Kelly Nesbitt, OTR/L, CAPS | Founder of Adaptable Abodes

Meet the Founder

Accessibility Consultant & Occupational Therapist

Kelly Nesbitt believes a well-designed home should do more than accommodate change. It should protect how a person wants to live.

Kelly is the founder of Adaptable Abodes, a home accessibility consulting practice serving Oregon, Washington, and clients virtually nationwide. Her work bridges healthcare, housing, and design, translating health, mobility, and aging needs into practical, person-centered home solutions.

Her approach is informed by 27 years as an Occupational Therapist specializing in neurology, geriatrics, rehabilitation, complex medical care, and home settings. That experience taught her to consider both the person and the floor plan: how someone moves, what matters to them, and how the environment can support safety, dignity, and everyday life.

Kelly collaborates with individuals, families, care partners, contractors, architects, attorneys, financial planners, and healthcare professionals on home modifications, remodeling strategy, equipment needs, and long-term planning. She has particular expertise in progressive neurological conditions and changing abilities.

As a Solo Ager, Kelly is also personally invested in creative housing solutions that increase choice, connection, and flexibility. She is passionate about home sharing, thoughtfully dividing homes into flexible living spaces, multigenerational living, and small-footprint additions.

Over the past 19 years, she has remodeled two personal homes, created a shared multigenerational living environment, and served as her own general contractor on a timber-frame tiny house and guest-suite addition.

First generation, raised in New England in a family of artists, designers, and makers, Kelly brings creativity, Yankee ingenuity, and hands-on building experience to her work. Her background as a performance artist and red-nose clown also taught her the value of curiosity, humor, and calm when navigating vulnerable moments.

At the heart of Kelly’s work is a simple goal: helping people remain rooted in the places they love, with greater safety, possibility, and choice.

Credentials and Professional Leadership

OTR/L: Occupational Therapist with 27 years of experience and active licensure in Oregon and Washington. This clinical background informs Kelly’s accessibility and design consulting.
Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS): Specialized training through the National Association of Home Builders in aging-in-place design and remodeling.
Executive Certificate in Home Modification (ECHM): Advanced home modification education through the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.
Co-Chair: National Aging in Place Council - Northwest Chapter.

Adaptable Abodes provides preventative, non-medical, grant funded and private-pay consulting and carries professional and general liability insurance nationwide.

Read about Kelly in The Columbian newspaper: