Making a Difference Through Inclusive Design

When we enter a well-designed space, we are immediately enveloped by peace, calm, and a sense of who lives or works there. For many living with physical or neurological differences or limitations, this feeling can be harder to come by.

Thanks to new developments in inclusive, accessible, and barrier-free interior design, many of these challenges are being met head-on, transforming the ways we think about designing for all and making every space a more comfortable place for everyone.

Everyday Inclusivity

As with changing sustainability standards, efforts for more accessible and inclusive spaces are becoming increasingly important for the present and future of interior design—from floor plans to furnishings and beyond.

Not only does this benefit those with different neurological, physical, cognitive, or behavioral experiences and needs, but universal design often ends up creating a more harmonious, cohesive, and balanced space for anyone who uses it.

Almost-imperceptible details can impact the experience of wheelchair uses, like a seamless floor transition between spaces and removable doors below the sink. Colors: Gateway Gray SW 7644 (247-C3) (walls); Alabaster SW 7008 (255-C2) (trim); Retreat SW 6207 (217-C5) and Mountain Road SW 7743 (247-C7) (floor). Photos by Laurey Glenn and Southern Living Magazine.

“Accessibility should be part of the original design intent and not seen as an afterthought,” says Emily Kantz, commercial design expert and Color Marketing Manager at Sherwin-Williams. “Giving people an environment where they feel comfortable, welcomed, and at ease is human-centric design at its very best.”

Designer Kerrie Kelly, a Certified Aging in Place Specialist, considers elements like sofa arm heights so occupants can sit and stand more easily. Colors: Repose Gray SW 7015 (244-C1) (walls); Snowbound SW 7004 (256 C2) (trim); Waterloo SW 9141 (221-C6) (cabinets). Photo by Lindsey King Photography.

Universal Design in Commercial Spaces

As commercial design continues to evolve, architects, designers, and specifiers need to accommodate a growing range of diverse needs, and it helps to get feedback from the right people throughout the planning and design process. Often, these efforts will amplify the voices that often go unheard, inspiring designers to seek imaginative solutions.

“Architecture and interior design can act as an agent for change,” Kantz says. “Inclusive design continues to be a key factor to bring into the design equation early on, and it encompasses a variety of markets ranging from healthcare, retail, mixed-use, workplace, and hospitality environments.”

The first step is to better understand how the underserved members of the population actually use their physical space and what they need from it, whether they require wheelchair access, tactile or pictorial wayfinding for a visual impairment, or furniture designed to accommodate all body types.

Beyond the physical, public-use interiors can also be designed with neurodiverse individuals in mind, prioritizing quiet focus zones, sound-absorbing materials, and calming colors that might appeal to everyone, but especially support those with autism, ADHD, or other cognitive, social, sensory, or behavioral needs.

This is what it means to design around empathy and respect, in Kantz’s view: empowering occupants with options and a choice in how they navigate their world on any given day. And this is just as vital when designing a private residence.

Barrier-Free Design at Home

Though the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, provides protections and design standards to improve public-use spaces for a broad population of people with disabilities, designing a private residence for an individual or family with specific needs often requires a more nuanced approach.

For an expert’s perspective, we reached out to Maegan Blau, principal designer and founder of Blue Copper Design, a full-service interior design studio specializing in adaptive, accessible, ADA, and universal design. Following a spinal cord injury in 2009, Blau’s struggle to find an accessible home that reflected her personal style ultimately sparked her own design career.

Maegan Blau takes a customized approach to meet client needs in both the present and the future, realizing her belief that “barrier-free designs can be luxe, beautiful, and provide longevity in people’s homes.” Wall color: Westhighland White SW 7566 (250-C3). Photo by Lifecreated.

To Blau, barrier-free design is less about memorizing standards and measurements than it is about “thinking of the space and the person as a comprehensive unit—which is what good design really entails.”

This came into play in Blue Copper’s Poinsettia Project, where a luxurious main bathroom was outfitted with a curbless shower for the homeowners’ aging parents to use when visiting. “Our homes should never be a barrier and should always be the most comfortable place on earth to us,” Blau believes. “Elements like curbless showers, zero threshold entries, bedrooms and bathrooms on the first floor are all great starts to making a home available to more people.”

Wide passageways, thoughtfully built vanities, and curbless showers make this bathroom, designed by Maegan Blau, easy to use for people of varying physical abilities.

The Power of Inclusive Design

In designer and Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) Kerrie Kelly’s California Casual Ranch project, a beautifully welcoming vibe suffuses a space designed for those with current or future mobility issues, where varied countertop heights, low thresholds, wide hallways, and curbless showers speak of thoughtful functionality.

“We call this approach ‘livability’ and also like to be sure ‘visitability’ is folded into our designs,” Kelly says. “Visitability allows people of all ages to feel comfortable and included when coming to a home.”

Low-maintenance surfaces such as Dekton countertops, automated faucets, and wheelchair-height tables provide support for users with mobility concerns—and comfort and convenience for all. Colors: Repose Gray SW 7015 (244-C1) (walls); Snowbound SW 7004 (256-C2) (cabinets); Waterloo SW 9141 (221-C6) (island). Photos by Lindsey King Photography.

Even the simplest inclusive design plans and practices can dramatically transform everyday life. Kathryn Lott, designer of the Southern Living Adaptive Cottage, had the opportunity to create meaningful change within a house plan designed to be as beautiful as it is functional.

Lott tells us that Scott Rider, the reason the house came to fruition, helped her understand how challenging day-to-day tasks can be for a person living with Parkinson’s disease, inspiring Lott to add pulls to cabinets, extra hooks in the closets and bathrooms to hang clothes and towels—and even a pot-fill station for the family dog’s water bowls.

The entire family can benefit from adaptive design choices, whether that means making closet contents easier to reach or a dog’s water bowl easier to fill. Photo by Laurey Glenn and Southern Living Magazine.

When something as small as a piece of hardware can make so much difference, the impact of paying close attention to these details is truly immeasurable, and it proves that, thanks to inclusive design, living well is swiftly becoming a more accessible luxury to more of us than ever before.

Top image: Repose Gray SW 7015 (244-C1), walls; Snowbound SW 7004 (256-C2), cabinets. Photo by Lindsey King Photography.

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