Cars fit a variety of people because of adjustable seat heights and depths, as well as the ability to make angle and mirror adjustments. Heating and cooling, steering-wheel depth and height, and seatbelts also are adjustable. Sometimes the seat even massages the driver!
Fortunately, homes are beginning to adjust to homeowners’ needs, as well, allowing for accessibility for everyone—at any age and of every height, size and ability.
Today’s kitchen cabinets, countertops and sinks now meet users where they are, adjusting to whatever height necessary and moving back to another position for others. New smart appliances also assist with accessibility and aging in place.
CABINETS AND COUNTERS
Kitchen countertops typically have cabinets under them for support and, therefore, cannot be adjustable. Cabinets are built at 34- to 36-inches high—not high enough for a wheelchair to pull up under the counter, so a homeowner with unique abilities can utilize the countertop for cooking and prep.
However, height-adjustable countertops now are available with a sink or cooktop in them. Some manufacturers have cabinets attached to the underside. When that isn’t possible, mobile storage units are a great alternative.
Having a countertop that is a suitable height for a homeowner while chopping vegetables, making cookies or bread, or just plating food, can reduce back fatigue and help with safety. Cutting at the wrong height can cause a person to use too much or too little force, which can result in an injury or accident.
Having multiple countertops that are adjustable can accommodate someone in a wheelchair and someone who is not, making the kitchen work for everyone at the same time.
In addition, upper cabinets can be moved down to countertop height with the press of a button, allowing users of all heights to reach items easily. Adjustable upper cabinets also ease storage of heavier items. Height-adjustable lifts, which can be mounted into existing cabinets, raise heavy household items to a comfortable height, allowing users to store heavy items no matter their strength.
Pull-outs in base cabinets and pantries also ease the ability to access items. Pull-outs can be retrofitted into existing upper and lower cabinets and can be fully extended, as well as pulled down.
Consider using a tool workbench to provide a height-adjustable kitchen island with storage capabilities. Adding electrical at counter height helps users avoid bending down at the floor. Interior puck lighting also can aid in accessibility.
Finally, adding a pot filler at the cooktop with a strainer-drain mini sink beside the cooktop makes for easy work, whether the homeowner is boiling crawfish, making pasta or steaming vegetables. A user can fill the pot at the stove, boil and, when the food is ready, he or she can tip the pot into the strainer-drain mini sink. No more trying to carry a heavy, scalding-hot pot of water off the stove and over to the sink to drain.
SMART APPLIANCES
Did you know the microwave oven and induction cooktops were introduced in 1933 at the World’s Fair in Chicago? In the 1950s Frigidaire took its induction cooktops on tour around the country, trying to get traction, but it never happened. Appliance technology has been very slow because it comes at a cost.
New appliances are finally beginning to enter the market because of our nation’s “foodie” obsession and because homeowners are looking for smarter, multifunctional, space-saving and safer appliances.
Induction cooktops are safe and save space. The units can be portable, which adds to their accessibility, and can be mounted under a countertop, which makes them invisible. This adds a stylish, clean design to a home while making the kitchen more hygienic. Induction cooktops only are activated if a magnetic pot or pan is placed on them, making them safer for children and seniors. They also heat and cool extremely quickly.
Smart refrigerators allow homeowners to see inside the fridge via their cell phone while at the grocery store. No more forgotten items! Homeowners also can use these smart refrigerators as communication centers, art platforms and entertainment centers. Today’s smart stoves can be turned on or off via an app; the stoves also can send alerts, making them safer.
New specialty portable appliances—air fryers, espresso machines, personal blenders, bluicers (blender juicers), toaster ovens, pressure cookers, sous vide cookers and more—need to be accommodated for and hidden when not in use. Very few kitchen planners are considering the vast amount of storage, ventilation and electrical necessary for these portable items.
With more specialty appliances available and in use today, it’s critical that kitchen designers offer plenty of easy-in and -out storage, enough electrical at the right places and connection to Wi-Fi.
Blending adjustability, safety and accessibility with connection and convenience is the winning combination for a kitchen that supports homeowners’ needs now and into the future—just like their vehicle does.
Materials
HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE COUNTERS: Pressalit, Linak and Granberg
HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE MECHANISM FOR UPPER CABINETS: Pressalit
HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE LIFTS: Granberg and Rev-A-Shelf
PULL-OUTS AND PULL-DOWNS: Rev-A-Shelf
HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE ISLAND IDEA: Tool Bench
SEE-INSIDE SMART REFRIGERATOR: Samsung Family Hub
PHOTOS: Columbus Pics
