Recently I had a bad fall and was in a wheelchair for awhile. Isn’t it strange how we think “It will never happen to me”? Actually with our active lifestyles, our sports, our Colorado skiing and rock climbing, our children’s activities, few households go more than a couple years without some type of injury.
And then there’s Mom & Dad–aging, but still active. According to the Denver Community Relations Agency for Human Rights, 58% of people over 65 years have 1 or more “disability.” According to the American Assoc. of Retired Persons, 90% of retired persons want to age in their own home.
There are multitudes of methods that we have to help them all do so. The easiest time to create a home that will accommodate physical challenges, as well as help the rest of us, is when a remodel is done. Researching how your home could be made more accessible to everyone will be well worth your time. There is much more to consider than a ramp or grab bars.
One small example: those in wheelchairs cannot reach up to our kitchen wall cabinets, generally where the plates, glasses, saucers, etc. are kept. As a matter of fact, neither can children. (Isn’t it almost easier to just set the table yourself than get everything out for them to do so?) Typically, we don’t put smaller items like dishes and glasses into the lower 24″ deep cabinets; reaching to the back of the cabinet is difficult, and clumsy. And yet, it is demoralizing to need to ask for help reaching them.
How easy it would be if two 24″ or 30″ wide x 30″ high x 12″ deep wall cabinets were adhered back to back, put on roller casters, and slid under the typical 36″ high kitchen countertop? (Countertop would be braced to the back wall.) There would be twice the space of one wall cabinet, as the cabinets are back to back, easy to rotate. Put a top on this unit, and everyone has a mobile work island with storage, that can easily be rolled under the counter when not in use. Move it out, and you have a bar, or chair space for a child to work at the 36″ counter. No more demoralizing; everyone can reach commonly used objects.
