One for All

Slide-out cabinet organizers make the kitchen more accessible for a wheelchair-bound person.

The term "universal design" once meant an ugly aesthetic for the aging and infirm. Today, all buyers want easy living and low maintenance. The formerly unpopular "aging in place" products are getting a second look. They've become versatile enough to help families with baby buggies morph into families with canes, with little need for expensive retooling.

The transition can be painless if the home itself is designed with versatility. Two hallmarks of the universal home are plenty of circulation space and a ground floor with no steps. "Always go wide with hallways and doorways," says Drue Lawlor, FASID, principal of Dallas-based Education-Works, which provides continuing education for designers. She says if you also add stepless entries to the front of the house and a downstairs bathroom, you've taken a big step toward making a home easier to navigate.

Universal design products are built to be easier for everyone to use, not just those with special needs. Lawlor encourages builders to consider universal products as upgrades, and assemble packages that will not only benefit the buyer but add to the builder's bottom line.

Take windows and doors, for instance. Now you can get nonpowered, easy-to-open windows. Made with wheelchair users in mind, they're features anyone could love. The 5300 series double-hung window from Gorell Windows and Doors offers a "Constant Force" balance system, which Gorell says will permit fingertip operation. Placing windows closer to the floor makes it easier for wheelchair users to open them or just gaze outside.

In the kitchen or bath, aging eyes often lose the ability to distinguish between surfaces. An easy, and often overlooked, solution is to build in lots of visual contrast between floors, cabinets and countertops. Good lighting is crucial — an abundance of natural daylight, LED or halogen task lighting will keep kitchens and bathrooms safe. Flexible skylight products such as Sun Tunnels from Velux are ideal for dark baths. 

Slide-out shelves make the kitchen more convenient for everyone.

You can make cabinets more accessible — and add some pizzazz in the process — by offering the option of drawer organizers. The list is endless: pullout pan drawers, accessories that make the blind corners of cabinets slide out, and pullout shelves. Companies such as Rev-a-Shelf and G-O Manufacturing offer a vast array of useful cabinet accessories, including glide-out table systems and cutting boards for wheelchair-bound clients.

And don't forget appliances. Companies such as Frigidaire and Gaggenau offer 27-inch side-opening ovens. Wheelchair-bound users can easily pop a casserole out of the oven without having to reach in sideways. Lawlor notes that a heat-resistant surface adjacent to the stove and ovens means a person can simply slide the hot dish from the oven to another surface. A stovetop with a continuous grate also means less lifting (and possibly spilling) of hot food.

A builder can include an Aqua-Tran bottle lifter in a home's pantry or kitchen cabinet for $350 (powder-coated) to $450 (stainless). This innovative mechanical system loads five-gallon bottles of water onto dispenser units and fits into a typical utility cabinet (30-inch by 24-inch space).

Tubs with side-opening doors have been around for some time, but Safety Tub just released a new model that's made from acrylic, as opposed to fiberglass. The company says acrylic is nonporous and easier to clean. The door seal can be replaced if necessary.

"Builders need to remember you can't rearrange the layouts of bathrooms and kitchens like you can furniture to help someone live better," Lawlor says. A combination of upfront planning and a palette of ready-to-go upgrades is a builder's ticket to pleasing all buyers, whatever their current abilities.