Ingenuity & freedom: Designed for accessibility, this home has great ideas for everyone - How the West is Living

Sunset, May, 2002 by Peter O. Whiteley

"We wanted something accessible that didn't look it," says Elizabeth Twaddell, as she prepares lunch for her 3-year-old daughter, Amrita. Elizabeth, who uses a wheelchair, is sitting at her favorite midday location: a table-height island that divides the kitchen from the adjacent family room. Its sleek, open design--a black granite top over stainless steel legs--allows her to roll under the counter so she can be close enough to work comfortably Like so many other parts of the elongated, one-story, four-bedroom house, the island functions equally well for someone in, or out of, a wheelchair.

When the house was being designed, Twaddell, her husband, Amardeep Misha, and architect Jeffrey L. Day addressed the challenges of her disability head-on. The result shows in the simple, understated way the home utilizes universal-or barrier-free-design principles. In addition to roll-under counters like the kitchen island, there are wide hallways, no bumpy doorsteps, and convenient built-in seats.

The house proves that good design is about solving problems elegantly, and it offers lessons in space planning for everyone. Visitors immediately notice the crisp geometry of the house, the artfully framed panoramic views, the light-filled spaces, the graceful flow from the house to the surrounding decks and terraces, the built-in furniture that saves floor space, and the rich but muted color palette. Only on closer inspection does the underlying wheelchair accessibility reveal itself

Little moments, big victory

This warm and vibrant house gives Twaddell freedom by making routine tasks as easy as possible. She can quietly enjoy the little things-the sounds of a little girl's giggles from the family room, the click-clack of Baxter, their friendly Bernese mountain dog, walking on the hardwood floors, and the shadows of Bradford pear trees on the kitchen floor. "This house succeeds because it makes my disability less apparent to me," she says.

DESIGN: Jeffrey L. Day, Min/Day, San Francisco (415/2559464), in collaboration with Marc Toma and Lisa K. Trujillo, BurksToma Architects, Berkeley (510/534-4255)

INTERIOR: Marie Fisher and Alissa Lillie, Marie Fisher Interior Design, San Francisco (415/397-5515)

RELATED ARTICLE: bring universal design principles home

* Site. The house and concrete patios sit on a level pad on a hillside site. There are no stairs. A gently sloping pathway to a lower garden area works as a wheelchair ramp, but it also makes a great road for Amrita's tricycle.

* Access to and from outside. Entry to the home is through wide doors with extra-low thresholds and easy-to-grab lever-style door handles.

* Maneuverability. The turning radius of Twaddell's wheelchair was a design yardstick that helped make the house more open. It determined the 5 1/2-foot width of the hallways, as well as the inside dimensions of the kitchen pantry and master bathroom shower. Extra-high baseboards were added to protect against damage from the chairs wheels.

* Clearance. Built-in features, like the island, a corner desk, the stainless steel kitchen counter with cooktop and sink, and cast-concrete bathroom sinks, cantilever from walls or stand on legs to allow room for a wheelchair to fit below the working surface. The drainpipes in under-counter areas were wrapped with coils of tubing to prevent contact with hot pipes.

* Built-in seating. A projecting elevated hearth in the living room and concrete bench next to the shower provide seating that's accessible from a wheelchair. The bathroom bench also facilitates sliding into and out of the tub.

* Appliances. Twaddell took care to select appliances that made it easier to perform household duties while seated. They include front-loading washer and dryer, elevated oven with side-hinged door, shallow refrigerator, drop-in gas cooktop with front-mounted controls, easy-to-reach microwave, and pullout counter for loading/unloading casserole pans from the oven.

* Cabinets. A generous pantry makes up for the loss of under-counter storage. "We also tried to take some kitchen stuff out and put it on display," explains Twaddell, pointing to a rack of kitchen utensils at the back of a long counter. Elsewhere in the house, freestanding cabinets also act as room dividers. In the living room, for example, the blank back of a long cabinet defines a hall, and in the master bedroom, one functions as a closet and a headboard.