Lavender,

One of my priorities was having a table height area, out of the traffic pattern, for my mother to sit comfortably at and be able to help, rather than feeling like she was in the way. Even for people without disability level mobility issues, island seating can be a no-go! I needed the island, so had a flip down table built on to the back of it. That makes the (not too busy) walkway serve double duty for walking and seating too, effectively making my kitchen a bit bigger. You can also put in an old fashioned pull-out cutting board to be a work surface to extend over the knees of a wheelchair bound person. Just make sure it's not too high.

Another important thing to address for accessibility is aisle size. A lot of members are trying to eek more out of their kitchens with barely wide enough aisles. These are very difficult, especially at the corners, for people in wheelchairs to navigate, and don't really leave them enough room to open drawers and cupboards.

"Topless" kitchens are great universal design, even though they limit storage. Blum servo openers are good for people with limited hand/arm strength and mobility.

An important consideration for people with stacked cabinets is to keep in mind who will be able to climb the ladder for how long. :) I hope to be as agile as an acquaintance who's 30 years older than I, when I reach her age, and still able to run up and down a ladder...

I know what you mean. When people say you can have three feet between the island and counter, it makes me feel claustrophobic. Maybe it's because I'm tall (5'10") but I like to have a lot of space in the walkways. With a table, I can slide it over, if I'm feeling a little too cramped :)

I've posted elsewhere about designing my kitchen to accommodate my back injury/disability. It was very difficult to find any information or suggestions about that.

There are approximately 1 1/2 million people in this country in wheelchairs, and over 10 million who are disabled by back injuries. I have no idea how many have disabilities due to hip and knee problems, but I bet it's a whole lot more.

It seems to me that if anyone is designing a kitchen to potentially accommodate people with disabilities, they need to take ALL of these things into consideration, not just wheelchair access.

Just my 2 cents.

Our house is basement entry and then you go upstairs to the living area. When we were planning the job we put hardwood upstairs but carpeting on the stairs because of our elderly mothers. We didn't want anyone slipping and falling.
I'm not disabled in anyway but I have severe erosive osteo-arthritis in my hands (diagnosed in early 40's, it isn't genetic and that is the only place I will ever have it) and our kitchen was designed with that in mind.

We have no round door knobs in our house, (all levers), the cabinet knobs and pulls are all high-relief from the cabinets so that I never bang my fingers against them, our taps are all single lever (Grohe ladylux 3) with a large spray-head for ease of holding and with the lever I can turn it on with the back of my hand instead of using my fingers and I can clean with one swipe.. Bathrooms have Kohler for the same reason. Our counters are giallo ornamentale which are easy to wipe but can hide the dirt as well so that if I can't scrub the counter at least the dirt is not noticeable. When the strength is back the counter gets a good scrub. Sinks are rounded-corner Franke because they are much easier to clean than the zero or 10% radius sinks and undercounter, of course so that I don't have to clean the gunk from under the rim, and our dishwasher as a handle instead of that stupid little pull that so many of them have, and our backsplash is variegated copper which is easy to wipe but again can hide splashes if necessary. I am one who cleans a bathroom and kitchen with a toothbrush and that was no longer possible.

Our project manager and KD were diligent in researching products for me. But nothing could be bought off of the internet because I had to beable to try everything.
I may have just hi-jacked this thread, sorry. But for anyone planning on staying in their house this is something to maybe think about.

I have been very aware of accessibility issues because my knees started going out on me in my teens. One traumatic surgery experience at 18 convinced me I did not want that again, so I have had periods here and there in the last 30 years when I was on crutches or a walker. I know my limitations and never expected as much from my knees as others do. Standing at a counter to work has never been pleasant for me, though.

Then I started having asthma problems that were never quite like normal asthma problems. After 20 years of others shrugging off those symptoms, one doctor finally told me I have fibromyalgia. My rib and shoulder and back muscles go into contraction when I work hard to breathe, and those muscle cramps are what make my asthma symptoms so weird. It makes doing anything at a kitchen sink or counter difficult. I have to stand up straight and stretch to get a breath.

In our last kitchen, I made one 40" counter. I still chopped sitting down, though! In this kitchen we have done a couple of things. We have a slightly higher island with stools and a 6" section of desk-height counter. It is easy to remove the center desk drawer so that someone in a wheelchair can scoot in to eat or work at that height. I can easily slide onto a counter stool to work at meal prep or talk with DH as he works in the kitchen. Our wall oven is at counter height, which is easier as we age than a low one. Almost all of our lower cabs are drawers or are pull-outs, and the ones that are not, are quite shallow - maybe 15 inches deep at most. One 5' run of base cabs are actually wall cabs, set on a toe kick base. One side of the island is generous with space, if a wheelchair needs to pass through. We also have a ramp going down into the adjoining family room. The 6" step there was hard on my knees, so I eliminated it. We used the same Marmoleum linoleum sheet flooring in both rooms, so the surface can be made wheelchair friendly with the removal of a rug.

Our hands-down favorite feature is the dishwasher. We placed it in a double wall oven cabinet, so it is 11" up from the floor. DH loves it.

We did this all with a set of used cabs from Green Demolitions and a few additional cabs our carpenter made to match. We figure that we will live here until we can't live independently - which could be 20 or 30 years from now.

Byronroad, I have to sigh at your use of lever door knobs. I had to remove the few I got around to changing to levers and store all of them away until our middle dog has passed. He can open the lever knobs, and since he is the family member we most want to keep out of certain rooms, they are a liability for now!

"She never would have been able to get up on a bar stool. "

me either! those who remodel should at least allow the space in case doorways have to be enlarged at a later time.

nancy - didn't know you had fibro - I do also. so does my sister. i got lots of tips from her after they built a home about 2 yrs ago. the lever handles and 1 handle faucets are 2 of them! also the deep projection on cabinets handles.

many other things concern ease of cleaning and access. my kitchen isn't big - but that's good. the 'stove', sink and refridge are w/in feet of each other. I'm still gonna try to figure how I can raise the dw!

also, a separate shower from tub. no climbing over a tub side!

vinyl flooring and laminate counters for me - I drop things all of the time! I lose my grip on things. sometimes things just jump out of my hands - lol! my poor sister keeps dropping things and breaking them - they have tile floors and granite counters. She was very sick at the time so her dh put those in. he is chief cook now so she didn't mind that he put those in the kitchen but regrets tile in the other rooms.

I love islands but will have my table in the kitchen. I can sit down then to chop or mix if needed or if I get tired I can just sit down and rest. no way could I manage getting up or down on a stool!

also, my place is bigger than I really would need but that extra space I want in case I ever do need a wheelchair or walker. my furniture can be more spread out and allow room to get around.

the ease of cleaning and use are priorities now, not what is trendy or even what I might 'really' like to have in it.

the need for extra space in the kitchen doesn't even need to come from a long term disability - it can be from an injury like broken leg - or kneecap (as I had a few yrs back). getting around on crutches or a walker requires some extra space if you have to fend for yourself!

My kitchen designer was certified as an aging in place specialist by the NAHB. I'm in a smaller city in the midwest so I can't imagine that there aren't a lot more out there if you start looking. She was a really good designer all the way around. If you are seriously considering accessibility issues it might be worth your effort to talk to a professional.

I have always hated barstools because of my short legs. I'm hoping to squeeze in a 30 inch round table and two small chairs in a corner, which can be a work station for some things, and a way to sit for a minute without leaving the room. I should put in a mirror so you can see the stovetop from the seats - did I see that on GW somewhere? Maybe even a webcam so you can see it from upstairs.

I didn't go as far as wheelchair accessibility, but everybody my age has bad knees and backs and also eyesight. Our plan has the dishwasher raised, and the microwave at waist height, to reduce bending. (and a breakfast bar upstairs for those "no stairs" days.)

I'm looking at duraceramic flooring instead of stone, because it is softer. Even a gel mat would be a tripping hazard for us. (total vinyl is a water risk below grade, and it off gasses.)

I'm still wondering about how to get enough light in the kitchen. We may use large white chopping pads just for visibility.

Just yesterday, I was mentally designing a little stove reminder thing. It's basically a stuffed animal hung from a string in the doorway. When you turn on the stove, you drop the animal, so you can't leave the room without being hit in the face with a "turn off the stove" reminder.

That or maybe there is a stove that makes a periodic beep when it is on.

Now if I could only find my glasses ...

Lyvia,

Most induction cooktops have auto-shutoffs. They have boil over sensors which shut off the whole unit, and shut themselves off after being left alone for 4 hours (and most have "Sabbath mode to disable the 4 hour shutoff). Some also have "true timers" which allow you to set a certain number of minutes for an element to work and then shut off.

Your bear on a string sounds interesting, but what if you forget to set it?

As to light, I hired the lighting designer at the electrical supply house. I have way more light than I need (at least in the Summer), and color adjusted so that it's bearable. We'll see how it is making dinner in full dark with the time change. I may use more of the lighting. :) My fluorescents have sheaths to reduce the color temperature to sunny (2700K). There are eight of the skinny tubes bounced off a peachy white ceiling for indirect light, which is fine for just being in the room, five of the same in a down fixture over the island, five halogen cans with diffusers in the corners and in front of the pantry, and two more over the sink. There are also mixed color LED's under the perimeter upper cabinets. And a pretty little light in the doorway, and three more halogens in the "butler's pantry". The lighting designer's software is something he calls the land of night. He uses it to make sure that there's enough light where there's absolutely no exterior source (such as light pollution or moonlight). With all my lighting on, it's brighter than day! You can get enough lighting by putting in enough lighting!!

I had to consider my mother's needs when designing the kitchen and choosing appliances. A french door refrig was out for me and I needed a countertop next to the frig so that my mom could lean into the frig and easily put things on the counter. This would have been impossible with double dooors.

"I should put in a mirror so you can see the stovetop from the seats - did I see that on GW somewhere? "

that's a good idea!

we need a blinking light in the kitchen doorway...I'll have 2 doorways and 1 whole side of it open tho.