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Charmaine thinks safe and functional kitchens and bathrooms should be in the design of every home, with wheelchair users, the blind, people with other disabilities and seniors being the focus. She also believes the outdoors can be made accessible and esthetically pleasing. In the Caribbean, outdoor living can be effortlessly embraced as that region’ s climate ensures that space can be enjoyed all year round. Charmaine blurs the lines between the interior and the exterior, subtly bringing the outside in as well taking the inside outside. Interior furniture is used outside and vice versa; courtyards are covered with transparent roofing to preserve the ability to still enjoy the sunshine, sky and clouds while protecting furniture from rain. Interior design smoothly transitions to the outdoors with trees, plants and flowers incorporated into a setting that looks good and is also therapeutic.
“ We’ ve recreated this outdoor spirit in our home,” Charmaine shared,“ we have several different outside‘ rooms’: a couple of secluded areas for quiet contemplation; another that is hidden away and embraced by tropical greenery; and then a couple of larger spaces for lounging, dining, entertaining, chilling and listening to music. The outside is an extension of the inside, which in turn is framed by the jaw dropping seascape.” And it is all accessible to a wheelchair user as needed.
Seniors in the Caribbean tend to age in place, and as family members try to make a home as safe and comfortable as possible, accessible outdoor living spaces becomes relevant, not only for its esthetic qualities but also for the emotional benefit it brings. Charmaine
remembers working remotely on the home of her friend’ s parents who lives on a nearby
island. Mom had dementia so it was important to not change things around that much and she was also using a walker. Clean and uncluttered was needed and that was accomplished, but the most fulfilling was the outdoor space filled with vibrant flowers through which mom was able to navigate safely with her walker! The people of the Caribbean love their gardens. Because of the pandemic with everyone being at home now more than ever, they want to enjoy their
outdoor living, so Charmaine is improving outdoor spaces on the island- balconies,