STYLISH-Senior apartments at Tapo Street Marketplace, above. REMOVING BARRIERS-At right, Judy Plamondon and Virginia Lee of Simi Valley listen to a presentation at the Simi Valley Senior Center on modifications that can be made to homes so multigenerational families, aging baby boomers and seniors can maintain independent lifestyles. For further information, call the Simi Valley Council for Senior Housing at (805) 583-5022. BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers Nearly 100 people came to the Simi Valley Senior Center last week to hear from experts about residence renovations that can help people continue to live comfortably and safely in their homes as they age.

The seminar featured advice from an interior designer and a Thousand Oaks building contractor on modification techniques known as "universal design."

Judy Pepiot, coordinator of the Simi Valley Council for Senior Housing, arranged the event.

"It's important because as our population is graying at such a rapid rate . . . we have a tremendous percentage of the senior population, from 50 on up to 100 years old, in housing that does not support them," she said.

Pepiot said the seminar was a way for seniors to educate themselves.

"People don't want to move to assisted living if they don't have to," she said.

Kevin O'Connor, a sales manager for a cabinet manufacturer, is a certified kitchen and bath designer. He showed the group a slide presentation of bathrooms and kitchens that incorporate universal design elements, features that will accommodate people in wheelchairs and those who are ambulatory but have limited range, mobility and strength.

For instance, interior walkways and door entries are wider. In the kitchen, shelves pull down, cabinets are hinged at the top so the door opens out of the way and the sink can be lowered or elevated at the push of a button. In the bathroom, a roll-in shower has a seat that can be lowered for easy transfer from a wheelchair; the toilet is about 2 inches taller than the conventional height; and there is enough space underneath the sink to accommodate a wheelchair.

Paul Furtaw, whose Thousand Oaks-based Home Remedies specializes in renovations like these, said he's been modifying homes in eastern Ventura County for nine years.

The most common renovations he's done include installing grab bars in the shower and wheelchair ramps at door entries and building platforms for furniture, making it easier to sit down and get up.

"The most important thing I want to say is you have to individualize (it) based on their limited abilities," Furtaw said. "Everyone's going to be different and every situation is going to be different."

Furtaw said universal design modifications ease some of the burden and stress on the caregiver, who, in most cases, is the spouse of the disabled person. And when the caregiver isn't a relative, the upgrades contribute to his or her staying on the job longer, he said.

A few years ago, Home Remedies was awarded a three-year grant from the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging (VCAAA). The grant paid for assessment and up to $300 in home renovations for 75 seniors.

Furtaw was so successful in managing the grant money that he modified the homes of more than 120 families each year, officials said.

VCAAA will sponsor another such grant through Home Remedies beginning in July, director Victoria Jump said.

Virginia Lee came to the seminar to support a friend who's legally blind. But Lee, who had knee replacement surgery two years ago and anticipates another surgery in the next few years, thought she could use some of the ideas herself. She may

have a portion of her bathtub cut out so she won't have to raise her legs too high to get in or out.

"Just as a preventive measure," Lee said, "because I know how hard it was to get in the shower when I had (the surgery) done."

Several developers, including Colton Lee Communities, also attended the seminar. The developer plans to break ground this month on Tapo Street Marketplace-a 36unit apartment complex in Simi Valley that incorporates universal design elements.

"We've committed ourselves to taking two steps above what's required and addressing the needs of senior citizens in the community, providing a place where people can stay (as they age)," Vice President David Alpern said.