people experience innovation in real time to help them understand what the possibilities are for aging so they can retrofit their own homes or learn what tech to look for when selecting a retirement community. Our short-term rental guests will be able to experience how the Infinite Living Collaboration transformed the mansion’s traditional beauty and grandeur with the most up-to-date functioning technology in a stylish manner that’s accessible to all.”
During short term stays, people of all generations and mobility levels are invited to fully experience the technology in the context of how it can integrate into one’s life. Designed by the nation’s top architects, designers, and gerontologists specifically for the health and safety of seniors, technological and design innovations include kitchens and bathrooms with height-adjustable countertops, sinks, cabinets and toilets as well as living rooms and bedrooms with ergonomic furniture, circadian lighting, and smart flooring. Guests can safely work out with special exercise equipment designed to maintain balance and cognition and sample an age-friendly spa with a seated infrared sauna and state-of-the-art hot and cold plunge pools all designed to increase circulation and reduce joint pain.
True to Lisa’s design philosophy, the Woodland Manor Mansion/Werner House is transformed into a “soul space” – a safe, warm, and home-like environment where people feel at ease through engaging design. Within the Manor Mansion, guests can experience unique features and offerings within this soul space, including:
- Tech-Savvy and Sleek Guestrooms: The spacious guestrooms feature the newest aging-in-place technology like Shaw Floor’s Sole with SensFloor® technology, which incorporates a safe and discreet sensor in the flooring that alerts caregivers if a guest falls or can simply turn on the lights once their feet hit the floor. In collaboration with manufacturers such as Samuelson Furniture, Hooker, Kwalu, Hekman, West Elm, and Hackney Furniture, off-the-shelf and custom storage beds, circadian lighting to promote healthy sleep, headboards, wardrobes, and soft seating outfit the rooms combining function with fashion-forward design for all ages. On their way to the guestrooms, guests can experience the custom wallcovering provided by JVA Art Group encasing the walls along the second-floor grand staircase that pays homage to the timeless original stained-glass windows of the Manor Mansion. Additionally, the third-floor bedroom displays a one-of-a-kind mural, also provided by JVA, that features the artwork of designer Lisa Cini’s daughter, Adellina Cini.
- Stylish and Functional Bathrooms: For aging adults, falls happen most frequently in the bathroom. Guests will be enamored by the state-of-the-art bathrooms that feature the Assisto bathtub, which features an easily accessible and ergonomic design that reduces the risk of injury and falls. Brondell’s Swash 1400 Electronic Bidet Toilet Seats feature self-sterilizing, stainless-steel nozzles, and a safety seat sensor. Pressalit provides equally convenient height-adjustable sinks with support arms, toilets, and shower systems that are customized to each user’s body type and mobility level. JACLO’s stylish, luxurious grab bars from their Contempo collection elevates the restroom with its innovative hand shower and integrated washcloth holder. The bathroom also features Delta Faucet’s age-friendly, touchless faucets and fixtures, Pellet’s Design by Intent elegant shower seats, handrails, and non-electric height-adjustable sink, as well as Ever Life Designs’ elegant toilet paper with phone holder, grab bars, and shower seats. LiveWell’s grab bars enhance the shower, toilet, and the area over the toilet—they’re designed to be right where you need them but do not look institutional. LED under counter and door lighting provide the perfect nightlight, and cabinet doors that hide under the sink allow for wheelchair access, while Shaw’s Sole with SensFloor® alerts of any falls in several of the bathrooms. Zero height floor drains by Oatey reduce trip hazards for guests getting in and out of the shower, and Cambria’s quartz walls and countertops provide an elegant visual while being durable, antimicrobial, and easy to clean.
- Inviting Community Lounges: Samuelson Furniture outfits gathering spaces with stylish, comfortable, and durable seating with heights and depths that are engineered for ease of entry and exit. One of their lounge chairs features Catch by Samuelson, which includes hardware that suspends a folded walker or any personal item on the chair’s back, creating more space and less hazard in common areas. Reid Witlin LTD livens up the space by draping windows in muted and bold patterns to soften the space while adding great acoustics for safety and conversation. As cleanliness remains a priority for all, guests can worry less as common areas will have Brondell’s air sanitizers and the FDA-registered Class II medical device Brondell Pro Sanitizing Air Purifier that self-sanitizes, captures, and eliminates 99.9% of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) airborne virus.
- The Immersive Ballroom: The ballroom’s classic beauty, which can be accessed from the pneumatic 3rd-floor elevator as well as the staircase, is spacious yet intimate, making it the ideal spot for a wedding, party, or meeting. The space features a large screen TV and Bose audio technology to encourage relaxation and bliss further. Forbo Flooring provides a beautiful floor that is easy to clean and helps greatly with acoustics. KB Fabrics also aides in comfort with their beautiful yet highly cleanable line of vinyl upholstery and theater curtains.
- Accessible Kitchen: Functional design is important for everyone, whether you’re short in stature, have shoulder issues, are in a wheelchair, or are a child. Reaching upper cabinets safely and having accessible countertops to cut, mix, and stir while making your latest food creation is critical to encourage everyone to engage in the kitchen. Pressalit saves the day with their flexible, height-adjustable kitchen cabinets and countertops that allow all users to accessibly use the kitchen with ease. Brondell water filter technology, along with Samsung’s Smart Hub refrigerator and oven, lets you see what items need to be refilled with the cameras inside the fridge, and comes in handy if you’re at the grocery store and forgot your grocery list at home. You can also start your meals in the oven right from your phone with Samsung’s technology. A kitchen Tower Garden hydroponic farm enables up to 30% more healthy food 3x faster, using aeroponics—the same technology NASA uses, which grows plants with only water and nutrients rather than dirt, to enjoy abundant, nutritious harvests just weeks after planting.
- HuSpa, the home fitness and spa space: Guests can view the Sky Factory, virtual skylights that offer photographic illusions of real sky views that trigger the beneficial “Relaxation Response” for the mind and body are seen from the hot-cold spa and sauna spaces. Ecore offers a dynamic twist to the gym with their Forest Rx and FITturf flooring surfaces using itsTRU™ technology, ideal for reducing impact and the risk of injury, supporting joints, and mitigating noise while guests are performing multi-purpose fitness exercises. Smartfit offers a dual-tasking gamification machine that assists with cognition, balance, and recovery, whereas Lifetime Vibe, based on NASA technology, provides guests with a safe vibration plate that increases balance and helps with many senior-related ailments from Parkinson’s to arthritis. Healthmate Sauna outfits the space with a seated infrared sauna that allows your head to stick out of the sauna so you can read or enjoy your tablet while getting the benefits of increased blood flow and pain relief. Tape by Ever Life Designs and Tonal are all senior-friendly and help to promote safe workouts, balance, and cognition. The space also includes a massage room and hot and cold plunge pools to increase circulation and reduce issues with arthritis.
- Accommodating Special Areas: Guests can dine, converse with others, read books, tune in to music, and watch movies with the latest home theater technology while lounging in furniture by H Contract, Hooker, and Kwalu. The lounge furniture is designed specifically for senior living with its senior-friendly dimensions, supportive seat cushions, and upholstery with a moisture barrier. The customized art mobile uniquely crafted by JVA Art Group in remembrance of those who have passed adorns the entrance into the spacious elevator and offers guests an accessible way to effortlessly get to their desired floor.
- The Dirty Laundry Speakeasy: Located in the basement of the Manor, an original prohibition space complete with extra doors, floor drain, and wine racks, has been converted into Lisa’s own version of a speakeasy called “The Dirty Laundry.”
- Lush Outdoor Space: The exterior of the house has been painted a distinguished white, and the welcoming outdoor space is embellished with a large front porch and a 2nd floor covered porch, which is perfect for an afternoon cocktail in furniture by Oxford Garden. The entire back of the property has been turned into an oasis with lush greenery and extensive ambient lighting. A modern-day pergola from StruXure can sense the rain and automatically close the louvers and counterbalances the vintage conservatory. The Turfstone driveway, bocce court, and soft seating with a firepit entices guests to dine and lounge in the area furnished by Pottery Barn.
For more information about Woodland Manor Mansion/Werner House and to book reservations, please visit www.infinite-living.org.
About Lisa Cini
Lisa Cini is an award-winning senior living designer, President/CEO of Mosaic Design Studio, and author of three books: Boom: The Baby Boomers' Guide to Preserving Your Freedom and Thriving as You Age in Place Hive; The Simple Guide to Multi-generational Living and The Future is Here: Senior Living Re-imagined. Lisa’s web site lisamcini.com provides information about Cini, her books and more. Her BestLivingTech.com site offers tech products that help seniors embrace aging and live independently.
