Life, Styled
Accessible and Universal Homes are sweeping the home design industry! People are catching on to the IMMENSE VALUE of a home designed to make life easier. With all the challenges that life brings, the way you live in your home doesn’t have to be one. The techniques of Accessible and Universal Design can create greater ease and comfort right into your daily life before potential challenges become an issue.
Jenny Pippin of Pippin Home Designs learned the value of these remarkable forms of design firsthand while beginning her career in the 80s. In a nearly fatal car accident, Jenny’s back was broken, and she required a whole body cast for four months. She quickly learned her home did not accommodate a person with physical disabilities. Her bedroom required passage through a narrow hallway with a sharp 90-degree turn, which prevented a stretcher from gaining access to her bed. She was forced to rent a hospital bed and place it in the living room. Once she healed from the body cast, she found her kitchen cabinets were too high to reach without pain, bending over to unload the dishwasher was a struggle, and her bathroom was too tricky to navigate while wearing a back brace.
This experience inspired her to incorporate accessibility into each of her home designs, finding creative and beautiful solutions to potential future challenges and inevitable life changes.
Physical abilities can shift abruptly, as in the case of Jenny’s accident, but they also shift gradually in the continuous process of aging.
Things to consider for your home when planning for the future:
- Are you planning to retire and age in place in your home?
- Will your home still function for you when you retire?
- What if you suddenly require a wheelchair, crutches, walker, or body cast?
- What if one of your loved ones experiences any of these challenges?
- Will they be able to visit you?
What is Accessible Design?
Accessibility in home design is a term coined in 1990 with the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessible Design intends to meet the functional limitations of people with disabilities and other physical challenges, be they short-term or permanent.
Statistics on the disabled:
Data collected in 2018 by the CDC showed that 61 million adults in the United States live with some form of disability. That’s 26% of the population or 1 in 4 adults. Another statistic shows that 2.8 million kids aged 5-15 also have a disability. What these numbers show is the likelihood that we are all living with the need to accommodate someone with limitations in life.
What is Universal Design?
Universal Design is a broader concept using techniques that take into consideration EVERY possible challenge and limitation in life. A Universal Home is designed with spaces and products that are readily usable by all people; healthy and ill, able-bodied and physically challenged, young and old, tall and short, male, female, and everything in between.
Universal Design is inclusive design!
Regardless of individual abilities or circumstances, Universal Design empowers homeowners and their visitors to carry out routine household activities with ease and without the need for adaptation.
Concepts of Accessible and Universal Design:
Equitable Use:
These homes consider people with diverse abilities. They are designed to be accessible, appealing, and accommodating of all people at all ages.
Intuitive Appliances:
Intuitive and straightforward appliances include right- and left-handed usability, easy-to-use fixtures, low physical effort required for operation, minimized hazards, appropriate space for approach and use, and located at proper heights for the intended users.
Solutions to Aging:
Design solutions to many common aging challenges can extend your quality of life far into the future.
Visitability:
Design plays a big role in how comfortable others feel in your home. Homeowners may not initially believe their home needs to be accessible; however, visiting family and friends with additional needs should be considered.
Beauty and Function Unite
A functional home is a beautiful home. Skilled Residential Design Specialists and Interior Designers can create stunningly gorgeous accessible homes that enhance aesthetics with intelligent design.
There are countless creative aspects to Accessible and Universal Design. The following are a few of the most popular:
Modified Appliances
Simple modifications to appliances can turn a mediocre kitchen into a showpiece. Cooktops with front-mounted controls eliminate the need to reach over a hot burner to adjust the heat. Raised dishwashers, washers, or dryers minimize the need to bend over. Refrigerators, freezers, and dishwashers with drawers, as opposed to traditional doors, provide easier access to the items inside.
Modified Cabinets
Drawers, as opposed to traditional cabinets, eliminate the need to bend down and dig through to find items. Touch latch cabinets are easy to open without the need for grasping.
Kitchen Countertop Adjustments
Modifications to countertop heights, making them slightly taller or lower to accommodate the height of inhabitants, is a simple adjustment that significantly enhances the usability of a kitchen. A seated prep work area in the kitchen can provide comfort for anyone who doesn’t want to be on their feet for long periods while cooking. Rounded corners and countertops reduce the incidence of bumps and bruises.
Bathroom Shower Modifications
Curbless showers eliminate the need to step over a threshold, making wheelchair or walker accessibility beautiful and straightforward. Single shower handle valves are easy to turn on and adjust the temperature. Shower and bathtub valves can be intentionally designed at heights appropriate for the specific occupants of the home.
Bathroom Sink Modifications
A roll under sink that can be accented with cabinet doors is a beautiful and functional option for making a bathroom wheelchair accessible. Raised vanities reduce the amount of bending necessary to use the sink. Wall-mounted vanities open up more floor space and can also be more accessible for people with wheelchairs.
Cost of Accessibility
Accessible and Universal homes are NOT necessarily more expensive than standard homes; they’re just smarter! Many elements are simply about placement or product selection. Incorporating these forms of intelligent design increases the value of your home and offers long-term cost savings.
Incorporating elements of ease into the plans for your home before it’s built is the best option for long-term comfort and usability. However, if you’re renovating your current home into your forever home, working with a skilled and forward-thinking designer can help you make wise decisions for the best ways to ease into your long-term homelife.
Greenbrook DesignColor matters. It is a part of how we tell our story, especially within our homes. In the last few years, homeowners have ventured off the traditional path of neutrals, such as white, gray, and beige, to bring in pops of bold hues like red, green, and even blue. As the demand for brighter colors increases, both manufacturers and designers have risen to the occasion by creating and incorporating a more diverse color palette for their clients. Traditional products, such as tile, furniture, flooring, cabinets, and even glass, come in a wider selection of bold colors, which provide homeowners with the opportunity to blend a variety of bold colors and neutral colors together in a stunning final design. Although color is a fun element in the world of interiors, it can be challenging to determine the right amount and the various ways it can be incorporated into the home to create the perfect balance for everyone to enjoy.
Walker WoodworkingHome is a reflection of you, and one of the best ways to do that is through color. Color is more than a collection of tints and shades; it has more impact on our mood than anything else and can influence the look of our home more than we realize. Color psychology has been studied for decades, with recent findings revealing just how powerful color truly is in the home. Size and style can change by simply selecting different colors for your furniture, accent pieces, or wall color. As color plays such a vital role in the atmosphere and presentation of the home, it can feel a little overwhelming or even intimidating to make color choices. We have compiled a list of 15 simple ways you can add color to your home.
There are many elements that contribute to creating a welcoming home, including color, patterns, decorative pieces, and furniture. All of this comes together to paint an inviting space where guests leave feeling like family. Sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start or what pieces work best together to create the perfect look. Let’s talk about five ways to create a welcoming atmosphere in your home.
Walker Woodworking Does your home need some renovations to bring it back up to speed for your specific lifestyle? Are you ready to transform certain areas into a more functional and purposeful space? Our experienced design team has assisted hundreds of clients in creating new areas that function exactly as they need. How can we help you prioritize your needs through design? Let us help you find the areas of priority in your home!
Greenbrook DesignAt the heart of any design work is the chance to tell a story—the story of those who live there. Our home is at the core of who we are. It is our grounding, the place we can truly let our hair down and be ourselves. It’s where memories are not just made, but remembered and passed down to the next generation. Homes are meant to be special—a symbol to all who enter of what truly matters to us. That’s why the design choices we make should be influenced by who we are, where we came from, and how our unique experiences shape us. Across the world, people’s design choices are deeply rooted in culture. But in today’s ever-connected world, we’re also seeing a beautiful blending of cultures—where traditional elements mix with modern influences, and regional styles merge to reflect global inspirations.
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