Kitchen Opens Up for a Wheelchair, and a Chef Is Born
A narrow layout impeded Kathy Stice’s cooking ability. A remodel opened up the space for her to use
Mitchell Parker
December 5, 2017
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Kathy Stice was stuck. Literally stuck. The narrow galley kitchen inside her Seattle home didn’t give Stice, who has used a wheelchair for more than 50 years, enough room to turn around comfortably, and the wheels often got wedged between the refrigerator and the dishwasher. It would take her some jockeying to get out of the jam, which “engendered a lot of nasty words,” she says. “I just wanted to forget that kitchen.”
“After” photos by Jesse Young
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Kathy Stice, an information analyst, and husband Dan Rawsthorne, a teacher and consultant
Location: Seattle
Size: 282 square feet (26.2 square meters); 23½ by 12 feet
Watch now: See Kathy Stice’s kitchen transformation
Before. The kitchen, built to standard dimensions for someone who doesn’t use a wheelchair, greatly limited what Stice could cook. Working in the space exhausted her shoulders as she strained to reach for items on shelves or attempted to work on the 35-inch-high countertops. A low counter at the end beneath the TV offered modest workspace.
When the dishwasher door was flopped down, Stice, who lost the use of her legs at age 5 after heart surgery complications, couldn’t move through the space to put away dishes. She had to remove everything and put it on the counter first, and then close the dishwasher and start putting things away.
Most often, Stice placed a cutting board on her lap to chop vegetables. “Which was a problem with tomatoes,” she says. “So I never wanted to chop too many vegetables. It was too much trouble and work. Making a big dinner or baking would leave my shoulders really sore for days afterwards.”
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Kathy Stice, an information analyst, and husband Dan Rawsthorne, a teacher and consultant
Location: Seattle
Size: 282 square feet (26.2 square meters); 23½ by 12 feet
Watch now: See Kathy Stice’s kitchen transformation
Before. The kitchen, built to standard dimensions for someone who doesn’t use a wheelchair, greatly limited what Stice could cook. Working in the space exhausted her shoulders as she strained to reach for items on shelves or attempted to work on the 35-inch-high countertops. A low counter at the end beneath the TV offered modest workspace.
When the dishwasher door was flopped down, Stice, who lost the use of her legs at age 5 after heart surgery complications, couldn’t move through the space to put away dishes. She had to remove everything and put it on the counter first, and then close the dishwasher and start putting things away.
Most often, Stice placed a cutting board on her lap to chop vegetables. “Which was a problem with tomatoes,” she says. “So I never wanted to chop too many vegetables. It was too much trouble and work. Making a big dinner or baking would leave my shoulders really sore for days afterwards.”
After. Stice and her husband, Dan Rawsthorne, decided that it was time for a change. Recently, they used Houzz to gather ideas, buy products and search for a professional to help. Through the site, they found contractor STS Construction Services. The couple liked that the company had lots of good reviews and photos showing a wide range of projects.
They hired STS to take the kitchen down to the studs and move a wall 6 inches to give Stice more turnaround room. To make her life easier, the contractor also dropped the countertop to a comfortable 29 inches and added appliances like a dishwasher drawer, a microwave drawer, a wall oven that opens sideways instead of straight down and a cooktop also set at 29 inches. “I feel like I can take on bigger cooking projects and not hurt for two days after,” Stice says.
Rawsthorne designed and built the cabinet boxes out of oak to precise specifications for Stice. The contractor then outfitted the cabinets with stainless steel fronts (“wheelchairs are very hard on wood cabinets,” Stice says) and drawer components that make it easier for Stice to reach in and grab things.
She originally wanted a farmhouse-style kitchen but realized that it wouldn’t quite work with all the steel. But Stice likes the eclectic mix of styles. “It’s a little bit country and a little bit rock ’n’ roll,” she says.
The hands-free faucet on the left is one of Stice’s favorite features. Now she doesn’t have to continuously reach up to turn the tap on and off. A simple wave of her hands gets the water flowing. There’s also a hands-free soap dispenser.
Cabinet fronts and pantry cabinets: Ikea; Saturn flush-mount ceiling light fixtures: HomeSelects International; Beale series touchless faucet: American Standard; double apron-front sink: Alpha International; find more double apron-front sinks
They hired STS to take the kitchen down to the studs and move a wall 6 inches to give Stice more turnaround room. To make her life easier, the contractor also dropped the countertop to a comfortable 29 inches and added appliances like a dishwasher drawer, a microwave drawer, a wall oven that opens sideways instead of straight down and a cooktop also set at 29 inches. “I feel like I can take on bigger cooking projects and not hurt for two days after,” Stice says.
Rawsthorne designed and built the cabinet boxes out of oak to precise specifications for Stice. The contractor then outfitted the cabinets with stainless steel fronts (“wheelchairs are very hard on wood cabinets,” Stice says) and drawer components that make it easier for Stice to reach in and grab things.
She originally wanted a farmhouse-style kitchen but realized that it wouldn’t quite work with all the steel. But Stice likes the eclectic mix of styles. “It’s a little bit country and a little bit rock ’n’ roll,” she says.
The hands-free faucet on the left is one of Stice’s favorite features. Now she doesn’t have to continuously reach up to turn the tap on and off. A simple wave of her hands gets the water flowing. There’s also a hands-free soap dispenser.
Cabinet fronts and pantry cabinets: Ikea; Saturn flush-mount ceiling light fixtures: HomeSelects International; Beale series touchless faucet: American Standard; double apron-front sink: Alpha International; find more double apron-front sinks
Stice does her prepping at a long granite work surface where her spices, knives, mixing bowls and main baking ingredients like flour and sugar are within reach. The counter is conveniently across from the oven and fridge, so she has a short range of travel.
Now she can put a cutting board on the counter and chop away comfortably. “Everything is right there,” Stice says. “I don’t have to hunt around. And I’m more willing to do complicated things with more chopping and mixing. It’s not so exhausting. Cooking is a lot more fun now.”
Watch now: See how Stice uses her new kitchen
Brown Antique granite countertop in extra-polished finish: Pental Surfaces
Now she can put a cutting board on the counter and chop away comfortably. “Everything is right there,” Stice says. “I don’t have to hunt around. And I’m more willing to do complicated things with more chopping and mixing. It’s not so exhausting. Cooking is a lot more fun now.”
Watch now: See how Stice uses her new kitchen
Brown Antique granite countertop in extra-polished finish: Pental Surfaces
Before. The 1950s house had been remodeled sometime in the 1970s, during which the kitchen took on basic wood cabinets. “The cabinets above were useless to me,” Stice says.
After. The contractor removed the upper cabinets and part of the wall to open the kitchen to the living and dining areas. He also bumped out the lower cabinets and remaining wall 6 inches. “That made a huge difference,” Stice says.
A pantry at the end of the galley makes up for the lost upper cabinet storage. Stice had originally wanted it to match the other kitchen cabinets. But by that point in the project, she says, her husband was a bit worn out from building cabinetry, so they went with stock cabinets.
One of the biggest challenges was finding appliances that would work in the custom space. Stice was stoked to find the dishwasher drawer. It’s smaller than a standard dishwasher, but with just two people in the house, it’s plenty.
Instead of an oven-and-range configuration, Stice split up the functions into a wall oven and a cooktop set at a more comfortable height for her. The hood had to be lowered for her to reach the buttons. “Dan bumps his head on it if he’s not careful,” Stice says.
To keep costs down, the couple tried not to change the plumbing or electrical installations. The sink stayed in the same location, but the dishwasher and fridge moved slightly.
Cooktop: G.E.; microwave drawer: Sharp; Mascarpone paint (walls and ceiling): Benjamin Moore; range hood: Whirlpool; find more range hoods
A pantry at the end of the galley makes up for the lost upper cabinet storage. Stice had originally wanted it to match the other kitchen cabinets. But by that point in the project, she says, her husband was a bit worn out from building cabinetry, so they went with stock cabinets.
One of the biggest challenges was finding appliances that would work in the custom space. Stice was stoked to find the dishwasher drawer. It’s smaller than a standard dishwasher, but with just two people in the house, it’s plenty.
Instead of an oven-and-range configuration, Stice split up the functions into a wall oven and a cooktop set at a more comfortable height for her. The hood had to be lowered for her to reach the buttons. “Dan bumps his head on it if he’s not careful,” Stice says.
To keep costs down, the couple tried not to change the plumbing or electrical installations. The sink stayed in the same location, but the dishwasher and fridge moved slightly.
Cooktop: G.E.; microwave drawer: Sharp; Mascarpone paint (walls and ceiling): Benjamin Moore; range hood: Whirlpool; find more range hoods
Deep drawers make pots and pans more accessible. Large-format porcelain tile covers the floor.
12-by-24-inch Eco-Stone porcelain floor tiles in Grigio: Pental Surfaces; find more porcelain tile options
12-by-24-inch Eco-Stone porcelain floor tiles in Grigio: Pental Surfaces; find more porcelain tile options
Stice spent considerable time trying to find the right yellow for the backsplash tile. “I must have looked at every yellow tile between Seattle and Italy,” she says. She wanted large-format tile but couldn’t find it in the color she liked, so she settled on subway tile in her preferred hue.
Watch now: See more of how this new kitchen functions
Side-by-side refrigerator: Frigidaire; 36-inch single-drawer dishwasher: Fisher & Paykel; 8-by-4-inch ceramic wall tiles in Lemon: B&W Tile Co.
Watch now: See more of how this new kitchen functions
Side-by-side refrigerator: Frigidaire; 36-inch single-drawer dishwasher: Fisher & Paykel; 8-by-4-inch ceramic wall tiles in Lemon: B&W Tile Co.
The oven door opens from left to right rather than folding down, so Stice doesn’t have to reach over a hot door.
A pullout kitchen board built by Stice’s father when she was a teenager inspired Rawsthorne to design a similar one for the new kitchen. It’s basically a staging area for when Stice needs to get something out of the oven. She can pull down a hot dish, put it on the board, reposition herself and pick it back up to take to the counter behind her. “In a wheelchair, I can’t lift and move at the same time,” she says.
30-inch wall oven: Bosch
A pullout kitchen board built by Stice’s father when she was a teenager inspired Rawsthorne to design a similar one for the new kitchen. It’s basically a staging area for when Stice needs to get something out of the oven. She can pull down a hot dish, put it on the board, reposition herself and pick it back up to take to the counter behind her. “In a wheelchair, I can’t lift and move at the same time,” she says.
30-inch wall oven: Bosch
The contractor removed walls to open the kitchen to a laundry and utility area. He also built a custom box to enclose the washer and dryer and to hide the new water heater and overflow pan.
Find a general contractor near you
Find a general contractor near you
Stice and Rawsthorne also replaced a sliding glass door with a single French door out to the patio. The previous door had a dog door, but they didn’t think that one would look right in the new door. Stice came up with a custom solution that put a dog door in a cabinet in the utility room.
This floor plan shows the configuration of the new kitchen and laundry area, bottom right.
Stice says that this is her and Rawsthorne’s forever home, so resale value was never a concern. And they’re not done yet. They have both bathrooms in line to remodel next — one sink taller than the other — and, in summer, a new deck. “By the time we get done, this house will be pretty darn wheelchair-accessible,” Stice says.
Watch now: Don’t miss this stunning kitchen transformation
More
Get ideas from other homes and spaces designed for accessibility
Watch more Houzz TV makeovers
Browse kitchen materials and products
Stice says that this is her and Rawsthorne’s forever home, so resale value was never a concern. And they’re not done yet. They have both bathrooms in line to remodel next — one sink taller than the other — and, in summer, a new deck. “By the time we get done, this house will be pretty darn wheelchair-accessible,” Stice says.
Watch now: Don’t miss this stunning kitchen transformation
More
Get ideas from other homes and spaces designed for accessibility
Watch more Houzz TV makeovers
Browse kitchen materials and products
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Wow how wonderful, to have someone who cares about you and try to accommodate your needs husband one out of the thousand, may God Blesse you guys.
Great story! Loved every minute of it -- right down to the sweet 3-legged dog.
Loooove it!! I redid mine about 6 years ago and wish I would have hired someone who paid that much attention to my needs. My kitchen turned out great, but I would have loved that side opening oven and the lowered fan thingy. I also have a roll under sink (but it’s a very shallow sink in order to fit under at a decent height), and a roll under gas cooktop. I wish I would have dropped the cooktop another 2-3inches. Anyway, I can totally relate to the shoulder pain and I don’t have that problem anymore. So happy for you!!