The night before her home renovation was set to begin, Jenna Reed-Côté began visualizing a Beef Wellington recipe she wanted to try once her new kitchen was complete. As she got to the step of mincing mushrooms – part of making the duxelle paste slathered on the steak before it’s wrapped in puff pastry – she broke down in tears.
She realized she had been denying herself physical freedom in her home because of her former resistance to universal design.
Universal design (UD) is the concept of making a space accessible to everyone to use, regardless of age or possible physical limitations. Reed-Côté, who has lived all her life with spina bifida, spends most of her waking hours in her wheelchair . Part of her identity revolves around being able to handle the physical challenges in the world around her.
“I’m stubborn, and I didn’t want to admit that I can’t make what works for everybody else work for me,” the Rick Hansen Foundation ambassador says. “That’s my forte, brainstorming to make things work.”
After a lifetime spent in and out of hospitals, she also didn’t want her condo in Vancouver’s Olympic Village to feel like a medical facility inside. However, after many conversations with family and friends – and increasing worry about injuries – she committed to the renovation.
She teamed up with interior designer Kendall Ansell, and had many conversations around creating a stylish, long-term home that would also enable her to maintain her independence and dignity in a safe manner.
They completely gutted the kitchen , removing 90-degree angles from the countertop layout. Now the counters gently curve around in a series of obtuse angles, making it easier for Reed-Côté to re-position her wheelchair as she’s moving around.
They also recessed the cabinetry underneath the counters, allowing Reed-Côté to get closer to work zones — the cooktop, prep surfaces, the sink — and to face them head on. That helps her maintain her centre of gravity, decreasing the risk of falls.
Most of the counters are two inches lower than the standard 36-inch height. It’s more comfortable and easier to see what’s inside pots bubbling away on the cooktop or to reach into the sink to wash a roasting pan. The team had to keep the standard counter height in one smaller area to accommodate the height of the dishwasher; although they could have changed to dishwasher drawers to keep the lower counter height, it would bumped the budget up significantly.
Likely in an effort to maximize usable space, the overhead cabinetry originally provided in the condo was incredibly high; neighbours have told Reed-Côté that they often stand on their countertops in order to reach the top two shelves. She’s now widely envied for how easy it is to use her overhead cupboards.
“I have these pull-down shelves built into the cabinetry, and I can reach everything on the top because it comes down to my level,” she explains. “People who are height-challenged, everyone who comes in wants one of these.”
Previously, the standard oven would have required Reed-Côté to open the door downward, move herself off to one side, and lean precariously over to set something inside to cook. If her balance failed her at a crucial moment, it could have meant serious injuries. Those concerns have been allayed now by a new chest-height oven with a side-opening door, which she can use with ease. So, for that matter, can anyone. This is the point of universal design.
The bathroom counters were also modified, and a bench added to the shower for stability. Kendall Ansell, principal of Kendall Ansell Interiors , says it’s becoming increasingly common to have requests for ‘smart’ toilets, which can help people with mobility issues. They combine the functions of a toilet and bidet, which can also decrease toilet paper use for the eco-conscious.
After almost a decade in business, Ansell says it was refreshing to have to take a new approach to designing a home. The team went through a universal standards guide as a starting point, refining along the way. They were mindful of maintaining the resale value of the condo by not customizing it too much, and indeed universal design adaptations could be a selling point as focus grows on aging in place.
However, another significant obstacle remains: cost. Some lower-priced options simply wouldn’t have worked well for Reed-Côté.
“Wheelchairs and walkers are hard on walls and doors, so we had to go with higher-end finishes and custom cabinetry to get what we wanted,” Ansell details. “All of the doors needed handles; we put in a quartz countertop and backsplash to handle heat and make them easier to clean. We’re lucky we found a standard shallow sink instead of getting a custom-one made, but you can really go down the rabbit hole with this.”
Part of Reed-Côté and Ansell sharing the story of this renovation is the hope that momentum will grow for widespread adoption of universal design principles, and that that will in turn translate into decreased costs of UD-related items.
“This is not about making someone in a wheelchair feel better about needing it (universal design), it’s about supporting people with all needs. When you’re in your home, that’s when you should feel limitless,” Reed-Côté says. “I had gotten good at making it work, but now I don’t have to. It was just a roof over my head, now it’s my home. I’m set up to accomplish what I want to accomplish for the next 10 years of my life, whatever that looks like.”
At some point, that will include making that Beef Wellington she visualized. Reed-Côté has already hosted dinner over the holidays, dishing up two roast chickens and all the fixings for her family and friends.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
