Universal Design and Age in Place

Aug 7 2009 9:55AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (4) |
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By Patricia Nunan

Summer is passing by so quickly; soon it will be back to school and back to work. This past weekend was a wet one in SE Pennsylvania so my husband and I decided to check out a few open houses in nearby 55 + communities and others being marketed to the boomer set. I was really disappointed in what I saw.

At one home that was advertised as unique, meaning it was the “handicapped” house, I was appalled at the poorly designed kitchen and bathroom. They tried very hard to make most of the home seem elegant with lots of wainscoting and angled walls. So when I waked into the bathroom I just stopped dead in my tracks. There was a large, long bathroom with probably 12 running feet of counter top – all of it low – with 2 sinks and so many CFL’s over a gigantic mirror it was blinding. This could have had multiple height counters, an open space, dimmable lighting and tilting mirrors. Not everyone is the same height or needs the lowered area. The toilet was in a closet – all angled walls and the door opened in. There was probably the right amount of square feet, just not usable. Of course there were no grab bars or any indication there was blocking.

Then there was the shower. In a bath, well over 150 sq. ft., stood a measly 30 x 60 acrylic shower pan with an acrylic ramp and the best part was it had the collapsible rubber strip. It did have beautifully tiled walls over the acrylic pan- but no grab bars. This home wasn’t selling for peanuts but the bath sure looked it. It not only looked bad, it was poorly installed. Now I’ve used this type shower many times, it has its place and can be used very successfully and look great when installed properly. Here it was totally out of place. This type shower unit goes in when there’s no possibility of lowering the floor to accommodate the drain. Not in a newly constructed bathroom.

Then I went to the kitchen. It had the beautiful Corian countertops and all lowered cabinets except of course the dishwasher, which was right in the middle of the countertop run. A total waste of space. It did have an open counter area at the far end, not near the sink, dw or range. It had a standard slide in gas range that was 3” above the countertops on either side and had the microwave above the gas range. The sink was open front with the big white plastic cover over the pipes and the disposal hanging off to the side. There was no panel to cover the plumbing. This kitchen was not made for someone that was a wheelchair user and really wanted to work and eat in their kitchen and it was ugly. All this in an elegantly designed home with lots of angled walls for dramatic effect.

So my advice to builders and remodelers: hire a designer. Without good design it’s just a bunch of stuff at different heights and configurations and useless. Before you start working with a client or building, make sure you start with good design first. If you don’t have a designer on staff that understands Universal Design or accessibility and how to incorporate in you plan, hire someone that does. A universal space should be as functional and stylish as any other space in any home.