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KELLY NESBITT
Artistry / Design / Consulting
Adaptable Abodes, LLC
Home Accessibility • Aging in Place • Design Consulting
Adaptable Abodes helps older adults, families, and people with disabilities live safely, comfortably, and independently at home. Whether you’re planning ahead, facing a new diagnosis, or adapting after a life change, we make sure your home grows with you — not against you.
We also partner with attorneys, insurers, and life care planners to provide OT-informed assessments, home modification cost projections, and litigation-ready documentation for complex and catastrophic cases.
We provide expert guidance in:
Home Safety Assessments & Accessibility Design
Aging-in-Place Consulting
Home Modifications & Medical Equipment
Contractor Vetting & Remodel Planning
Homeowner Advocacy & Project Coordination
Smart Age-Tech & Fall Prevention
Serving:
Portland, Oregon / Vancouver, Washington / Virtually nationwide
BOOK A CALL
Kelly Nesbitt
OT/L, CAPS, ECHM
Founder • Accessibility Specialist • Occupational Therapist
I’m a certified Occupational Therapist with 25+ years of hands-on experience in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and home settings - plus nearly two decades of remodeling experience. I founded Adaptable Abodes to bridge clinical insight with real-world design.
Additional Credentials:
What I Do
I help clients and families navigate major home modifications - including remodels, additions, multigenerational housing, and complex or catastrophic medical cases.
As a private-pay consultant (not Medicare), I provide OT-informed assessments, design guidance, and project coordination. Services are often funded through VA grants, Medicaid waivers, long-term care benefits, insurance settlements, life care planning, or guardianship cases. (See RATES page for details.)
What Sets My Work Apart
🔹 Complex Medical Knowledge – Experienced with Parkinson’s, ALS, MS, dementia, stroke, SCI, TBI, and other complex conditions. I translate medical needs into safe, functional, and empowering home solutions that also support caregivers.
🔹 Architectural Collaboration – I partner with architects and designers to review floor plans, flag accessibility concerns, and recommend practical solutions that prevent costly redesigns.
🔹 Legal & Insurance Support – I provide neutral, OT-informed assessments for attorneys, insurers, workers’ comp, and life care planners — including cost projections, functional needs analyses, and litigation-ready reports.
🔹 Collaborative & Human-Centered – I work side by side with families, builders, and professionals, centering the person, the home, and the story behind each space.
✨ Let’s create a home that works beautifully - for how you live now and into the future.
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 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)
Portfolio
&
Reviews
Before / After
Photos of renovation projects
The Tower of Power.
New construction, 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
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)
Meet Marty.
Company mascot.
Referrals are Appreciated!
Referrals Are Greatly Appreciated!
I’m always looking to connect with:
Elder law attorneys
Case managers
Life care planners
Senior service professionals
Architects & Builders
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.
RESOURCES & EDUCATION
Age-Tech Home Safety Device
Building your Accessibility Design Team
Residential Architects and Accessibility Consultants: Collaboration for Designing an Accessible Home
Complex environmental modifications: An Occupational Therapy Perspective.
By Goldhammer, T 2024. Journal of Nurse Life Care Planning.
LISTEN TO THE “ON POINT” RADIO EPISODE ABOUT BOOMMATES
High housing costs are pushing more Americans to find roommates, including baby boomers and empty nesters. We take a look at the growing trend of intergenerational living and ask could ‘boommates’ help ease the housing crisis?
Learn about AVA HOUSING (HOUSE SPLITTING)
This is an innovative Home Share model in Dublin, Ireland. They provide access to grants, project management and support services to older homeowners who wish to adapt their home to provide space for a rental capacity upstairs.
Note:
Please note that this page is under construction and will be more accessible and user friendly. I encourage you to return for updates!