Thanks to the spiralling cost of residential care, families are preparing for older age by carrying out DIY work and adapting their property for retirement.
Alison Wright, director of Easy Living Home, said that her range of elegant independent living solutions for pensioners is "flourishing" because of the number of people over the ages of 65 and 80 in the country.
She noted that paying for residential care is getting more and more expensive, therefore it makes more sense for some families to carry out work to adapt a property for old age.
This could include the installation of a fireplace to ensure that a room is warm throughout the year, with the elderly and vulnerable needing to be kept away from cold, damp conditions.
"With the older population expansion and local authority grants becoming even more difficult to obtain due to spending cuts, the area of independent living will continue to grow," Ms Wright went on to say.