When house hunting 10 years ago, we were looking exclusively for ranchers. We needed an accessible house for my son with disabilities. There aren't too many in the Baltimore area. Many ranchers we looked at had narrow hallways, small rooms that would be difficult to navigate with a wheelchair and would require an addition for my son's room. Then we found this house. A California-style mid-century modern rancher in Baltimore? How could this possibly be? It had so many intact historical details that give it character, but with enough room to make changes and leave my fingerprints all over it. The open floor plan and wide hallways meant less renovation required.
The best part was the master suite that would be for my son. The bedroom, sitting room and bathroom were already ample enough to make the renovations within the existing footprint. We just needed to add double doors for all the rooms and gut the bathroom. This was the first project. Although my son was only 5 at the time and we could easily carry him, we had to close our eyes and envision his needs in 10, 20 years and beyond. We worked with a contractor with extensive experience doing renovations for individuals with disabilities. We needed a lift system, a specialized bed and specialized equipment for bathing. All these things were essential and needed to work in unison for safety and ease of caregiving.
For me though, I needed the place to feel cozy as much as I needed it to function. We needed medical equipment and medications to be close at hand, but not compromise the overall aesthetic. We had spent enough time in hospitals and I wasn't trying to bring that vibe into my home. For example, I picked this shelving unit because it has cubbies with doors to hide a nebulizer and pulse ox machine. Woven wall pockets hanging by the bed keep supplies close at hand. G-Tube feeding and medicine supplies are on a cute tray because why not? Where there’s a hard, medical edge, I try to balance it with something soft. Like the alpaca hanging in the corner where the lift charges. The cabinet in the bathroom was custom designed to have the height accommodate a plant on top. Yes. Having a plant there was that important.
Light toys are his favorite and so is listening to audio books. We have them in the corner next to the bookshelf and chair. I bought the fox print above the shelves from the artist himself while visiting my friend in Portland, OR. The fox is the mascot of our local elementary school where my son was included K-5. Going the route of inclusion wasn’t always the easiest, but we made meaningful connections through the process, and I marveled at how his team rose to the occasion to meet his needs and make it work.
It’s been 9 years since the renovation. Everything still works great – the layout, the flow of the design, the ease of use, the color palette is timeless, and the décor doesn’t feel too “little kid.” The only thing I had to refresh was the chair in the corner. My friend’s mom pointed out that it looks like Nilla wafers. Which made me think, did I pick this chair as a subconscious homage to my favorite dessert, banana pudding? Maybe!
When I went into this project, I was worried about coming out the other end with a result that felt too medical or sterile. I hope this room is testament to the fact that you can indeed achieve a functional accessible design without compromising the feeling of being at home.
The view from the nurse's room (blog post here)
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