Adapting your #home to changing circumstances: #UniversalDesign Tips and Tricks for #Accessibility

From my book, Hacking the Earthship:

Most home designers these days fail their clients in regard to the long-term
livability of their homes. We build homes that cannot easily be modified when
someone becomes disabled or ill, or when our child is born with special needs.


Universal Design makes architecture that works for everybody, whether they be
in a wheelchair permanently, on crutches for a couple of weeks, just having a
little issue with “a hitch in their giddyup”, or even are just too little to
manage bunches of steps and tight pathways. We find that our clients love the
ease of getting around in spaces designed on Universal Design principles, and
believe it or not, it also reduces the efforts required in mundane tasks like
cleaning, which can be a bear when hoisting a vacuum and cleaning supplies up
and around steps and landings. What is awesome about this, for us, is that many
users of Universal Design in their home designs are finding that they are
ready-made for the market for Baby Boomers who want something a little more
manageable to buy for a home. So, they are selling their homes for a premium.


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