Collin County Living Well Magazine Fall 2014 | Page 22

Accessibility by

design

H

By Cindy Boykin, Photos by Mike Newman
Courtesy Plano Profile

ome is a common topic for writers and poets, but
Gaston Bachelard, author of The Poetics of Space,
has a unique take on the subject. “If I were asked to
name the chief benefit of the house, I should say: the
house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the
dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.”
No matter one’s age, abilities or life experiences, being in a place so comforting that the mind can drift
and dream at its pleasure makes home a place like no
other on earth.
But when a house becomes difficult to navigate due to
physical limitations, daydreaming turns to dreading.
Thoughts focus on mundane, worrisome concerns of living life at home.
Millions of people find themselves in that situation. Approximately 20 percent of Americans have disabilities. In addition, persons 65 years or older represent 13.3 percent of the
U.S. population; and since 2000, the number of Americans aged 45 to 64—who will reach 65
over the next two decades—has increased by 33 percent. (Department of Health and Human Services, 2011)
More and more, people are looking for ways to live in their homes as comfortably and as
long as possible by making their houses more accessible. But the roadblock for most people
is the fear of a “hospital” look.
Fear no more. Here are some examples of how a home can be
remodeled to make everyday life more enjoyable, convenient
and beautiful.

Remodeling
for now and
later

Remodeling for now and later

“Did you see the before pictures?” Elaine asks. “It had so

many negatives for us.”
Initially, Elaine and Russell Maxey just planned to update the
look of their master bath—add natural stone like granite and travertine, maybe paint the cabinetry. But as they talked with remodeler John Todd of Elite Remodeling, they noticed other aspects of
the room they wanted to change.
The biggest hurdle, literally, to fully enjoying their bathroom
was the huge tub. It sat in a triangular position in the corner of the
room, and the faucets were placed in the center of the tub’s wide
rim. Elaine explains, “You would have to throw your leg over the
faucet to get in. So it went unused.”
She continued, “The shower had a lip, which was fine, but if you
had knee or hip surgery, you couldn’t get over that.”
Russell recalls, “As we talked with John, he started throwing
ideas out and showed us pictures of other houses where he had
done this sort of thing—he had bunches of them. Then he sent a
designer to work with us, and she came up with the perfect layout

20

Collin County Living Well Magazine • Fall 2014

for us.”
They removed the corner bathtub and added a new one, enlarged
the shower significantly, added a bench seat, turned the shower
opening around to face the tub and removed the lip, widened the
opening in case they ever need a wheelchair, added a shower wand,
and installed two brushed nickel grab bars decorated with finials.
Russell confides, “We wanted the grab bars, but we didn’t want it
to affect resale. But John said even some young people are putting
them in now.”
With the repainted cabinetry, beautiful tile, mosaic and granite
work, framed mirrors, and new hardware, it is barely recognizable
from its former version. Elaine says, “It was one year ago in May
since we did the remodel. I wrote John and told him I wouldn’t
change a thing. And I wouldn’t!”
Now that they have planned ahead for the years to come, they
won’t have to.