Retired Interior Designer's Choice Highlights Senior Living Trend Toward Customizable, Contemporary Spaces
A former professional interior designer's selection of Siena Lakes retirement community demonstrates the growing importance of customizable, contemporary home designs in meeting the preferences of today's active seniors.
The decision by former professional interior designer Barbara Kopitz and her husband Bill Lichtig to choose Siena Lakes, the Erickson Senior Living community in Naples, Fla., underscores a significant shift in retirement living preferences toward open, contemporary homes that allow for personal customization. Having moved to the community in 2022, Kopitz utilized her 35 years of design expertise, including eight years as a weekly design columnist for the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, to create a home that reflects their unique style.
Kopitz selected the popular Luna floor plan, a two-bedroom, two-bath home featuring an open layout, den, and outdoor lanai. She transformed the second bedroom into a multifunctional space with a sofa that converts to a bed for guests, while also serving as an exercise area. The den became what she calls Bill's "man cave," complete with desk, filing cabinets, and shelving for photographs and memorabilia.
The interior designer emphasized the importance of color in home design, choosing pale aqua for the living room, light blue for the master bedroom, and soft yellow for the guest bathroom. "I like that we can put our personal stamp on our individual homes," Kopitz noted, adding that visitors appreciate the colorful walls. The homes at Siena Lakes are constructed with large windows to maximize natural light, and feature concealed ceiling plates with wired openings for additional lighting fixtures.
Kopitz took advantage of these features, installing a modern chandelier over the dining table, a flat LED ceiling light in the living room, and ceiling fixtures in each bedroom. On the lanai, she created an outdoor oasis with matching furniture and multiple plants, including orchids displayed on a five-shelf metal etagere. Beyond their customized home, the couple remains active in the community through exercise classes, bocce, trivia, swimming, and educational lectures.
Kopitz has also contributed to community life by writing interior design articles for Siena Lakes' newsletter The Resident Chatter and participating in Siena Stories, a monthly program where residents share their life experiences. Her background includes 23 years as Aretha Franklin's interior designer, a topic she discussed publicly for the first time through the program. The couple's experience demonstrates how modern retirement communities are evolving to meet the design preferences and active lifestyles of today's seniors.