How to Make a Kitchen Wheelchair Accessible

The kitchen can be one of the most difficult rooms in the house to navigate in a wheelchair. But there are some design tools and innovations that help to make a kitchen wheelchair accessible.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Make sure there are no access ways through the kitchen that had a width of less than 5 feet. This will make a kitchen more wheelchair accessible by allowing room for turning and carrying of objects.

2. Take care storage in the kitchen with pulldown shelving upper cabinets, and swing up shelves in lower storage cabinets.

3. In order to make a kitchen wheelchair accessible unique to leave area underneath the countertops to allow the wheelchair user to move closely the counter. This should be done for the microwave and sink as well as some of the countertop to prepare meals on.

4. Use a spacing panel to increase the height of the dead washer by 6 to 12 inches. This will make it easier to load.

5. Try to avoid knobs on sinks for people with limited hand strength and dexterity. Instead install a sink with a single lever.