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KELLY NESBITT
Artistry / Design / Consulting
Home Accessibility Design
Home ACCESsibility DESIGN
Adaptable Abodes helps older adults, families, and people with disabilities create homes that are safe, comfortable, and future-ready.
We guide projects across the spectrum - from simple safety upgrades (grab bars, railings, lighting) to complex accessibility remodels (ramps, ceiling or chair lifts, elevators, bathroom and entry conversions, and complex medical equipment) to smart home solutions (voice control, alerts, fall-prevention tech).
You get a clear, customized plan, trusted contractor connections, senior referral resources, and support comparing options and costs - so you can make confident decisions before a crisis impacts your ability to safely access your home. Adaptable Abodes is solutions-based and part of an integrated ecosystem of trusted, vetted care partners.
Should I age in place, or embrace a new space?
Adaptable Abodes provides education, system navigation, and practical solutions at the housing crossroads - so you can make confident, well-timed decisions.
Founded by Kelly Nesbitt, OT/L, CAPS, ECHM - Adaptable Abodes blends 25+ years of occupational therapy clinical experience with deep personal remodeling and design expertise.
Kelly is CAPS-certified through the National Association of Home Builders and holds an Executive Certificate in Home Modification (ECHM) from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.
Areas of Expertise
✅ Aging in Place & Fall Prevention
✅ Remodel & Space Planning
✅ Accessibility & Universal Design
✅ Home Safety Assessments
✅ Smart Home & Adaptive Technology
✅ Contractor-Ready Specifications
✅ Project Coordination & Homeowner Advocacy
✅ Cost Projections for Home Mods & Aging in Place
✅ Vetted Professional referrals & Caregiver Support
✅ OT assessments and court ready reports for medical complex malpractice and personal injury lawyers.
What We Do
Before you install a grab bar or invest in a remodel, start with a clinically informed Home Accessibility Assessment by a licensed Occupational Therapist (OT) who is CAPS certified and trained in accessibility design.
Adaptable Abodes’ assessment blends a home inspection, safety audit, and functional evaluation into one clear, easy-to-understand review. We look at how you move through your home and handle daily routines, then identify what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change to better fit your life now and later.
This proactive step helps prevent unsafe layouts, costly mistakes, and missed details that can affect comfort and long-term use.
guide the next steps with your remodel team. We also help families explore creative housing options, including home sharing, ADUs, multigenerational living, and landlord-occupied dwellings. We also collaborate with estate planners and attorneys to support proactive planning with clear, function-based home recommendations.
What sets Adaptable Abodes apart is the clinical expertise behind every recommendation.
Founder Kelly Nesbitt brings 25+ years as an OT with deep experience in complex conditions like Parkinson’s, MS, stroke, dementia, traumatic brain injury, and gait and balance disorders. When OT insight and skilled contracting come together, the result is a home that supports safety, comfort, and independence for years to come.
the Process
PHONE CALL
HOME ASSESSMENT
ACTION PLAN
Redacted SAMPLE REPORTS BELOW
What Sets Us Apart
🔹 Complex Medical Expertise – Experience with Parkinson’s, ALS, MS, dementia, stroke, SCI, TBI, and other complex conditions. We translate medical needs into safe, functional solutions that also support caregivers.
🔹 Architectural Collaboration – Partnering with architects and designers to review floor plans, flag accessibility concerns, and prevent costly redesigns.
🔹 Legal & Insurance Support – Neutral, OT-informed evaluations for attorneys, insurers, workers’ comp, and life care planners—complete with cost projections, functional needs analyses, and litigation-ready reports.
🔹 Collaborative & Human-Centered – Working side by side with families, builders, and professionals, centering the person, the home, and the story behind each space.
ServinG
Portland, Oregon • Vancouver, Washington • Virtually Nationwide
BOOK A CALL
CALL or TEXT (503) 673-6299
Kelly Nesbitt
OT/L, CAPS, ECHM
Founder • Accessibility Specialist • Occupational Therapist
I’m first generation by way of Ireland and Canada, with roots in Maine, the Pacific Northwest and Austin, Texas. I’m also a lifelong artist and creative, so I’ve always been drawn to how spaces feel, function, and tell the story of the people living in them.
Over the past 18 years, I’ve gutted and remodeled two of my own homes, learning the building process from the inside out and completing much of the work myself. I later stepped into new construction as my own general contractor, managing projects from concept through completion - including hiring and coordinating the timber-frame build for my double-decker tiny house, which also serves as a backyard theater (see photos below).
I then oversaw and completed a private guest-suite home addition. Together, these projects became a home-share, sustainable living setup that supports my life and values, and they deepened my practical understanding of how homes can evolve over time.
In parallel, I’ve spent 25+ years as an Occupational Therapist, working across hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and home settings, with a focus on neurology, geriatrics, and complex care. That blend of clinical experience and real-world remodeling led me to found Adaptable Abodes.
Today, as a CAPS Certified Aging in Place Specialist, I help older adults, people with disabilities, and families create safer, more functional, and future-ready homes by translating health and mobility needs into clear design priorities and workable modification plans, and by collaborating with home access contractors, architects, and care teams to support projects from concept through completion.
Backyard double decker timber frame theater. Before/After.
Certifications
Certified Occupational Therapist in Oregon # 1036721
Certified Occupational Therapist in Washington # 60952325
Executive Certificate in Home Modifications - ECHM
Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist - CAPS
Abides by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) code of ethics
Member Home Modification Occupational Therapy Alliance
Member OT Potential
Member Next Level OT Home and Community Therapist Network
Member Oregon Gerontological Association
Member National Aging in Place Council NAIPC®
Member Aging-in-Place Directory
Member Metropolitan Senior Network
Member Portland Area Rental Owners Association
(Red grab bars in photo by PONTE GUILIO in Italy)
Together we worked on a remodel for a Veteran with the SAH grant (121k)
✨ Let’s create a home that works beautifully - for how you live now and into the future.✨
adaptableabodesllc@gmail.com
SCHEDULE A SERVICE
BOOK A CALL
TEXT ME (503) 673-6299
CALL ME (503) 673-6299
Portfolio
Before / After
Photos of my personal home renovation projects .
The Tower of Power.
New construction (in my backyard), hybrid timber frame, double decker art studio, backyard speakeasy performance space, tiny home, 10-12 footprint, 25ft eave, seasonal plumbing (sink/toilet), electric heaters, mini fridge, ceiling fan, and 50 amp panel. Portland, Maine.
GC/Project manager; Kelly Nesbitt, Designer; Rachel Conly @ Juniper Design, Construction; Greg Gilman & company
IN-LAW SUITE
Personal remodel and new addition construction, 3 room, single level studio, 500 sqft.
GC/Project manager; Kelly Nesbitt, New Addition Designer; Das Chapin Design, Construction; Mark Pendergrass & company
Accessibility Design
"Kelly was instrumental in helping us make design choices when building my mother's casita.
After my father passed, my husband and I decided to transition my limited mobility elderly mother to our home. Soon after, we recognized we needed our own spaces and plans for an ADU to suit her needs quickly began.
Though new building codes already mandated certain ADA accessibility requirements, we quickly recognized that we needed a more customized plan. Kelly gave us a detailed list of design requirements specific to my mother's needs, including: appropriate flooring selections, lighting considerations, floor layouts that would accommodate a future live-in caretaker, specific shower bar adaptations, design layouts that would create clear pathways, AND SO MUCH MORE.
We were able to pass this detailed list on to our architect, who was able to incorporate these accommodations into our final design. We are super grateful for her insight and guidance. Her input saved us thousands of dollars and time in what would be future renovations." - Dee Roberts - 10/2024
(ADU seen in photos, first floor is her mother’s casita apartment)
Speaking Announcement - MARCH 2026 - ORLANDO
Adaptable Abodes, LLC has been invited to be a guest speaker at the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners Conference in Orlando this March.
Our session will explore how emerging smart-home and Age-Tech innovations - from fall detection and fire-safety systems to skin-integrity and cognitive-support technologies - can strengthen both quality of life and defensibility in life care planning.
We’ll also highlight the vital role of Occupational Therapy in providing functional insight, home assessments, and evidence-informed environmental design strategies that support safe, dignified, independent living.
Tickets available now HERE.
Meet Marty.
Company mascot.
Referrals are Appreciated!
Referrals Are Greatly Appreciated!
I’m always looking to connect with:
Elder law attorneys
Case managers & Physicians
Life care planners
Senior service professionals
Architects & Builders & Developers
Complex Rehab Professionals
If you know someone supporting families through home modifications, catastrophic injuries, or long-term care planning, a referral means so much. Together, we can ensure clients have the safety, accessibility, and dignity they deserve.
BOOK A CALL
TEXT ME (503) 673-6299
CALL ME (503) 673-6299
Visit my SHOP to explore medical equipment recommended by Adaptable Abodes, LLC
Why OT?
Types of Contractors
RESOURCES
Remodeling for Home Accessibility
via OT Potential
DSHS Washington State
(Adaptable Abodes does not accept Medicare)
Home Financing for Seniors with Landis Group
Renovation Loans, Retirement Loans, VA Loans and much more
Complex environmental modifications: OT perspective
By Goldhammer, T 2024. Journal of Nurse Life Care Planning. (Requires access through your institution)
AGE TECHNOLOGY
Home Safety & Well-Being Device (founded in Lake Oswego, Oregon) Radar based. No camera. No microphones.
Architechs, Designers, Accessibility OT’s
A model that the Irish are doing.