Designing a Kitchen With Wheelchair Access in Mind
If you or someone you know has to make use of a wheelchair, then I'm sure that you realise that the kitchen is quite an unforgiving area of the home.
The upper cupboards are unreachable and what's at the back of those cupboards in the corner are going to be a pain also.
It is possible however to make an alteration or two to the kitchen to make it more accessible to someone who may need wheelchair access.
Firstly and unfortunately, you'll need to set a budget, you may be free to do what you like with the kitchen if your budget allows or you may be restricted by it - regardless you'll need to sit down and have a think about what you are going to need.
Whats the point of having an unlimited budget and not knowing what to effectively use it for.
It is a good idea to go out and do some research if possible, if you can try going to a specialist showroom or speak to a designer and get their professional opinion.
What you'll need to think about is who will be using the kitchen the most, it's a good idea to do this before you hire someone to start ripping out your existing kitchen! If for instance the person using the wheelchair is the main cook in the house then you'll need to make sure that everything that they will need they can reach easily.
You may not be able to move the appliances for instance as you may be limited by wiring and plumbing etc but things like units you can generally have made up for easy of access for someone who is disabled.
If you are having a kitchen remodeled for wheelchair access you will want to have an area that is at least 30" wide and around 32" from the floor, you will want to make sure that there is knee clearance of at least 28", there are pre made counters like this that are adjustable so you can alter the height yourself, these are useful for when a wheelchair user may be using the kitchen.
One thing to bear in mind is that ovens need to be set lower than usual to accommodate for a wheel chair user.
First and foremost though as I've said it's important to go and speak to an expert designer and ask them for advice, that way you'll know what you will and will-not need.
The upper cupboards are unreachable and what's at the back of those cupboards in the corner are going to be a pain also.
It is possible however to make an alteration or two to the kitchen to make it more accessible to someone who may need wheelchair access.
Firstly and unfortunately, you'll need to set a budget, you may be free to do what you like with the kitchen if your budget allows or you may be restricted by it - regardless you'll need to sit down and have a think about what you are going to need.
Whats the point of having an unlimited budget and not knowing what to effectively use it for.
It is a good idea to go out and do some research if possible, if you can try going to a specialist showroom or speak to a designer and get their professional opinion.
What you'll need to think about is who will be using the kitchen the most, it's a good idea to do this before you hire someone to start ripping out your existing kitchen! If for instance the person using the wheelchair is the main cook in the house then you'll need to make sure that everything that they will need they can reach easily.
You may not be able to move the appliances for instance as you may be limited by wiring and plumbing etc but things like units you can generally have made up for easy of access for someone who is disabled.
If you are having a kitchen remodeled for wheelchair access you will want to have an area that is at least 30" wide and around 32" from the floor, you will want to make sure that there is knee clearance of at least 28", there are pre made counters like this that are adjustable so you can alter the height yourself, these are useful for when a wheelchair user may be using the kitchen.
One thing to bear in mind is that ovens need to be set lower than usual to accommodate for a wheel chair user.
First and foremost though as I've said it's important to go and speak to an expert designer and ask them for advice, that way you'll know what you will and will-not need.
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