Accessibility in Good Design

I've been impressed lately with some of amount of accessible design features I've seen around as of late. By "accessible design", I mean home decor, renovations and design that is accessible to those with a physical impairment or disability.

First I noticed that back in March, Better Homes and Gardens did a great feature on a home designed with a wheelchaired child in mind.

Yes, it was a rancher and mid-century modern in design so it leant itself to move open-flow and clean line design. But even if this isn't your style, there were some great ideas here!

Check it out here

Then I saw Southern Living did a great home build with "adaptive design" in mind. This was a great feature because it reviewed new construction and slight changes in thinking to make just a welcoming, easy access home for all guests.

As noted in the article,

"If you’re going to be a good host, particularly from the Southern point of view, where we’re all about hospitality, you want anyone to feel welcome there, and you want people to be able to access the house and get around. It’s just a good idea to try to make homes more inviting and more accommodating..."

Check out the house and article here

And with that in mind, I noticed Pottery Barn recently put out a new line of adapted decor and furniture.

In particular, this line has a lot of ADA compliant items you'd be hard pressed to find at the average retailer, and of course, with good-design in mind.

Check out the full line here

And while this was published two years ago, I thought this was a great article on a wonderful Frank Lloyd Wright house that is utilized by an owner in a wheelchair

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The renewed focus certainly is partly fueled by the aging Baby Boomer generation and their higher desire to "age in place" or at least move towards homes with greater accessibility, as opposed to focusing on nursing homes or stair lifts.

I see more and more 55+ communities being built and a great demand for first-floor living resales. As builders continue to build, we may see more and more focus on "adaptive design" that makes it easy to age in place, care for aging parents or allow for great flexibility for those with physical disabilities.

And as most of these homes show, great design isn't sacrificed by these concepts.

Hopefully we see more of it!

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