Retrofit Your Home for Accessibility

Kitchens  

Immediate/Affordable

• Add roll-out shelves to pantries and base cabinets for easier access and visibility.
• Replace knob style cabinet hardware and faucets with lever-style handles.
• Add a lazy susan or swing-out shelf to hard-to-reach base corner cabinets.
• If the kitchen is large enough to accommodate a table, add one to allow a wheelchair or walker user to help with meal preparation.

Long-Term/Costlier 

Working with a CAPS-designated contractor and designer (as well as the homeowner’s own qualified medical team), remodel the kitchen with wider work aisles for wheelchair or scooter transit, lowered prep areas, accessible storage, and optimal appliance positioning.

• Replace existing appliances with those that are more accessible and safer to use than traditional versions. Examples include side-opening wall ovens, induction cook tops, ventilation hoods with re-locatable control panels, drawer dishwashers, microwave drawers and double-drawer refrigerators.
• For wheelchair users, consider cabinets with higher toe kicks, like KraftMaid’s Passport Series or customizable lines; table-height, roll-under cook top and sink cabinets; and drawer/peg-system storage for dishes and glassware rather than wall-mounted cabinets.

Resources

For additional information, there are two publications available from the American Society of Interior Designers : Healing Homes, by the ASID, and The Safe Home by Lisa Bonneville, FASID. The AARP also offers home redesign information on its website.