I had the pleasure of connecting with Patrick Young who said, “I use a wheelchair so I wanted to find a wheelchair-accessible home. Finding accessible homes or homes that could be easily and inexpensively remodeled to be accessible was challenging.” I think this is an overlooked topic, so Patrick is this week’s guest blogger. Enjoy!
Living in an accessible home doesn’t have to mean sacrificing style. Today’s homebuilders are eliminating barriers for people from all walks of life while creating attractive homes that anyone would be happy to live in. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer learning about the market (mortgages, down payments, etc.) or a shopper searching for their forever home, these are five barrier-free features to look for in your next home!
Open Floor Plans
Open floor plans are lauded for their ability to bring living spaces together. Gone are the days when the cook is confined to the kitchen. Contemporary homes have embraced open floor plans to better reflect the way families live and entertain today.
There are other benefits to the open floor plan. Open-concept design eliminates the narrow doorways and hallways that impede mobility device users. It also maximizes livable space, so people can enjoy the convenience of a compact home without feeling cramped.
Hardwood Floors
Hardwood is the most popular flooring choice by far, with hardwood floors adding roughly 2.5 percent to a home’s market value. And while hardwood is more costly than other flooring types —homeowners spend $4,531 for hardwood flooring on average — you’ll recoup 70-80 percent of those costs when you sell.
Hardwood is also great for accessibility. Unlike carpet, wood floors don’t create friction or snag mobility devices. That offers easy navigation for seniors and people who use wheelchairs, walkers, and crutches. Installing wood flooring throughout the home also ensures there aren’t changes in flooring to pose a trip hazard.
Zero-Threshold Showers
While bathtubs remain popular in children’s bathrooms, buyers are looking for a little more luxury in the master suite. Enter the curbless shower. With a streamlined look and plenty of space to share, zero-threshold showers add a contemporary feel to today’s bathrooms.
Zero-threshold showers are also great for accessibility. Curbless showers offer extra room for wheelchair users and caregivers and make it easy to blend grab bars and benches into the shower’s design. While you’ll pay a premium to retrofit a bathroom with a zero-threshold shower, builders can incorporate these barrier-free fixtures into new construction at a minimal cost.
Lots of Natural Light
When most people think of accessible homes, their minds go to barriers in the built environment. However, lighting also plays an important role in a home’s accessibility. Good lighting supports people with vision loss, including older adults. By incorporating motion-activated, rocker, and smart switches, lighting choices accommodate a wide range of other disabilities as well.
Good lighting also sells. Good lighting makes homes look bright, clean, and spacious and highlights a house’s architecture and décor. Luckily, builders are catching on and no longer leaving lighting as an afterthought. Today’s homes feature a mix of natural, ambient, and task lighting to create interior spaces that are well-lit and livable.
Built-in Appliances
Built-in appliances are beloved by home cooks for their clean, upscale look. While built-in appliances are more expensive to install and replace, many homeowners find the improvements to design and functionality to be well worth the trade-off.
Built-in appliances offer perks for people with disabilities, too. When ovens and microwaves are mounted at waist-height, they’re easy to operate whether you’re standing or in a wheelchair. Meanwhile, under-counter refrigerator drawers keep ingredients accessible, no reaching required. Unfortunately, some of these appliances come with a steep price tag. Integrated refrigerator drawers, for example, start around $4,000.
For years, homeowners have shied away from accessible design, fearing that a barrier-free home would inevitably have an institutional feel. But as these five features show, that couldn’t be further from the truth. With thoughtful design and carefully selected fixtures, modern homes can be beautiful and livable for everyone.
Image via Unsplash
Patrick Young
Ableusa.info | patrick@ableusa.info
I live in a downstairs apt in Dana Point that is tile throughout ! Makes moving about with my best friend (my walker)😃
,really easy and low maintenance!
BE VERY CAREFUL if you fall, tiles will hurt you much more than hardwood.
My entire house has tile also. Easy to keep clean and much safer than carpet!
We built our home 2 yrs ago with my husband’s future needs in mind. One thing to remember is to build a few feet larger garage in anticipation of an interior wheelchair ramp. We did this, not knowing we would use it 2 yrs later; we actually went with a lift but coudn’t have done either without the extra 3 feet. 🙂
Toni,
I wouldn’t have even thought of that. Thanks for sharing!
We just sold our 2 story, non accessible home because well the market is too good to pass up, we always said this was our 1st home but not our forever home….this was before my PD diagnosis, and we want to build a 1 story, open floor plan and we have talked to a couple builders who discussed all of these ideas for accessible living, except the lighting, but coming from a house of shadows and poor lighting i knew that is a must…..but he didn’t mention the obvious wider halls and doorways in case needed down the road. We think we have found the builder and land in the area we are looking! So excited to custom build our 2nd home…our forever home! Even though we already knew most of these things we will keep the suggestions in mind for our budget!
Shannan,
That is such great news! Congratulations on your new home. Very Exciting!
Thanks fo this. We will be looking into our first home purchase and these are things I have been thinking of. Need to prepare for what might be in the journey.