Look Who's Cooking

By Ina Mae Brooks

Planning a wheelchair accessible kitchen that is functional and attractive is like creating a recipe for a cake. Constructing or remodelling is like baking it. You know what your ultimate intention is – how you want this vital work room to function and look – but that is not half the task.

My husband, Charlie, and I remodelled our kitchen for accessibility, but we learned how the hard way.

I’m not an architect or an interior designer. But I am a woman who has lived all her life with a physical disability. Over the years, we have made most of our home accessible, modifying entrances, floors and bathrooms.

We needed a kitchen where I could work independently or alongside my husband. No architects in our area had experience modifying homes for accessibility. I planned my own kitchen, gathering ideas and illustrations and fashioning them into makeshift designs.

Learning was fun. I discovered what to look for in sinks and stoves, how these appliances fit into cabinetry and what dimensions were needed. Only then did we shop for appliances. We removed at least six barriers, and now Charlie and I can work together in the kitchen.

Design.
Do kitchen cabinets and appliances block your wheelchair? Are you finding no architects or interior designers in your area who can help you? How do you make a kitchen accessible? Can you really design a barrier-free kitchen yourself?

Don’t let the magnitude of this project intimidate you. You can do this. Learn what others did and adapt their ideas. Study kitchen design magazines, and in particular look for features about people who sit down to work. Clip colourful illustrations and self-help articles. Take advantage of the Internet. Study disability websites that feature accessible kitchens. Print the how-to articles showing cabinet designs and specifications. Consult with environmental specialists, incorporating their ideas into your plans. Compile the ideas and select those most likely to work. Make rough sketches of the kitchen you envision.

Cabinetry.
How do you design custom-made cabinetry? What do you look for when hiring a building contractor and cabinetmaker?

Study those of your resources that include detailed steps to modify kitchens. Consult your province’s building standards. When you hire a builder, consider his or her attitude first. Does your builder seem open to the idea of developing a non-traditional kitchen, and is he or she sensitive to your limitations? Check references. Then consider reputation, skill, cost and availability.

Sketch each unit on a separate sheet of drafting paper, as close to scale as possible, showing both front and side views. Name your units and describe details not obvious in the drawings. Add magazine pictures and other illustrations. Then combine the units into cabinet runs. Discuss the kitchen design with the building contractor as part of the interview, and listen to his or her ideas. The contractor can recommend a cabinetmaker. Seek craftspeople who can say, “Show me a detailed sketch, and I can build it.”

Work Surfaces.
How can you plan work surfaces low enough to work from and that accommodate your wheelchair? What dimensions will you need?

The first thing to do is to have someone measure you while you are seated in your wheelchair. For the height of base cabinet work surfaces, sit with your arms on the chair armrests, and measure the distance from your elbow to floor. The surfaces of modified cabinets may be 32 inches high. Standard is 36 inches.

For the dimensions of the roll-under areas, measure the width of the chair, armrest to armrest, plus four extra inches. Determine the height by measuring from the top of your lap to the floor, plus four inches. Many chairs roll into openings 24 inches wide and 28 inches high. To determine the ideal depth of the sink’s basins, measure the length of your arm, elbow to wrist. That figure will be the ideal depth for your sink basins, and those basins may be as shallow as seven inches.

For the proportions for the base cabinet toe kicks, sit with your feet on the chair footrests. The height of the toe kick equals the distance from your shoe top to floor plus an extra inch. For the depth, measure the length of the footrest, extending beyond the front wheels. Toe kicks may be up to 11 inches high by 7 inches deep.

Appliances.
What features do you look for when purchasing sinks and stoves? At what stage of design and construction should you purchase appliances?

When shopping for appliances, consider the styles, colours and prices, of course – but for your accessible kitchen, you will need to consider additional features and dimensions as well. Go shopping for the appliances soon after the contractor gives you the project’s starting date. Craftsmen will likely need to measure the stove and sink themselves; their work depends on accuracy. Plus, the appliances you want may have to be special-ordered.

To avoid reaching across stove burners, purchase an electric range top with controls near the front or to the side. Look for one with electrical components that do not extend into the roll-under space more than three inches.

Your ability to use a sink depends on the depth of its basins. If basins extend into the roll-under space, the wheelchair cannot fit under the sink. Shop carefully – wheelchair accessible double-basin kitchen sinks featuring a shallow depth and drain hole near the back are available from plumbing supply stores.

Plumbing.
It’s unsafe to roll under a sink with exposed hot water pipes. How can you cover the plumbing in a way that is safe but can still be accessed for servicing?

In many cases, most of the sink’s plumbing can go behind the wall. The rest of it can be installed inside the room as close to the wall as possible, allowing for roll-under space. Hide unsightly plumbing behind a cover that will protect the chair user. But design the cover to be easily removable, such as by attaching its supports on the sides of the cabinet using easy-to-remove screws.

Base Cabinet Storage.
How can you access the shelves in the back half of base cabinets?

Consider installing storage drawers in the base cabinets in place of shelves. These provide additional work space, and can even include pull-out cutting boards. Design deep storage drawers with tall fronts. Insist on heavy-duty rollers that operate smoothly. Ensure that any pull-out boards are at a convenient height for the chair user.

(Ina Mae Brooks is a freelance writer living in Lamar, Montana, U.S.A.)


THE HUNT FOR HOUSING
Residential Resources

ORGANIZATIONS:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Provides the most extensive range of housing information in the country, serving consumers, builders, developers, academics and industry decision makers.
Toll-free: 1-800-668-CMHC
www.cmhc.ca

Co-op Housing Federation of Canada
Actively defends the interests of its members in the Canadian cooperative housing movement, and promotes the successful operation of housing co-ops.
Toll-free: 1-800-465-2752
www.chfc.ca

Handicapped Housing Society of Alberta
Edmonton, AB
Strives to build independence by bringing about housing solutions through property management, property development, advocacy, and information and referral.
Toll-free: 1-800-756-4331

HFBC Housing Foundation of BC
Vancouver, BC
Provides housing for seniors and young people on long-term disability.
Phone: (604) 684-3515
www.housingfoundation.ca

Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association
Toronto, ON
An association of non-profit housing organizations that provide high quality affordable housing for low and moderate income people.
Toll-free: 1-800-297-6660
www.onpha.on.ca

Société d'Habitation du Québec
Quebec City, QC
Serves the needs of persons with disabilities through a non-profit housing program, a subsidized housing program and a home adaptation program.
Phone: (418) 643-7676
www.shq.gouv.qc.ca

SHARP Foundation - Society Housing AIDS Restricted Persons
Calgary, AB
Ensures that each person with HIV/AIDS has housing and supports appropriate to his or her needs.
Phone: (403) 272-2912
www.thesharpfoundation.com

Accessible Housing Society
Calgary, AB
Creates opportunities for safe, affordable, accessible housing, and provides housing, support services, housing registry, residential assessment and design services, and lending library.
Phone: (403) 282-1872
www.ahscalgary.ca

ONLINE RESOURCES:

Disabled Persons’ Community Resources
www.dpcr.ca
Click on “Access” and visit subcategories such as Kitchens and Washrooms for detailed information on accessibility guidelines.

EnableLink Products and Services Catalogue
www.enablelink.org/resources/resources_prodbottom.html
This subsection of the EnableLink website lists service providers under topics such as Housing, Bathrooms and Accessories.

Directory for Accessibility
www.accessibilitydirectory.ca
An online directory of Ontario-based companies and organizations that provide services or assistance for people with disabilities.