It’s often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where you brew tea, make food for the family or cook a special meal for guests. In short, it’s a busy place where you’ll be chopping, stirring, baking – and cleaning up afterwards.
For those reasons and more, an accessible kitchen is vital for anyone with mobility difficulties. A well-designed, accessible kitchen doesn’t just improve functionality – it transforms how you interact with your home, promotes accessibility and supports independent living.
Table of Contents
ToggleWhy accessible kitchen design matters
A kitchen that isn’t designed with accessibility in mind can limit independence and may increase the risk of injury. After all, kitchens are potentially dangerous with all those sharp knives and pots of boiling water.
If your kitchen isn’t designed to meet your needs, you may find it difficult or impossible to:
- Carry heavy items – unpacking groceries or moving pots on and off the stove can be challenging. The risk of dropping or spilling items increases with the distance carried and the obstacles encountered.
- Reaching high or low cupboards – reaching up or bending down can strain the back, shoulders, or arms and potentially cause injuries, while high cupboards could be completely out of reach if you use a wheelchair.
- Stand while you prepare meals – traditional countertops are usually fairly high, requiring you to stand for long periods while you prepare meals.
All those things are environmental barriers. You could be an excellent chef but you’re dis-abled by a kitchen that doesn’t meet your needs.
The solution isn’t to give up and live on takeaway. After all, it’s important that you can enjoy affordable and nutritious meals.
The solution is a kitchen modification.
Benefits of an accessible kitchen
A suitably modified kitchen can help you to:
- Feel stable: A kitchen designed with accessibility in mind reduces the risk of slips, strains, and injuries.
- Maintain independence: An accessible kitchen means you can cook, clean, and stay organised with less assistance, promoting a sense of self-reliance and confidence.
- Reduce fatigue: Features like pull-out drawers and accessible counters minimise the physical strain of reaching, bending, or carrying, allowing you to accomplish tasks with ease.
Kitchen modification ideas
So, what does an accessible kitchen look like? Quite often, it looks like any other well-designed kitchen! It’s only when you look more closely that you’ll see how items are carefully placed and considered to meet a particular user’s needs.
Enhance your kitchen’s accessibility with:
- A side-opening oven at the right height: Instead of bending down to reach into your oven over a drop-down door, put the oven at a comfortable height with a side-opening door so you can access it more easily.
- Pull-out cupboards and drawers: Deep, pull-out drawers eliminate the need to reach the back of a standard cupboard. Easy-to-pull handles and slide-out features provide quick access to stored items, making it easy to find what you need.
- Cooktop flush with the bench: A flush cooktop that is level with the bench creates a seamless surface, allowing you to slide heavy pots and pans with ease, instead of lifting them. This design makes cooking tasks more manageable whilst also reducing the risk of spills or strain. It’s especially beneficial for individuals with limited mobility, ensuring cooking tasks are both accessible and convenient.
- Non-slip mats: Adding non-slip mats in high-use areas and rubber grips on kitchen items can reduce the risk of mishaps.
- Touch-activated faucets: These eliminate the need for gripping and turning, which can be difficult if you have limited dexterity.
NDIS kitchen modifications
Depending on the details of your NDIS Plan, you may be able to use some funds for kitchen modifications. After all, these alterations can improve your independence and make your home an accessible space for you.
At Enabled Designs, we focus on home modifications, using our occupational therapy knowledge and our partnerships in the building industry to create an individualised kitchen modification that meets your needs.
Together, we can transform your kitchen into a space where you’re safer, more independent and more able to enjoy cooking for yourself or your friends. Please contact us to create your dream kitchen.
Disclaimer
All information is general and not intended as a substitute for professional advice.