Thinking Bigger: Making an Accessible Home Out of a Small House

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Thinking Bigger: Making an Accessible Home Out of a Small House

http://www.disaboom.com/Living/accessiblehomearticles/Making-an-Accessible-Home-\

Out-of-a-Small-Space.aspx

Are you a person with a disability living in a small home? Is maneuvering

around your home in a wheelchair more of a challenge than you desire? Are you

finding it hard to get organized and accomplish tasks because things are in the

way or out of reach? Before you give up and move to a new or different home,

consider your options for improving the home you have.

Small homes are a challenge for wheelchair use, but they also give us an

opportunity to think ¡§outside the box.¡¨ If you have a home you like, with

neighbors and a neighborhood that you love, and have your support network

structured around your current location, updating and remodeling may be a great

choice for you. If your home is not paid for, chances are your current mortgage

is more affordable than a new one would be. If your home is paid for, avoiding

a new mortgage may be another incentive for staying put and making your present

house work for you.

Many older homes were built during a time when there were fewer belongings, and

people lived ¡§simpler¡¨ lives. Storage and places for your stuff is often the

biggest issue in conflict with wheelchair clearances and reach ranges. First,

do a thorough inventory of your home¡¦s access features. Then, do an assessment

of your needs. An access specialist can help you with this. When seeking

creative ways to improve your home, or simply use it more efficiently, consider

thinking in terms of ¡§task stations¡¨ and not as traditional rooms or areas.

This will allow you to ¡§multi-area¡¨ spaces ¡Ksimilar to ¡§multi-task,¡¨ but

spatially.

Assuming that entering and exiting the home has already been made accessible;

the following ideas come to mind:

„X Consider arranging doorways to reflect a more accessible traffic pattern and

avoid redundancies and hallways. Lack of visual privacy may be a trade-off, but

could be resolved with an alternative visual barrier such as curtains over the

passageway, etc.

„X Consider removing all furniture that doesn¡¦t have at least two purposes

(three, if you have the guts). Then, rearrange what is left-over to meet your

needs. Keep in mind that your wheelchair moves around with you and a few nice

folding chairs and tables can be tucked away when not in use by your guests. A

living room with only one loveseat or chair is okay.

„X Use wall space with a great deal of thought. Items that ¡§normally¡¨ would

be placed on a counter top or table may be able to be mounted on an adjacent

wall and free up the valuable counter space (e.g.; phones, mail files, clocks,

lamps/lights, shelves for monitors, etc.)

„X Allow areas for bookcases: the top can be a writing surface and the shelves

can store things within reach. A hook could be mounted on the side of the

bookcase to hang your backpack (or purse) for easy access to its contents.

„X Really get a handle on the clothes you wear. Most of us use only one-fourth

of the clothes we own. Eliminate those you don¡¦t (and won¡¦t) use and make

sure your storage for them ¡§makes sense.¡¨ Where do you get dressed? Where do

you wash them? Where do you soil them (and quickly need to change)? Placing

the washer and dryer and clothes storage in the bathroom can be a space saver,

as well as make sense and enable you to be more efficient with your actions.

„X Get realistic about your ¡§culinary art¡¨ of cooking and eating. Have you

used the oven lately, or is the microwave more your style? Consider downsizing

to a counter top or cabinet hung toaster oven and microwave. You may even

remove the full-size oven from the equation totally. Installing a cooktop

instead of a range can allow for knee space and better access to items on the

counter or cabinets above.

„X Install pull-out cutting boards in the kitchen cabinets as well as in other

cabinets throughout the home to provide for more work surfaces for placing and

sorting contents.

„X Consider removing the bathtub and making a roll-in shower so the shower floor

can be used as open floor space to position your wheelchair for a safe transfer

onto the toilet. If the bathroom is really small, consider incorporating either

the toilet or sink (not vanity) in the shower area, but protect the toilet paper

from water spray with a partial wall or some other design feature.

„X Can you remove a wall or two to increase a room¡¦s size without compromising

the basic integrity of the home? The most common change of this nature is a

kitchen/dining remodel, combining these spaces and possibly opening them to a

living room. You may want to consult a professional designer or an architect for

ideas before tackling this.

„X If you also have a basement and/or an upstairs, it is waiting to be used¡KIF

you can get to it. Vertical access provided via wheelchair lifts, elevators, and

stair glides can sometimes double your usable square footage and quickly justify

their expense.

This list is just a sample of the many access features and space ¡§stretching¡¨

ideas when remodeling a home for wheelchair use.

Jane A. Hampton, CID, CAPS is the President and Founder of Accessibility Design,

a Minneapolis, MN based home access design, consultation, and project management

company (est.1992). As a Certified Interior Designer and Certified Aging in

Place Specialist, Jane Hampton was one of the early pioneers in developing the

specialty niche of home access and defining what it is today. She and her

company have captured the essence of Universal Design, Aging in Place, and Home

Access and have helped thousands enhance their lives by refining residential

access and independent living. She is looked to as an expert in the field, as

well as an educator on both a regional and national level.

For more information regarding Jane Hampton and her company Accessibility

Design, please visit www.accessibilitydesign.com