It's not just about wider halls and doors.
It’s about liberally sized bathrooms and closets, multi height kitchen counter tops, zero-step entries, large laundry and utility rooms, planning for wheelchair ramps or personal elevators, large covered verandas at ground level with optional raised planters for people with a green thumb. And this just scratches the surface of a truly Universal Designed home.
No details are left out.
From climate and environment, building codes, space planning and room usability. To ensure quality usage of all spaces, each design undergoes a careful study of the usage and efficiency of its square footage. High traffic areas, entry and egress points, natural light spaces, and windows are some of the details that are studied to name a few. All areas are clearly scrutinized when designing and planning your new home.
The Exterior.
It may not be a room, but it is as important as any room inside the home. For people living in the home that may develop disability issues, or have family and friends that already have or again may develop disability issues.
If you are fortunate to own or buy a flat lot, great! For all others you may need to build up your lot with either reinforced concrete walls or decorative retaining blocks.
Ideally a perfect barrier free designed home plan, shouldhave a 16' area extending around the whole home with just enough slope for proper drainage.
But the most important areas are from the driveway to the front entrance and the exterior of any rear patios or outdoor entertaing areas.
When considering the perimeter of your home, it's not just for today but designing for tomorrows's needs.
Grade level, no-step, no-trip access is a logical feature of a Barrier Free home plan. Parking spaces should be wide and connected to a firm, hazard-free path leading to the entrance of the house. Unhindered access allows for easy mobility whether using a wheelchair or having limited mobility. There should be a covered space outside the door for shelter, a minimum threshold to the home and non-slip flooring on the inside of the home. Entrances should be designed with security in mind. Adequate lighting and strong, easy-to-operate lever locks and latches are chief considerations. An adaptable design might be pre-wired for an intercom or closed circuit TV monitor to improve entranceway security.
The rear outdoor living areas have a no step exit from the porch to the raised planters and backyard as well as no step double doors into the home. Raised planters have become the rave, not just thinking about tomorrow's needs but they retain moisture better, fewer insects and are easier to keep fertilizer in a confined area.
The Interior
The universal design elements incorporated into these plans should afford homeowners the opportunity to remain active and healthy in their own homes long into their senior years. The home plans we design have been specially designed to accommodate people of all ages, genders, sizes and physical abilities. Wide doors and hallways, generously sized bathrooms, staggered height kitchen counter tops, no-step entries, spacious laundry rooms, wheelchair ramps, residential elevators, large covered porches at ground level with raised planters to accommodate the people with the green thumb. And this just scratches the surface of a truly Universal Designed home.
We can design just the floorplan, a simple set of drawings with specifications or a permit ready set of blue prints. As well we can give you renderings of any room thru one of our partners who has done all of the beautiful renderings for us throughout this site: http://www.castleview3d.com.
Take a look at our portfolio. But keep in mind that every set of prints we design, large and small are specifically tailored around your specific needs. We may have a plan in our data base that works just right for you, with a few changes to meet your requirements or living styles. During our initial consultation we can decide on the number of rooms and sizes, bedrooms, baths, formal dining or country kitchen, number of family areas, porches open covered or closed.
After consulting with us, we recommend taking some time and jotting down some notes as they come to you.
They would include:
- Must have, these are now negotiable for your needs
- Want to have, but do we need it?
- Wish to have, but is it feasible?
- Love to have, but is it in our budget?
- What may I need or want at a later date
Bathrooms
Did you know that unintentional falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries in the US? According to data produced by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the Consumer Product Safety Commission's NEISS All Injury Program, over 8 million people a year are injured in falls. Of that number, 1.9 million are 65 or older. Additionally, falls are the leading cause of death for this age group - more than double that of moving vehicle accidents! And most of these occur in the bath area. That's why a Barrier Free home takes this into consideration specifying nonslip flooring no step thresholds and contrasting colors when transitions are made from different types of flooring and counter top edging.
Accessible Showers are used primarily for residential projects.
For commercial applications or projects go to http://www.ada-showers.com
Showers have a slip resistant textured floor adding to user safety. Most models also have a pre-levelled and reinforced shower base, saving installation time and eliminating future problems. Many styles, sizes, colors and accessories are available. The Accessibility Professionals team has assisted many people to transform their bathrooms making them easier to use.
Kitchens
Barrier Free kitchen design makes the space accessible and easy to use by anyone, including people who are disabled or challenged by mobility or stature. As well reduced vision is very common among the elderly. The majority of seniors experience a reduction in depth perception making it difficult to judge the relative position of an object. On average an older person needs four times more light than a younger person. So designing your "last home" consider using contrasting colors on the counter tops and the cabinet edging. As well as flooring transitions. The biggest obstacles to designing an accessible kitchen are access to sinks, cabinets, counter tops and appliances which are usually not usable for people who are sitting or in a wheelchair.
Granberg's Advanced Lifting Systems
Click to play.
Courtesy of http://www.accessible-kitchens.com
The Ultimate Aging in place Kitchen! Efficiency, Functionality and an Attractive Environment!
We can design a beautiful kitchen that maximizes the independence, convenience and changing abilities of all household members! To see the entire video go to http://www.accessible-kitchens.com
Most Cabinet Lifts are mounted in new or existing wall cabinets from which the shelf and base have been removed. The shelves are lowered down to the work surface below.
Control: The shelves are lowered down from the cabinet to the desired height simply by pushing a button. Choose between recessed control button or remote control.
Safety: A safety trip panel is located beneath the bottom shelf and it stops the lift moving when it meets the slightest resistance.
The top is fitted with trip protection to prevent items which are too tall being placed on the top shelf. For more information on all types of lower and upper cabinet lifts go to:
http://kraftmaidspec.com