4 Clever Guidelines To Design A Custom-Made Kitchen Benchtop For Your Wheelchair-Bound Parent

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If you have a wheelchair-bound parent living with you at home, then you'll need to ensure that you make small changes to accommodate your mother or father's specific requirements. Kitchen benchtops are typically used for food preparation, so you'll want to find a way to allow your parent to use them without much trouble. Follow these guidelines to create a kitchen benchtop that your wheelchair-bound parent can still use.

Scale Down The Height

Most kitchen benchtops are between 850mm and 1050mm in height, but these elevations are meant for people who prepare food while standing. For your wheelchair-bound parent, this height is likely to be uncomfortable and impractical. You will need to work with your contractors to lower the height of the benchtop to an elevation that is comfortable enough for your parent to use.

Reduce The Depth

Regular benchtop depths are usually recommended at 600mm. But once again, this is meant for people standing. A deep benchtop is hard for your wheelchair-bound parent to use because the whole area will not be easily accessible. For example, using a food processor connected to the wall socket will become practically impossible with a deep benchtop. Instead, reduce the depth of the working benchtop to ensure that your parent is able to use wall-plugged appliances more easily without having to stretch too much to get to them.

Make Sure There's Enough Space For Wheelchair Movement

A wheelchair-bound parent cooking or cutting vegetables needs to move around slightly in the kitchen, so the area around the benchtop must be large enough to accommodate the entire machine without difficulty. For instance, if your parent needs to throw onion and garlic peels in the dustbin before moving towards the cooktop, make sure there's enough space for navigation between different areas along the kitchen benchtops for maximum usability.

Add Under Benchtop Storage

While many homeowners prefer overhead cabinets for storage, this is simply not practical when a wheelchair-bound parent lives with you. Install cabinets below the benchtop to ensure that your parent is able to access utensils and ingredients without always having to rely on a member of your family. But allow for an open access area under the benchtop to accommodate your parent's legs more comfortably during food preparation.

You obviously want to do everything in your power to make your wheelchair-bound parent more comfortable in your home. Follow these tips so you can design a  kitchen benchtops for the benefit of your parent.

13 September 2016