The Dream Ranch

Leibrock and her husband, Frank, a civil engineer, moved around—13 times to be exact—before 1994.

By then, her husband was planning on retiring, “and we wanted a place that was our dream location,” she said. “We saved for 25 years and lived within our means until we could get exactly what we wanted.”

That year, they found Green Mountain Ranch, a 4,000-square-foot home on 40 acres in Livermore, Colorado, northwest of Fort Collins. It had the aspens, the lake, the views, and a “green” design. “But I didn’t like the look of it,” she said of its ’80s style. And it was completely inaccessible to wheelchair users. “I always wanted to remodel it.” But as a perfectionist, “I knew that once I got into it, it would be a killer job.”

Remodeling began in 2004, with the goal of creating “a show house to educate people—to show that universal design is something you really want, as opposed to something you have to do.” There are 250 universal design features in the house “and climbing,” she said, “and 100 of those cost less than $50.” Because part of her career has been to critique products and advise manufacturers, some of these products were donated.

Though the ranch remains a work in progress, the main remodeling was completed in September 2008, and she began offering free monthly tours of the home. (Readers interested in a tour can write her at cynthia@agingbeautifully.org.)