Your home is your space and you deserve for it to be safely and comfortably designed around you! Designing a handicapped-accessible home doesn’t need to a challenge. We’ve worked with accessible residential designer, Tonya Gilchrist, to bring you accessible home design tips.

Begin with the basics like wider doors, ADA-accessible toilets and grab bars. Work your way toward larger accessible home additions.

Handicapped Accessible Home Recommendations

• Accessible entrances like turning stairs into a ramp
• Wider door ways
  • 32″ – 35″ wide
  • Offset door hinges improve door clearance
• Accessible locations for light switches, electrical outlets and thermostats
  • Smart home devices can substitute and may be cheaper
• Reinforced walls for grab bars and side rails
• Minimum 5-Foot turning radius

Kitchen

• Ground-level cabinets make accessing items from your mobility device easier.
• Rotate and move easily in your Amigo with an open floorplan.
• Lowered countertops and sinks will make using your kitchen accessible.
• Side-By-Side Fridge Freezer

Bathroom

• A roll-in shower if possible, or grab bars installed in the tub.
• Lowered sinks.
• ADA-approved toilets
• Curbless Shower with Channel Drain
• Shower Bench or Chair

Tips from handicapped accessible home designer and Amigo user, Tonya Gilchrist

Tonya was a social worker for 20 years and started her own business, Accessible Living Interiors Design & Interiors by Tonya Gilchrist, ten years ago. The company focuses on accessible residential design. She helps individuals make design changes in their kitchen or bathroom to be more independent. She serves adults, older adults, and children with various disabilities and health conditions. See some of her tips below.

Tonya explains, “I do aging in place assessments so that any older adult or children can live in their own home safely.”

In the Kitchen & Bathroom:

• Install a raised dishwasher. Elevating the dishwasher avoids bending over. 
• Refrigerators come in drawer styles and can be placed anywhere in the home to make access easier. 
• Use a pullout table for preparing food while sitting or a rolling island on wheels. 
• In the bathroom, install a roll-in shower with a linear drain that creates a flat transition surface. 
• If you prefer baths, add a bath lift that can lower you into and back up out of the tub.

In addition to designing accessible kitchens and bathrooms, Tonya has designed a residential accessory apartment with accessible features. Throughout the unit you’ll find, grab bars, roll under sinks, handheld showers, pocket doors, and ample turning space. 

Please visit ALI Design & Consulting by Tonya Gilchrist for more information. She is based in the Washington, DC area and provides one-on-one consults virtually via Zoom and other platforms.