All I wanted was a kitchen update. And so I spent weeks working with the kitchen redesign lady at Home Depot. DH approved of the changes and we chose some cabinets and countertops.

My house was built in 1929 and has lots of quirks. Turns out that I really could not rearrange like I wanted due to doorways and other unchangeable limitations.

Stay with me, please. This is not a spoiled pout, I promise!

My dear Dad, who lives 7 blocks from me in our little rural town, wants to gift me a building lot next to him so we can be neighbors! He is nearly 95 and is tired of dealing with the yard, etc.

So, IF we build a new house, what are some considerations we should keep in mind IF my MS were to ever put me in a wheelchair or make life physically challenging?

Ro, let's hope you never get there!!

That is smart planning on your part though. My house was built in 1928 and when I was looking last year, I had those same thoughts in the back of my mind. Hopefully we will never need a wheelchair and hopefully they will find a cure so we don't have to think that way.

I don't have any experience yet with HC accomodations you would need. I would say 1 floor, lowered countertops and wide doorways (got all that from watching the Extreme Home Show, my fav)!

Good luck!

Wow, A new home Twink.Not there yet myself(thank the lord), but
wanted to wish you luck. I bet SandyC will be along with some great
ideas for you>

Twink, hope you never need, wasn't there myself when DH re-did our kitchen, but he was really into space and our large kitchen allows my chair anywhere but between table and pantry closet, would love lowered sink and some counters, love having island, would like more accessible outlets and an on island. First floor bedroom, all on one level, bathroom with pull up bars be toilet (Both sides or at least on your good side. Door opening placed so shower spray not going in it and out, no door or curtain needed. If you "google" know one sit gave some info. on handicapped friendly building. My door to deck a bumpy ride, avoid that. Some builders more handicap savvy then others, look for them, work with the right people, buil,ld for worse case scenerion, but hope you never need it. DH talking electric door closer for me, but our house old, ramo out door onto deck makes it almost impossible for me to close and the peeing cats and flies love being in my house. Go into this really thinking and knowing. Do-overs tough. (It's easier to build than renovate).

Bathroom right off bedroom so we leave the large sliding door slid open into wall unless someone coming, Then we shut it and all looks neat. Bill built a ramp off deck so I can go to pool or to get in car. If needed one day, lifts for pool or bed available. I don't weigh much (105), DH strong but still, he's aging too and 105 of "dead" weight pretty heavy.

Bill put wood under the ceiling sheetrock so a lift or pull up grip and under tile in shower so grab bars or lifts can be screwed in securely

Thanks for your input, Kicker.

Just wondering, can your DH install a spring-type closer on your patio door to keep out the cats and bugs?

Twink - Another thing to keep in mind is how you use your space.

If you love to cook and do a lot of cooking find solutions that will assist you the best so that you can continue making those gourmet meals. A prep center with a small sink in it and a small under the counter refrig that is lower is more useful to those in a wheelchair as well as those of us who can't stand for long periods.

If you love to bake, think of solutions that will assist you with baking. Appliance lifts are great for this if you have a spare base cabinet to use.

A formal dining room that will rarely get used is a waste of space as well as a waste of energy (something us MSers need to conserve) to have to clean. A nice craft space, home office, exercise room, expanded living, etc. would be more useful and practical if you don't use the formal dining room.

If you like luxurious baths, put a tub in that will accommodate you. I did have a client that had a spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the waist down. She wanted to take out her shower and put in a Jacuzzi garden tub. However, most of the ones she found had the faucets on the outside of the tub so that if she was trying to get in the faucet was in the way. We ended up putting a pony wall (1/2 wall) and running the plumbing through there so that she was able to access the faucets easily as well as get in the tub easily.

I love this stuff!!!!! After leaving the healthcare industry I made a career change and a couple of years working in a remodeling company prior to having to leave the workforce. H/C was my favorite! This is what I remember from those days (both book learned as well as from customers).

1. Take advantage of roll outs and drawers. It is much easier to get to the hidden places in the back of cabinets.

2. Consider buying a cooktop as opposed to a range. That way if you need to lower it, it is much easier. A wall oven can be lowered as well.

3. In the kitchen, put a section of countertop at a lower height. Right now it can be used as a desk and in the future it can be used as a work surface for cooking.

4. Plan on having most of your things in the base cabinets. I had one customer where we didn't put in any upper cabinets. She loved it as she was able to get to everything. There are tons of drawer organizers out there that can be used to organize the dishes so they don't move around in the drawers.

5. Try to incorporate a pedestal sink in the bathroom and look at other options for storage space.

6. Obviously a H/C accessible shower where you can just roll in. A bathtub in the guest bath that is designed so that you can get in and out of easily. Don't forget the grab bars. It is easier to install them while building than after the fact.

7. Wider door ways and minimize sharp turns.


Oh man, I could go on and on and this would be 1 huge post. LOL. But those are some quick ideas.

Wow, Tricia! You should write a book on this! Those are really good (and specific) suggestions.

Go ahead and include more ideas -- there's plenty of thread left!

hi twinkie,

I was reading this last night for the first time and was reading the various ideas so I decided to play it on my cad.

I took SandyC's advice and have two exits on every side and the dimension if about 35' front(width) and 50' side (length)

that's not including the garage and the protruding front bedroom

there is a 3 quater wrap around porch and I've enclosed the porch from the master's br but can put a screen door there for the guests that way you can have the privacy when you want and have guests when you want

The layout can be turned side ways if the lot is wide vs. long because of the French doors.

both bathrooms have 5' diameter (that is international building code standard) for handicapped bathrooms

and the kitchen, dining, and living room is open space layout which you can add some arch ways or something

anyways, it was just something that I was playing with. If you want exact dimensions, please let me know and I can upload it.

I won't have a lot of time this coming week cause of my work(I design stuff. LOL) but anyways, just thought you might wanted to have some visual to play with.

The hotub is located outside the master br porch. The laundry room is huge but gives an exit toward the piano shaped patio and for extra storage and animal space

the hallway is 48" like SandyC suggested as well as the doors are all 36" but I can increase it to 50" or more like Cayokay suggested.

well, I hope you didn't mind me drawing this out. I just was having some fun with the suggestions...

below is the link:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...-Modelcopy.jpg

If you want to look at it closely. Just right click over the image with your mouse and goto "save picture as"

and save it to your file so you can view it by making it bigger to see all the notations.

I have this on CAD file so if you somehow like this plan and want to, I can send it to you and you can take it to a local engineer or architect and have them do the elevations.

anyways, good luck with everything and if you need any help, please let me know. If I have the spare time, I'd be happy to help with the design.

*I do want to mention that if anyone would like to download it, that they have the permission from me to download it and use it however they'd like. I took the ideas from the inputs here anyways and had a lot of fun playing with it. Maybe I will play with it some more. So I forfeit the copy right of this particular plan as stated in this post. Besides, I am sure there are a lot of better designers out there than me anyways. LOL