5 min readOne of the hottest topics in the residential wellness space right now is longevity. Homeowners want to find ways to live better in their houses for as long as possible. While that sometimes looks like installing salt rooms and at-home saunas, it usually involves designing a space with aging in mind. Being able to remain in a place you once imagined as your forever home, even as your physical needs evolve over time, is not just a matter of wellness—it’s also about accessibility.
However, a big misconception about accessible design is that it isn’t aesthetically pleasing. It’s commonly associated with commercial spaces or when an accessible feature has only been added as an afterthought.
“For the most part, no one has been treating accessible design from a design-forward approach,” says Maegan Blau, the founder of Blue Copper Design, a full-service firm based in Arizona that specializes in accessibility. “It's always retrofitted or modified or is just this weird subculture that people are uncomfortable with, and I think that's translated into design.”
Thankfully, the tide is turning, and good accessible design can be integrated into the home in a thoughtful, streamlined way. Blau calls this “quiet accessibility,” and she thinks you should be integrating these design choices into your home now, even if you don’t currently need them.
Why You Should Be Thinking About Accessible Design
Blau, who uses a wheelchair, didn’t consider becoming an interior designer with an emphasis on accessibility until she realized that the industry lacked the perspective of someone like her. While attending school and searching for an off-campus apartment, she found that the accessible ones available came with two-year waiting lists. She ended up buying a home in her college town with her then-boyfriend (now husband) and renovated it to suit her needs, falling in love with design in the process.
Blau was born with the ability to use her legs, but she experienced an event in her teens that led to her needing to use a wheelchair. “Being disabled is the one minority group that anyone can become a part of at any time, and that was my personal story,” she says. And that’s exactly why she believes in designing with quiet accessibility in mind: you never know what’s going to happen.
“I'm not trying to fearmonger and be like, ‘Everyone needs to think about this right now and make the changes today,’” Blau adds. “But if you're already going to be buying or you're undergoing a renovation soon and you don't have any immediate accessibility needs, I would still think about adding a few simple things so that you're not having to go through that process again when you need it.”
Even if you remain fairly able-bodied your entire life, age and old injuries may take a toll on your mobility. “I always say, ‘I would rather have it and not need it, instead of need it and not have it’ when it comes to accessibility,” Blau says. “By the time you're needing those accessible features in your home, it's already too late.”
Misconceptions About Accessible Design
Some common misconceptions about accessibility add to its lack of representation in the interior design industry. As mentioned before, the biggest assumption is that accessible design is ugly or looks out of place. But as Blau explains, that’s only because it’s looked at as an afterthought in most cases.
“I put just as much importance on the aesthetic as I do the accessibility,” she adds. No interior designer would eschew form over function in a kitchen or a bathroom; they would make sure those spaces are both beautiful and functional—the two concepts aren’t mutually exclusive. “I am bringing that same approach to accessibility, which I just felt like was lacking in the design industry,” Blau says.
Another misconception is that accessible design is too expensive to add if you don’t need it. And while Blau isn’t saying that this is untrue, it usually applies when accessible features are added after a house is already built. If one were to design their home in an accessible way when it was first being built, or if a renovation were already in the works, then these features wouldn’t add much more to the price tag.
Accessible Features You Can Implement Now
Blau has some accessibility minimums that she thinks everyone should be implementing in their next renovation or build. Just because you might not need features like a curbless entrance or an extra-wide hallway now doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from them in the future.
Accessible Entrances
At least one entrance to your home should be accessible. A simple ramp or a curbless entry will make it easier for wheelchair users, people with walkers, or those who simply struggle going up and down steps to enter your home. Even if you don’t need it, you never know who might.
Curbless Showers and Grab Bars
A curbless shower is helpful for the same reason an accessible entrance is: anyone who might not be as comfortable lifting their legs and keeping balance will benefit from a zero-entry shower.
While you might not want a grab bar in your bathroom right now, it’s good to at least put in the mechanisms to add them in the future. Grab bars require studs, so putting the wood behind the walls in your shower or next to your toilet to begin with can save you some hassle later on.
Interior Door Minimums
Blau recommends installing wide doorways, with a minimum width of 32 inches, though 36 would be preferred. “I think with a lot of new build homes, especially, we're building at such a scale that the 36-inch door would actually look proportionate,” she adds.
Hallway Minimums
Blau recommends that hallways be at least 48 inches wide. This will make it easier for people who are wheelchair-bound and those who use walkers to turn around freely without bumping into the walls.
Hard Flooring
Sorry, wall-to-wall carpet lovers, but hard flooring all around is much more accessible for those with mobility devices. Carpet and rugs tend to slow down or snag wheels.
Low Prep Areas
A lowered prep area in the kitchen is the ideal setup for an accessible home, though Blau says a 36-inch high countertop can also work. “As long as there's a lower prep area, like a 32-inch countertop somewhere—that could even be a really close dining table—that could suffice.” With new kitchen innovations, a height-adjustable countertop might even be an option, too.
In the same vein, Blau loves roll-under counters in the kitchen (and bathroom). And if you don’t want a roll-under counter now, you could always leave an option for one by choosing lower cabinetry that can easily be taken out if needed.
If you’d like to learn more about the accessible features you can add in your home, you can check out Blau’s barrier-free design guide on her website.
