IN this youth-obsessed culture, looking to the AARP crowd for style cues is a highly subversive act.
But a growing number of companies directed to the needs of seniors are fomenting just such rebellion, insisting that home design doesn't stop at geezerhood or the first hearing aid.
We're no longer stuck with grim, all-function, no-aesthetic medical supply fare that adds insult to infirmity. Seniors and others now can choose from an array of chic aids that don't make them feel as if they've just been discharged from intensive care.
Leading the charge are websites such as Elderluxe and Gold Violin, as well as legendary architect and industrial designer Michael Graves, who is introducing a line of tub bars, canes and other aids for daily living that are sleek and modern.
Need a hand with the groceries? Forget that decrepit granny cart that looks as if it came from Woolworth's in 1962. Upgrade to a black patent leather shopping trolley from Murval of Paris, available from www.elderluxe.com.
"We're saying that aging can be a more positive experience. You can still have a very vibrant and active life," says Patrick Conboy, founder of Chicago-based Elderluxe, a Sharper Image for seniors that sells designer shower chairs, home exercise equipment calibrated for older bodies, high-tech body-fat analyzers and a tricked-out $3,200 scooter that looks ready for the NASCAR circuit.
An estimated 76 million baby boomers are entering Social Security territory, vaunted pocketbooks in hand. With 77% of all personal assets in the U.S. and half of all discretionary spending -- $750 billion, according to a study from Knowledge Base Marketing -- boomers have a walletful of currency, Conboy says.
"This is the biggest consumer generation of all time," he says. "This group has been empowered and engaged with smart ideas throughout their lives. It's brand-sensitized and does not suffer bad design well."
He has a hunch that boomers' aversion to products that scream "over the hill," combined with their love of luxury, will favor his 2 1/2 - year-old venture. A former executive at JCPenney, Conboy saw a graying market in search of products that united design sensibility and style with golden-year needs. On a scouting trip to Europe, he discovered a trove of items for seniors with a taste for the modern, and Elderluxe was born.
