Ireland's population is ageing at more than twice the EU average rate, yet over 80% of older adults live in privately-owned homes that public policy has largely failed to address. This paper presents findings from an MPhil research study examining how older homeowners in suburban Dublin can be empowered to adapt and re-use their existing homes — to metamorphose them — to meet their evolving needs, in line with Ireland's stated ageing-in-place policy.

Central to the paper is an evaluation of the Ava Housing model, a pilot scheme supported under Ireland's Housing for All strategy for innovative housing redesign for older persons. The Ava model reconfigures family-sized, suburban homes so that the homeowner relocates to a self-contained ground-floor living unit while creating a rental unit on the upper floor. This "downsizing-in-situ" approach enables older homeowners to remain in their home and community, reduce maintenance burdens, generate rental income, and gain companionship — without displacement.

Drawing on mixed-methods research including cross-sectoral policy analysis and semi-structured interviews with older homeowners — including a participant in the Ava pilot — the paper argues that Ireland's housing policy remains constrained by a "right-sizing" narrative that ignores the deep emotional, financial, and place-based attachments of older persons to their homes. Structural barriers including fragmented grant eligibility, absent financing mechanisms, and inadequate advisory support undermine agency, particularly for low-income homeowners.

The paper's contribution is to demonstrate how a replicable, scalable adaptation model, grounded in lived experience, can reframe planning and housing policy debates — moving from passive care narratives towards enabling genuine choice and dignity in later life.