Function and accessibility with style

I’ve had a love and passion for interiors for as long as I can remember, looking forward to my monthly magazine subscriptions to arrive through the post is always a highlight. As is sitting down with a cup of tea and dreaming of my new perfect kitchen or bathroom.

My other passion and job is Occupational Therapy (OT). Since moving into the private sector I am getting increasingly more referrals for advice and recommendations for major home renovations and adaptations for people with varying disabilities. I currently have two clients who are wheelchair dependent due to spinal injuries. One is building her home from scratch, while the other is undergoing major adaptations to her home. They both want their homes to give them increased levels of independence and to be able to access everywhere whenever they want. 

Interiors magazines inspire me with ideas for colour schemes, fabrics and that perfect sink and tap combo. However, with my OT hat on, I see just how inaccessible a lot of these products and layouts are for the majority of my clients. 

SMART homes are becoming the norm, which is great for many of my clients as it allows them to open their curtains, turn on the lights and manage the heating at the touch of a button from their iPhone. Most of these systems run independently from the Wi-Fi, to ensure they can be used at all times. 

Technology continues to move at such a pace and it is wonderful to see what can be achieved but when it comes to specialist equipment though, it remains clinical, white, and most commonly plastic so easy to wipe down. Has anyone ever seen a stylish shower chair on wheels? This is an item the majority of my clients need, so why hasn’t anyone designed one with more style? I can guarantee there is a huge market out there for it! Our bathrooms should be a sanctuary, a place to relax and unwind, not a place that reminds us of a hospital setting. 

One area that has improved significantly is the Wet-room – once clinical and bland and something you needed to wait for ages for your local authority to install – it’s now a common feature in the majority of people’s homes. However while the access and function of the space has improved and become far more stylish, as soon as you need that shower chair or grab rail or half height shower screen to prevent the carer from getting soaked every morning, the style disappears. 

I have recently set up my new Instagram – @OT.styleandfunction and I am loving finding a community of the most amazing people living with a disability and wanting to live with a stylish interior. Stair lifts are being spray painted in a rainbow of colours; bed grab rails are also getting a lick of paint. But why can’t we just buy these items already in a choice of colours?

Every year new products are designed to help keep people as independent as possible, and I love that, but what I would love even more is if these products had style. Imagine that, function, accessibility and style….and how wonderful would it be to open one of my monthly subscriptions and see one of the featured homes was that of a wheelchair user proud to display her pink shower chair in the most beautiful bathroom.