Building a New Future: Our Family’s Floor Plans to a New Accessible Home
JeanAnn Bryan
May 20, 2021
When the boys were diagnosed with DMD we understood that we needed to find a new home as ours had 4 floors and too many steps. Steps are already difficult for our 6 & 9 year old so we knew we needed to eliminate them. We soon realized that a home that is only one level is next to impossible to find in our area so we started making plans to have a new home built. This was a huge advantage as we were able to customize it for our current and future needs. So we set out to create a beautiful, functional and accessible home to raise our boys in. It took 6 months and 17 drafts before we had our functional, budget friendly house plan drawn up. It took another 8 months to build it. We are now getting moved in and look forward to living in a home that works for our family.
Slab-on-grade and zero step entry
To eliminate all steps the house was built on a concrete slab with no steps in or out of the home and for comfort, infloor heating was installed throughout.
Garage
8 ft tall garage doors were installed to accommodate a future mobility van and a large garage space was created to give enough room to maneuver around vehicles for loading and unloading.
A storm shelter was built into the garage for quick access when needed.
Hallways/Doorways
4’ wide hallways and at least 36” wide doorways were designed to handle maneuvering a wheelchair in and out of rooms.
All doors have lever handles for ease of opening them.
To keep busier areas free of obstacles, sliding doors were installed instead of swinging doors.
Flooring
Living Space Flooring-polished concrete was chosen for this space due to it being slip resistant, durable, low maintenance, cost effective and in our opinion-beautiful.
Bathroom Flooring-tile was chosen for all the same reasons as polished concrete except that the added grout helps make it all the more slip resistant in a wet zone.
Bedroom Flooring-Low Pile “office” carpet tiles were installed due to their durability, ease of walking/rolling over and being able to replace stained /damaged tiles as needed.
Lighting
Natural Light- With so many health advantages from natural light, many windows were installed to bring natural light in the space.
Indoor/Outdoor Light- Like having natural light, well lit areas are good for your health and mood. Plenty of lights were installed with dimmers as well.
Light Switches-Rocker Light Switches were installed for ease of use.
Night Lights- built in night lights with sensors were installed for easy, worry-free maneuvering in the dark
Kitchen
All lower (and no upper) cabinets were installed so everything is easy to reach.
A second lowered kitchen sink (34” off floor) was installed with an apron front for future wheelchair access.
Faucets have a single lever for ease of use.
A Microwave drawer was installed in a base cabinet for easy reaching.
Refrigerator includes a separate easy to reach lower drawer.
ADA Bathroom
A lowered 33” bathroom sink with apron was installed.
Shower floor is flush with the floor as to not have a threshold to step over.
Toilet seat is 18” off the ground for ease of getting up and down and is also a good transfer height
Grab Bars are installed throughout for a safe place to hold onto.
Enough floor space for a 5’ turning radius.
Tilt Mirror that can be angled down.
Bedrooms
Large and enough room for a 5’ turning radius.
Walk-in closets have a sliding door and closet organizers built for easy reaching
Furniture
Firm supportive furniture with arms to help get up and down