Easily Incorporate Universal Design Features in Your Home!
Universal Design isn’t just functional - it’s the heart of good design.
My phone doesn’t ring off the hook with people asking me to add grab bars in their showers - and maybe they’re not the prettiest or most exciting design features to pick out, but they can (literally) be life-saving. Many don’t realize it, but they can blend fairly seamlessly into the overall design - just like other Universal Design features like barrier-free entrances (both into the home and a shower), wider doorways (between 32” - 36”), and lever handles (instead of knobs).
I bet you’d never look at the bathroom in the photo above and say, “This must have been designed for a woman with limited mobility due to arthritis”; and that’s exactly the point! There are beautiful ways to design your home with features that can serve every family member regardless of their age, ability, or stage in life - which is exactly why Universal Design, at its core, is really just good design.
Did you know there are easy Universal Design updates you can make without remodeling your entire house? I want to share a few of the most popular features that you can consider for the future or implement today - but you can learn about more (14 to be exact!) in this Better Homes and Gardens article where designers (including yours truly!) share the top picks!
Access and ease of use are key! This kitchen features dishwasher drawers, which are accessible from either a standing or a seated position, and the long cabinet pulls make it easy to reach and grab any of the doors and drawers and open them with minimal effort from just about any position - and you don’t have to remodel your entire kitchen to implement either of these options! If you have knobs on your cabinets, you can switch them out for pulls instead, which require less effort to use, and you could swap out a regular dishwasher for dishwasher drawers if you’re needing to accommodate family members with different needs.
Creating a space where the everyday essentials are easily accessible is ideal! This can mean having appliances in lower or base cabinets, dishes in drawers (rather than in wall cabinets, which can be harder to reach), and spices in a base cabinet pull out. All of these features can be easily accessed by anyone of any size or ability, seated or standing.
Safe and Versatile! This bathroom pictured above was designed to feel like a beach oasis - but the homeowner also wanted to age gracefully in her home - enter Universal Design tips and tricks!
To create an optimal space for wellness, we included layers of lighting with multiple skylights for natural daylight, vanity lighting on motion sensors for safe bathroom entry, and LED lighting on dimmers for ultimate visibility control regardless of the day or time. For a seamless aesthetic, we selected towel bars and grab bars from the same fixture line so they look the same (this helps keep your home feeling like ‘home’ and less like a medical facility!), and yes, you can use the grab bar as a towel bar! We opted for a mobile teak bench (instead of a built-in one) that the homeowner can move around as necessary, whether she wants to sit in the shower or use it to help get in and out of the built-in bathtub. Lastly, we made sure that the doorways (including the shower door!), toilet alcove, and all walkways were a minimum of 36” wide - which not only creates a sense of spaciousness but allows for mobility assistance in the future, should she ever need it.
If you’re looking for more tips and tricks for the rest of your home, please make sure you read and save this HGTV Article so you can plan with your future in mind.
Are you Looking to add Universal Design features to your home but unsure where to start? Let’s work together to help your home evolve with your needs!