Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2019 - 18

Kitchens for
Living in Place

Universal Design

By LOUIE DELAWARE,
MBA, BSME, CLIPP, Living In
Place Institute

How to promote safety in the
most popular room in the home
KITCHENS ARE WHERE PEOPLE SPEND most

of their time when at home - putting away groceries, preparing and eating food, washing dishes
and entertaining. However, most kitchens present
challenges for certain individuals and are poorly
designed for the comfort, health and safety of the
home's occupants and visitors.
Some key issues of unsafe kitchen design are
poor lighting and a lack of adequate or accessible
storage, causing items to be left out, which creates clutter. I spoke to some well-known kitchen
industry experts for their suggestions on how to
design your kitchen projects to be more accessible,
comfortable and safe for everyone.
COOKING SAFETY

We all have probably left a stove burner on, and
the number-one cause of house fires is the stove.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly two-thirds of all home fires start in
the kitchen. Most homeowners are now familiar
with or at least open to the idea of induction cooktops, which Sheri Gold, CKD, CLIPP, national
showroom & design manager for Monogram
Appliances, says is a safer way of cooking.
"There are no open flames or hot coils to burn
someone or set their clothing or a hot pad on fire,"
she explained."Induction cooktops have a built-in
safety feature that will turn off the power if there
is nothing on the burner or if the temperature gets
too high in the pot or pan. French-door ovens are
very easy to operate and don't require you to lower
or raise up what may be for some people a too-low,
heavy oven door."
Gold also recommends that all kitchens have
automatic fire extinguishers, which can be built
into a custom vent hood and will operate when the
temperature above the cooking area is too high.
"There are also devices that automatically shut
off the electricity or gas to a stove or cooktop if an
item gets too hot or has been on for too long,"said
Gold. "They can be programmed to only operate
during specific hours or for an allowable duration. Monogram has incorporated an automatic
cooking shutoff timer and child-lockout feature
for gas stoves."

18

CAREFUL WITH COUNTERTOPS

Traditionally, most stone or synthetic countertops
have been polished to a high gloss. The bright
reflection from any shiny surface can be uncomfortable and can cause an afterimage, like flashes
from a camera or a flashlight shining in your eyes.
The brighter the light, the longer it takes for your
eyes to adjust and see normally. This afterimage
can make the environment very disorienting and
can lead to accidents and falls.
"To make these surfaces safer and more comfortable, we recommend some of the new matte,
honed or leathered surfaces,"said Mary Wisman,
CMKBD, CLIPP, of Mary Wisman Design &
Consultation in Bozeman, Mont. "We suggest
countertops with simple patterns and graining,
allowing individuals to see small items on the
surface and reducing the psychological impact of
being just too busy - more commonly a problem
for all of us as we age."
Wisman also specifies smooth and rounded
countertop edges that minimize the opportunity
for scratching fragile skin or snagging clothing.
She says those are also much easier to clean than
chiseled edges. In terms of countertop heights, it is
just as uncomfortable for a tall person to work on a
low countertop as it is for someone who is seated
to use a standard-height counter. Based upon a
family's specific needs, Wisman and her company
often suggest counters at different heights and
incorporate open areas under them to accommodate those who are seated, whether that be the
homeowner or their guests.
LET THERE BE LIGHTING

Incorporating a comprehensive, layered lighting plan into a kitchen design is of paramount
importance to the long-term comfort, health and
safety of a home's occupants. A poorly lit space
can cause eye strain and can be dangerous when
its occupants are using certain kitchen tools. Molly
McCabe, AKBD, CLIPP, of A Kitchen That
Works in Bainbridge Island,Wash., has developed
her own process.
"We look to provide a variety of task and ambient lighting options to increase the amount and

quality of illumination in the kitchen, from toe
kicks for visual contrast, under cabinets for concentrated task lighting to overhead lighting for
ease of navigation in the kitchen," she said, explaining that she also specifies dimmers to accommodate everyone's lighting preferences. "We also
use color-tunable, mood-altering lights, which
are important in our area where some clients have
more difficulty with seasonal effectiveness disorder during the darker, gloomier days of winter.
Good lighting design makes the kitchen much
more appealing and functional."
EASY-ACCESS CABINETS

According to Dawn Deluca, AKBD, CLIPP,
CAPS, of New York City-based Dawn Deluca
On Design, for many of her clients - and even her
own parents - easy access to items in the kitchen
can prove to be a challenge.
"A shorter individual, someone who has shoulder issues or someone who has difficulty bending down low all face challenges in accessing
the contents of kitchen cabinets," she explained,
adding that when her team includes a medical
expert, such as an occupational therapist, they
learn how to best help those with balance and
dexterity challenges.
An idea gaining traction is to create a reaching
zone - from nose to knees - where often-used
items are stored - or to provide pull-down, uppercabinet shelf interiors.
"We are now starting to use lineal sliding cabinet doors on both upper and lower cabinets,"added Deluca. "Standard-hinged base cabinet doors
swing out into the room and are a challenge for
working around a kitchen and are almost impossible for someone using crutches, a walker or a
wheelchair. Upper cabinet doors that swing out
are right at face level, so the linear slides are a better
option.We present them in our concept phase and
emphasize their distinctive look and, if necessary,
how they make accessibility easier."
These are just a few of the more important
features that should be incorporated into every
kitchen design to make it functional for everyone
for many years to come.


Kitchen & Bath Business / JANUARY 2019 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of KBIS (KBIS.com)
http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.KBIS.com
Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2019
