Universal Design and Special Accommodations

I've been at my mother's this past week as she's come home from the hospital after a fall.  With a fractured femur, she spent a little over 2 weeks there and was sooooo glad to get home to her own bed. 

She had knee replacement about a year and a half ago and planning for that, we did some simple things to insure her ease and safety when she returned home.  We installed grab bars in the shower and toilet and widened the door to her bathroom so that she could get a walker in through there without having to turn it sideways.  The fall was unexpected of course, and we were so glad that we had those items in place when she got home this time. 

It really hit home again to me how important it is to plan for your needs on down the road. I took my CAPS training over 2 years ago after I had a client who was a wheelchair user and needed some special accommodation in the bathroom.  I posted this project HERE.  I really think making any space beautiful and functional is important and it could not be more so than in a bathroom.  





I contributed to an article in Houston House and Home magazine this past December where we discussed universal design and identified some great new products out there to use for safety in bathrooms. (pg. 66)

I want to thank Universal Design Style website for recently posting about my project.  How timely!   After seeing my mom cope with her injury first hand, it just confirms the importance of getting these things in place early on. If you're thinking of remodeling or designing a new bathroom, consider planning for your future needs.