It’s an exciting feat to settle in your forever home – a place you know will serve as a staple in your life through many phases. If you’re facing a design project, it’s important to consider design integrations that will help the home serve you in all phases. A built-in entertainment system may serve you today, but considerations for mobility and accessibility are great to have well in advance before they become a need.
We recently renovated a collection of bathrooms in our clients’ home, and we incorporated subtle elements to make life all the more accessible for our clients as they grew alongside their home.
Here’s what we did.
Roll-In Shower
The traditional design for showers – especially showers that combine with a tub – are less than accessible for anyone with a mobility limitation. In this home, we designed the shower with an oversized opening so a shower chair or walker could easily fit inside. It’s a “roll-in” design, meaning there is no ledge or lip to pose a potential hazard when entering and exiting.
Support Systems
While planning a stunning tile transformation to give our client’s home a modern makeover, we went ahead and added a stylish grab bar inside the shower to serve as extra support whenever needed. Gone are the days when these additions were bulky and unsightly – now, handles and grab bars can beautifully integrate with other hardware to create an appealing and oh-so functional look.
Why Consider?
The ADA Standards for Accessible Design outline requirements for new buildings and major renovations to ensure accessibility for all individuals, regardless of ability. But beyond code compliance, incorporating universal design features like curb-free showers, reinforced walls for future grab bars, and wider doorways can make a home more livable and welcoming for everyone – from young children to aging adults (or one of life’s little accidents that require mobility support).
Planning ahead not only makes good design sense, it makes your home more inclusive for the long haul. And, in a case like this one, we were able to carefully plan and select details that seamlessly integrated in the design well in advance of when these things were needed.
Want to chat through ways we can integrate accessible design in your project? Connect with us here.