Accessible Interior Design
Why Is Accessible Interior Design Important?
Accessible Interior Design is a subject that I’m happily hearing discussed more and more. Often when we talk about good interior design, we stress the importance of having a home that’s not only beautiful but is also functional. Families often express the need for plenty of storage. Professionals working from home may highlight the importance of multifunctional spaces and furniture that adapts from the working day to relaxing time.
What, however if you or your loved ones needs stretch to more specific requirements? With around 22% of the UK living with a disability. It is so important that our homes support us with any additional needs and make our homes easier and more enjoyable to live in. Now creating homes that are more accessible is nothing new. What I think is often missing is how to make those adaptions, whilst creating a home that is personal, unique and beautiful.
Our Recent Project.
One of our projects in 2019 and 2020 was to renovate a family home with a husband who lives with the daily challenges of having Parkison with dementia. The design was incredibly important, as it needed to support his mobility and improve the ease he could move around the house. It also needed to be an inspiring, uplifting home for all the family.
With many of us buying homes that will see us into our latter years. If you are considering a major renovation then some of these suggestions maybe worth considering.
How do you create a home that adapts to your special needs but still looks and feels incredible? Here are our top tips for creating homes with beautiful, accessible interior design.
The Major Renovation
If you are building a new build or doing a major renovation, then here are some important design factors to implement. Space is the name of the game, so layouts with enough moveability are essential.
Wide doorways really ease the flow between spaces. They are a must for wheel chair users but also incredibly helpful for anyone manoeuvering from one space to another. Whilst we’re talking about doorways, the sliding door is another top tip and even better make them automated. Swings doors are tricky to operate and also take up much needed space. Alternatively by hiding the door (sliding it into the wall), it improves it’s useability and provides extra turning space. Aesthetically the sliding door does produce an opportunity to add a real design impact. Sliding barn doors are a great alternative and can look incredible. The texture and wooden grain adds warmth and character and is a real wow factor!
Flooring choices also need to be considered. If you are looking for wheel chair suitability, then hardwood flooring is a great choice. Maybe you need non slip flooring that is hardwearing but flat. Using the same flooring throughout a floor of a home, keeps the ground consisitent for wheels or feet but also increases the sense of space. It is also important that all the floor is on one level, with no thresholds to trip or get stuck on. Whichever floor you choose for your needs, aesthtically this is an opportunity to make it user friendly and have a design impact. There are incredibly beautiful hard floor options in all types of wood. Alternatively with companies such as Amtico and Karndean taking lino flooring to another level, design choices are amazing and very hardwearing.
Top Tips for Accessible Kitchens
Layout is so important in this space. If you are a keen cook then appliances that are at the right height and in the right order for your needs is vital.
Different height worktops allow flexibilty. Whether you’re a wheel chair user or you would just like to sit down to chop your veg. This option can really meet your needs. With mouldable worktops such as Corian, this can also be a beautiful feature with a smooth, flowing surface, which is also incredibly hygenic and feels amazing to touch.
There is no reason why this space needs to be just functional. Cabinets can be beautiful and useable and back splashes present a brilliant opportunity to stamp your style.
Top Tips For Accessible Bathrooms
In many ways the bathroom can provide the biggest challenge. For our recent client this was a tight space so moveability was restricted and it needed to support our client in many ways.
Grab rails, non slip floors, extra seating next to baths or in showers are some of the many additions that this room may need. As there are often many additions needed in this space, it can feel utilitarian rather than a calmer space to enjoy. There are some simple changes that can still make this space visually special. Grab rails are incredibly useful in this space but by changing them from white to chrome it instantly makes the bathroom look more sophisticated.
Non slip flooring is necessary really for everyone. There are so many options in different colours and patterns. Just because it needs to be practical doesn’t mean it can’t still make a design impact. Extra seating, this is where if you use clever design it can be useful in many ways and blend into the rest of the space. For our recent bathroom project, we designed a seat so our client could sit to swing in and out of the bath, but we also used it for further storage and tiled the sides with the beautiful opal wall tiles so that it blended in with the rest of the walls.
Which brings me to the walls, no matter what is going into the rest of the space, your wall tiles provide an enormous opportunity for distraction. Whatever you do, do not cover them in some beige, uninspiring, boring tile. Use colour, texture and pattern to distract the eye and make the room look fabulous. Our clients had a wetroom installed by their local authority and they only had a few options of non-slip lino flooring. To distract from the drabness of the space we sourced some funky, crazy wall tiles. Now when you enter the wetroom you don’t see all the adaptations, just these incredibly flamboyant tiles.
Top Tips For Accessible Living Rooms
Space is key for this room again. Central coffee tables will hinder the way you move around the space, instead opt for side tables. This way you can position them next to any seating for easy reach.
My client needed a special recliner chair to help him get up and down. The problem was that a lot of these chairs are pretty uninspiring. We actually opted to have his reupholstered in a fabric that matched the blue velvet sofa. You could choose something impactful and fabulous. I have also found a brilliant company called Devon Disability Collective, who offer a wide selection of chairs in different finishes.
General Design Advice
The design advice for any of these spaces is plan the spaces carefully. Really thinking about the right layout for everyone who uses the space. Get professional advice as to what adaptions would be helpful to make your home as usuable as possible. Then think creatively as to how to make those adaptions look as amazing as possible. Highlight your additions where possible. With elements such as mouldable work surfaces and sliding doors and disguise where needed with highlighting other features such as strong wall décor ie. wall papers, tiles etc, fabric choices and accessories.
This was such a special project for us to work on. We would love to help more families with additional needs. If you would benefit or you know anyone else who would benefit from our design expertise then please get in touch.