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If you’ve ever spent time with me you know that I practically preach residential accessibility and universal design. I admit it, take up conversation with me and if you don’t want to talk about my children, you will eventually hear about toilets, doorways, and ramps. I’m proud of this. I am out to change the world one home at a time and I have been for years. I believe your home affects the quality of your life!
The first home I had some impact on was a home my parents started building in 1982. This was a home they planned to retire in and they also believed that they would be inviting my Father’s Mother to live with them. I was new in my profession as an Occupational Therapist and working in a general out- patient rehab setting, but I knew enough to provide some basic information about wheelchair accessibility and they knew enough to incorporate it into their home design.
Honestly they were more focused on my Grandmother’s needs and the likelihood she would use a wheelchair, but the features they added for her and the thought process they went through, as they thought about her needs and the possibility they might need them too, have turned out to be both useful and wonderful.
Their home was designed to support the way they liked to live of course. My mother is a great cook and the kitchen “is big enough to park a tractor in” according to the builder. The layout she chose incorporates a good work area layout as well as room for a variety of mobility devices. Over the years, she has saved a lot of time and personal energy - she doesn’t have to carry things around while she is cooking. A person using a walker has been able to get in and out of the area. Some changes would need to be made for a cook who uses a wheelchair, but the space to maneuver is already built in. They incorporated a huge sunny, office and craft room for their own pursuits as well as a open dining room and living room for entertaining. I couldn’t tell you how many gatherings both family and community are hosted in their home, because they have both the desire and the space to do it.
However, it was the decision to dedicate square footage to doorways, hallways, and bathrooms that has made the most difference as they experienced care giving for my grandfather who lived with them for a few years and as they have weathered medical issues themselves over the years. These are the things that it is expensive and sometimes difficult to add in later.
They have wider than average hall ways which allow for 3’ doorways and comfortable maneuvering from the hall through doors set to the side. No one has ever had difficulty moving furniture in and out. My Grandfather, who didn’t see well could even negotiate the turns with his walker without running into the door frames too much. The difficulty he had was mostly from his vision and inattention.
The hall/guest bathroom has two locations large enough for a wheelchair to turn around in. This has been helpful for providing space for a caregiver to help a tall man using a walker, not to mention providing a comfortably large guest bathroom for visiting children with their children. They provided room to the side and the front of the toilet which gives room for maneuvering and transfers with a variety of mobility equipment. They chose to make the sink a roll under style and kept a wide enough counter top to provide a place to store commonly used items within reach. I’ve since learned some ways to start with a traditional sink cabinet and then inexpensively transition to a roll under style. The tub/shower is a standard fiberglass model as I didn’t know about any solid wall shower surrounds at the time. This has made it hard to add grab bars inside of the shower unfortunately. Now I have several products I can offer people that will provide more flexibility for aging in place. My parents have used a bath seat and added a hand held shower. Grab bars outside of the tub help with the step in and out over the tub wall. There is room in front of the shower so a rectangular walk in or roll in shower in the same spot as the existing tub/shower can be added if they would ever need it.
The exterior doors have no steps. This isn’t all that unusual for a ranch home in their area of the country, but they took pains to minimize the threshold. The porch is covered which is a universal design feature providing shelter to everyone as they work with keys or wait for someone to come to the door. The foyer inside is wide enough to provide room at the latch side of the door so that a person can stand to one side of the door and let it swing open past them. This is convenient for anyone, but critically important for a person with balance issues or a person using mobility equipment such as a wheelchair or walker.
My parent’s home is lovely and I love going home because they are there. I love that it has been a place where they have lived for over 30 years without having to worry when they needed to have my Grandfather join them for a few years and where they don’t have to worry themselves about barriers that would get in their way as they continue to live there. I am happy and I know that they are too, that they planned ahead for access when they built the house.
