How to Change Your Kitchen to Fit Your Needs When in a Wheelchair

Kitchens provide a number of obstacles for people who need wheelchairs to maneuver around. Most people take for granted the many turns and moves they make preparing a single meal. There are some major renovations people can make for a wheelchair-friendly kitchen, but there are also smaller modifications to help.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Think about how you use your kitchen, especially the natural flow of your preparations. Walk through preparing a meal to decide what you can do to best work out the space for your needs.
2. Consider where you will need counter space. If you are preparing foods, you will likely need to get foods from the refrigerator or freezer and then move them toward the stove or oven. Decide the best arrangement for the counters in relation to the appliances. Some kitchens are fairly well set in terms of their arrangements; however, some may have some flexibility in moving appliances around to best fit your needs.
3. Decide if you are able to lean against countertops to do your work instead of remaining in your wheelchair. This may require a more continuous countertop to accomplish more easily. You could possibly add a sturdy table in the middle of your kitchen as a prop for you as well as counter space for your preparations.
4. Rearrange the shelves in your refrigerator and in your cabinets so that you can reach what you need without assistance. Place smaller, lighter objects higher on the shelves when you can use reachers to grab these items for use.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to other people who have redesigned kitchens for wheelchair-friendly use.