Skip to main content

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 


--- 


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! 






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All About Green!

 Bright white and moody colors will likely never go out of style but we are seeing more and more mid-tones come back on trend (last time mid-tones were cool were probably around 2000 when Pottery Barn was THE word).  One of the ones I am seeing most often is a gray-green. Its a friendly color that pairs well with more modern tones (think the grays, blacks and whites we have been seeing) but warms nicely with wood tones and natural materials.  Apparently SW sees this too as their color of the year (and the month of Jan) is Evergreen Fog.  Want to see some of the best ways to use it?  Loving these cabinets in green!  Again, working well hear with both bronze/black and earth tones  Love this more traditional-eclectic look. Looks much more saturated in a dark space!  But also a great pairing for a mid-century boho look  Great combo color - bold but not overly so. Here looking more truly green against the dark blue Whatever your style, this is ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Those pesky extra rooms...

Ok, its a pretty first-world problem, but there plenty of people who live in suburbia (or even in the city!) who have a room or two that they just don't use. Often, its a formal dining room or extra bedroom, but if you are the owner of such a room, you may wonder why you are paying for so much unused space! Today, I'm walking through some of the best uses of dead space in your house and how to make it you new favorite room! The Formal Dining Room This is the most commonly "complained-about" space in the suburban home. While we still like to entertain, a lot of people aren't crazy about a whole, extra, (often large) room thats only used on a handful of occasions throughout the year. Unless you have family dinners there, this is likely a space that you are taxed on & heating that sits vacant 350 days of the year. One of my personal favorite ways to reuse this room is to use it as a craft/workspace. The room can keep a large dining table and chairs that ...
1 comment
Read more