Why Kitchen Accessibility Should Be a Priority
Today, kitchens are used for a lot more than just cooking. Kitchens have become places where families gather to eat and spend time together doing a wide range of other activities.
The kitchen can be a center for entertainment and relaxation. Often, the kitchen is the most used room in a home!
As such, it is essential to have a kitchen that is accessible to every member of your household. If you have family members who use a wheelchair or have other mobility issues, modifying a kitchen to be user-friendly and safe for everyone should be one of your top priorities.
Keep reading to learn more about why kitchen accessibility should be a priority!
Traditional Kitchens vs. Accessible Kitchens
Conventional kitchens usually have countertops and cabinetry that are out of reach for wheelchair users. Oven ranges can be dangerous if there is insufficient space to maneuver around burners and oven doors safely.
Traditional kitchen floors made of tile or vinyl can be slippery and unsafe for people with mobility issues. Other kitchen safety issues can be serious hazards in a conventional kitchen.
Common kitchen accidents like burns, hot water scalding, and slips and falls can be even more dangerous in tightly spaced kitchens with many hard surfaces. If you or your loved one is choosing to age-in-place, Portland Accessibility Remodelers can transform your current kitchen into a kitchen that is custom-made for your individual needs.
How Can Home Portland Accessibility Remodelers Help Make my Kitchen More Accessible?
There are many ways that we can help you make your kitchen accessible and safe for all the members of your household. Here are just some of the options:
Lowering Existing Cabinets
Lowering cabinets to more user-friendly heights makes cabinet contents easier to reach and reduces potential strain from overreaching.
Replacing Traditional Wall-Mounted Cabinets With Drawer-Style Cabinets
Drawer cabinets make their contents easily accessible to all, particularly if you or a loved one use a wheelchair.
Reconfiguring Your Kitchen
Reconfiguring your kitchen layout to create wider spaces between countertops, kitchen islands, and major kitchen appliances can allow for easier access to the entire kitchen for those aging in place. Once reconfigured, wheelchairs will be able to move and turn easier.
Putting appliances like the refrigerator, stove, and sink closer together makes all three appliances more convenient to access while working in the kitchen.
Lowering Countertops
Lowering countertops from standard to heights can make them accessible for wheelchair users or used while seated. Another option is workspaces that can be pulled out from a countertop.
Shallower Sinks or Sinks With Pushed-Back Plumbing
While shallower sinks require less bending over to wash dishes or rinse fruits and vegetables, pushed-back plumbing allows wheelchair users to roll up closer to the sink itself.
Wall Ovens Installed at Counter Height
Wall ovens at countertop height are safer than conventional ovens and make it safer to transfer hot foods from the oven to the countertop.
Task Lighting
Installing task lighting for countertops, sinks, and kitchen islands can also help. Additional lighting in areas where everyday kitchen tasks, like cutting up food and washing dishes, are performed can reduce eye strain and the risk of accidents.
Installing Non-Slip Flooring with a Gripping Texture
Having a steady surface on which to walk and stand while in the kitchen can help prevent accidental slips and falls. It can also make you and your loved ones feel more confident as you all move around the kitchen.
With Portland Accessibility Remodelers, you can have a kitchen that the whole family can use and enjoy, even members of the family who use a wheelchair or have other mobility issues. With a traditional kitchen’s potential accessibility and safety issues, modifying your kitchen to suit your aging-in-place needs should be your number one priority!
Contact Portland Accessibility Remodelers today to learn more about your aging-in-place kitchen options!