universal design – KAREN MILLS

Interior Design: 7 Tips for Designing a Bathroom to…

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021

Universal Design Tips to Make Your Bathroom More Functional for Everyone

As people we often think we are invincible or that we will never age or get hurt. But let’s face it. That’s not a reasonable assumption. So if you’re planning to stay in your home for ten years or longer ensure that you have a bathroom designed to work for you or family/friends coming to stay whether you’re recovering from surgery, have smaller children who may use the space, or an older adult who could fall. Read on for my universal bathroom interior design tips now.

example — Interior design by Karen Mills

Zero Entry Curbless Shower with a wide opening – As shown above a zero entry or curb less shower entry has no lip or curb for someone to trip over and allows for you to enter your shower safely whether in a wheelchair, walker, or other adaptive device. Just remember if you want to accommodate a wheelchair to have ample space to turnaround.

A lower glass shelf allows females to shave their legs without having to bend over or brace their leg against the tile.

2, Wider doorways into the shower and the room. By including a minimum of 36″ width for an entry door into the bedroom and bathroom you can allow for wheelchair in the future if needed.

photo example — Interior design by Karen Mills

3. Handheld Shower Head – As an interior designer I consider adjustable shower heads as a must have. Not only does it make it easier for you to rinse every part of your body, a child or even a pet, but they also make cleaning the shower tiles immensely easier and can accommodate you even in a wheelchair or on a bench after surgery.

4. Shower Bench – Adding a bench when you have room can be invaluable not only for shaving your legs but also as a place to rest when needed or even store toiletries.

Karen Mills' blog — Interior design by Karen Mills

5. Grab Bars That Look Like Towel Bars – No matter what your age it’s never a bad idea to install a grab bar or two in case you lose your balance or need them for support. And what better way to do that than purchasing less industrial style bars that look like attractive towel bars.

6. Ample Lighting – General, Accent, and Task As a female I can’t tell you now many times I’ve had to shave my legs in the dark and that’s no fun. By installing waterproof lights in the shower you will be able to see better, function better and even clean better. Plus these task lights also act as accent lighting to show off the beautiful Italian marble on the walls and floor.

But remember to also include general overhead lighting on a dimmer to provide another layer of lighting for walking through, shaving, putting on make-up or other tasks in the bathroom.

7. Comfort height toilet For most adults in the U.S. a higher toilet will be easier to use especially as we age in place.

In summary before you start construction on a major bathroom design, renovation, or new build take some time first to consider who will be living in the house and for how long.

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Universal Interior Design: 3 Bath Trends of the Future

December 6, 2019February 13, 2020

How to Design a Timeless Style Bathroom That’s More Functional For All the Stages of Our Lives

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is BE58A082-88CE-4597-95FE-6C79503F7EA9-768x1024.jpeg — Interior design by Karen Mills

Accessible Zero Entry (Curbless) Shower – A truly functional bathroom shower will accommodate everyone in the family no matter what the situation from post surgery to broken bones or aging in place where an assist device might be required such as a wheelchair or similar item.

2. Ease of Use A bathroom that functions well for everyone whether they’re a small child, someone needing assistance – even if it’s from breaking your leg skiing, or someone wanting to age in place it’s critical for a bathroom to stand the test of time. Here in this bathroom shower we included attractive grab bars that look like towel bars that provide support when needed, an adjustable shower head that will lower to shower a kid, pet, or someone sitting down and clear access to the shower along with a wider entrance (not shown) to the bathroom. (Please note that a swinging glass door can be added to this shower to hold in the heat.)

3. Ergonomic – As I was reminded recently when my small grandchild came to visit we need to ensure that all family members can use the bathroom no matter what their size or height. Here the free standing tub allows easy access for taking a bath for the majority of people who might use it because there’s no tub deck blocking access.

Faucets that can turned on without a knob provide easier access to turning on water as shown here. To make a vanity even more accessible we have also designed bathroom vanities that float on the wall so you can roll right under them to get to the sink.

For more great ideas and photos, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

Plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook or Instagram here!

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Universal Design: Bathroom Trend of the Future

February 17, 2017February 16, 2017

Whether you’re planning to grow old in your home or not, you should seriously consider incorporating some universal design practices into your home.

Why? Because universal design is becoming more in demand by an aging baby boomer generation, plus universal design features can add value.

Glass enclosed showers make your room not only appear larger but large zero entry showers can usually accommodate a wheelchair or walker.

Interior design by Karen Mills Zero entry shower

For years, homeowners have thought of universal design as utilitarian or ugly like the white bathroom grab bars and plastic bath benches, but the good news is that universally designed homes, especially bathrooms have become beautiful thanks to the interior designers and those savvy architects or builders who understand universal design and how to make it beautiful.

Some additional considerations besides large walk in showers for a more universal design include wall mounted sinks, 36″ wide doorways and grab bars that look like towel bars.