4 Tips to Make a Kitchen Wheelchair Accessible

(DepositPhotos)

When remodeling or designing a kitchen for easy wheelchair access:

• Cabinet Height: Lower the height of both hanging and base cabinets for use with wheelchairs.
• Cabinet Kickspace: Provide a higher than normal kickspace on base cabinets for wheelchairs.
• Countertop Access: Provide open access under countertops for eating and preparation work.
• Appliance Controls: Choose appliances with front mounted controls that are easy to reach from a wheelchair.

Watch this video to find out more.

Further Information

Video Transcript

Allen Lyle: You’ve got kind of a unique perspective here, in that you’ve seen life both in and out of a chair.

Phyllis: Right. When I moved in here, I was in a wheelchair. So I get it right up under there real well and eat right there, because we didn’t have a dining room here. And the stove’s very low, where you can reach it, the cabinets are all low.

Allen Lyle: What I love, one thing about the stove is you got, so many times you have controls in the back . . . in front.

Phyllis: And they have them all right there, so you can use them. And all the light switches are low enough. You can reach them from a wheelchair.

Allen Lyle: I love the fact that you’ve got,  of course, it’s. . . . You’re using storage now, but when you had the chair. . . .

Phyllis: But when I had the chair I didn’t have anything under there. You could slip up here and work.

Allen Lyle: Right. You could slip up here and prep work, it’s a bit low.

Phyllis: That’s where I’d usually eat, just go right up under there and eat.

Allen Lyle: You mentioned the cabinets, all right. This is something a lot of people may not catch on to right off the bat. But these are considerably lower than they typically would be.

Phyllis: Oh, yeah. They’re really low. And you can reach them from a wheelchair if you’re sitting here. You can open them up. I’ve had to do that before.