Accessible Beauty
This project involves a house previously donated for use by three developmentally challenged girls but the bathroom did not quite fit their needs. Caretakers reside in the basement and the three girls live on the main level of the ranch style home. The primary challenge was a combination of creating a bathroom that was much more convenient and accessible and yet offered a combination of materials and finishes that resulted in a beautiful and uplifting space for its inhabitants.
As more individuals live longer and families want to care for special needs individuals at home, there is a growing need for interior designers to create spaces that accommodate these situations. Jeane Dole, Principal and Owner of à la carte DESIGN, sought out training in addition to her degree as a designer, to obtain her CAPS (Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist) certification. Both her degree and her CAPS training gave her valuable knowledge and skills related to Universal Design. Universal Design is the concept of accommodating many of the special needs of individuals, without making it obvious. The selection of materials and finishes is very important to achieving this goal.
Elements/challenges of existing space include:
- Three girls with varying physical challenges (one in a wheelchair and another who will be in the next couple of years) who need an accessible bathroom
- Tub/shower combination that was inaccessible to caregivers and the physically challenged
- Narrow doorway that did not accommodate wheelchair access
- Inability for a wheelchair to roll under the vanity to use the lavatory sink
- Poor turning radius within bathroom
- Poor storage/accessibility of necessary health products
- Older, less efficient toilet
- 1970s mish/mash of colors and materials (harvest gold, dark wood mixed with painted wood)
Solutions:
- Repositioned hall linen closet to within bathroom, to allow for the installation of a 36” wide pocked door
- Replaced tub/shower combination with roll-in shower that’s accessible to all the tenants and their caregivers
- Opened vanity area below sink to allow wheelchair access
- Significantly increased turning radius in bathroom
- Storage options/efficiency significantly increased and improved
- New toilet is much more efficient in its water usage
- New color scheme looks clean, fresh and playful (right down to the hand-painted flowers on the walls)
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