Our Bathroom Winners:
Universal Design to Meet Needs Now
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Photos: (top) Homeowner winners Bill Stothers and Cyndi Jones in their South Park home and (bottom) ASID's Adapt-a-Home team on board to help with other rooms in the home: Joanne Levreault, Sasha West, Gerald Bouvia III, and Bridget Crane.
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Bill Stothers and Cyndi Jones are advocates of universal design, and thanks to a contest sponsored by ReVisions Resources, AARP and the American Society of Interior Designers, they will see the concept become a reality in the bathroom of their nearly century old Craftsman-style home in San Diego’s South Park neighborhood.
Stothers and Jones are winners of the bath component in the Designed for Life – Kitchen and Bath Contest. The award comes with a bathroom remodel worth up to $31,000 and includes plans, merchandise and installation provided by Best Bath Systems and Aging-in-Place Remodeling.
The first competition of its kind to focus on a single county, Designed for Life is sponsored by ReVisions Resources in partnership with AARP San Diego and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), San Diego, to challenge top professional designers to create design solutions for homeowners in older neighborhoods who want to introduce universal design solutions into their home. The concepts of universal design allows owners to build or remodel their homes using thoughtful space planning, and attractive well-designed fixtures that provide a living environment that can be lived in for the rest of their lives.
“We both are polio survivors, disability activists and universal design advocates,” Stothers wrote in his contest entry. “I use a power wheelchair; my wife had used crutches but now uses a scooter. As time has passed and our functional abilities have declined, using the bathtub has become impossible; we are forced to sponge bathe."
“Our goal,” he wrote, “is to maintain the character of the home and show that universal design can be successfully incorporated into old, and historic, homes.”
ASID designer Denise Homme took on the challenge with style and attention to detail that impressed judges. An expert in universal design, she crafted a functional, yet beautiful solution, that ultimately was declared to be the winning design for the bathroom component of the contest.
Homme, currently Program Director at Design Institute of San Diego, has more than 40 years in professional practice. Universal design has been a passion for nearly 20 of those years. In addition to implementing universal solutions for her interior design clients, it was Homme who was instrumental in bringing universal design content to interior design coursework at the University of California, Riverside, while she was acting Programs Coordinator in the Department of Arts and Humanities (Interior Design Program).
Even before meeting them, Homme saw for herself that Stothers and Jones were familiar with the concept of universal design. After driving past their home, she said, “I was impressed with how carefully they had considered the architecture of their 1917 Craftsman-style home when they added a ramp to access their front porch. Barely visible, the ramp was expertly placed, blending very comfortably into the facade of their house.
“Just looking at their attention to detail, I knew I was going to like these new clients. They seemed to understand and respect the character of their lovely little house. I could hardly wait to meet them.”
In creating the redesign of their bathroom, foremost for Homme was meeting the needs and preferences of Stothers and Jones, who ultimately will be using the space.
Stothers and Jones face several challenges in the use of their existing bathroom:
· a small bathroom with two major doorway entrances -- one from the main hallway, the other from a bedroom;
· size and placement of existing windows; and
· maintaining the architectural integrity of the home using updated products and material.
Homme worked with an eye to making the room safe and easy to use for both Stothers and Jones as well as for any ambulatory friends and associates who visit their home.
Products in the new bathroom will be provided by Best Bath Systems, a leader in safe bathing technology. Aging-in-Place Remodeling, a leader in creating safe, accessible homes for independent living, will provide remodeling services, including construction and installation. Aging-in-Place Remodeling does everything from single grab bar installs all the way up to whole house remodels, with much of the focus usually centered on creating a better bathroom.
With offices in both San Diego and Riverside Counties, Aging-in-Place Remodeling has worked on hundreds of accessibility and safety modifications projects throughout Southern California.
They have access to more than 3000 mobility/safety products to meet the needs of clients with different needs and requests.
Best Bath Systems' products, manufactured in the United States, include a full line of showers and walk-in tubs that are designed to convert a standard bathing space into an accessible, attractive and safe bathing area. In their production process, the company uses ceramic tile, but in a way that eliminates the cleaning hassles and sanitation issues of grout. They also make available custom color accents to tile, safety bars, seats and other accessories.
Homme is planning to use 15 universal design features that will be incorporated into the remodeled bathroom.
1. Providing for a 60-inch diameter clear turning space to provide spacious floor space to accommodate the turning requirement of a wheelchair, scooter, crutches or a walker.
2. Locating all light switches and waterproof outlets lower than what is considered a standard height so they are easy to reach by all users.
3. Retaining and replacing the existing window with an ez-glide window unit and a pull-down interior water-proof shade.
4. Increasing the existing light levels from the overhead fixture by adding pendant fixtures and under cabinet lighting.
5. Specifying easy-grip, easy to move and operate handles for the doors, cabinets and faucets.
6. Incorporating pull-outs and pull-downs in the upper and lower cabinets to make it easy to access the back portions of cabinets and interior shelves.
7. Installing fixtures, faucets and other equipment controls so they are easily reached and operated from both a sitting and standing position.
8. Adding slide-out surfaces below the cabinet counter tops to increase the amount of work surfaces in an otherwise small bathroom.
9. Specifying a roomy roll-in or “curbless” shower stall with a wide entry and a flush threshold to make it easy for anyone using the bathroom to negotiate getting into and out of the shower.
10. Installing sturdy, attractive grab bars in reinforced horizontal and vertical locations that enhance the use of the bathroom; including a sliding shower head with integral grab bar.
11. Specifying a solid one-inch hex pattern ceramic tile for the floor and counter tops to provide for a smooth, non-slip surface.
12. Locating towel hooks and bars in places that are easily accessed by all users.
13. Using a “multiple-wand” system to allow for maximum flexibility when opening and closing the shower curtain from more than one location.
14. Providing comfortable knee space below the lavatory and a toilet with a vertical height that accommodates the clients’ needs.
15. Utilizing easy care, low-maintenance products and surfaces to minimize time spent in cleaning and upkeep.
As winner of the bathroom remodel, Stothers and Jones will also reap additional benefits from the work of the new Emerging Design Professionals; a committee made up of young interior designers representing ASID San Diego. As a kick-off to their new community service project, Adapt-a-Home, EDP committee members plan to work on other rooms in the house which will make the home more comfortable as well as underline the importance of applying universal design concepts while preserving the integrity and dignity of the home and the client.