Susy McBride learned to design universally as the mother of a daughter with disabilities and recently won a national award for a project that provides easy access and attractive design.
When Susy McBride oversaw the design and construction of a new home for herself and her family in Fountaingrove in 2000, she found herself thinking about details that most people take for granted. She thought about fixtures, outlets, cabinet heights and studs, but not just how they looked, but how easy they were to use.
She focused on everything and tried to see the house through the eyes of her daughter Alexa, who has cerebral palsy and was only 9 at the time. Now in her 30s, Alexa relies on a wheelchair for mobility and has other motor problems that can make navigating spaces difficult.
McBride, an experienced interior designer, was an early adopter of universal designthen just a fledgling idea that has become much more mainstream over the past 25 years, revolutionizing how many people plan and build their homes.
Universal design goes beyond the basic accessibility requirements defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. The comfort and use of features are taken into account by all people, regardless of their size, age or physical dexterity and strength. This means that almost everyone can live in a house relatively easily, without the need for extra help.
“When you consider universal design, you also have to think about people, for example those who have arthritis and cannot squeeze. It’s harder to turn a round knob than push a lever down or up. And in a bathroom, a nob tap is much harder to reach than just a lever,” says McBride.
It could be something as simple as providing a tall prep table and a shorter one for a customer whose 6-foot-2 husband was the cook in the family. Universal Design is a kissing cousin of Designed for Aging in Place, both are popular as Baby Boomers and Gen Xers strive to create forever homes that they don’t have to leave if they develop physical problems. That could be a hip problem that requires a walker, or a shoulder injury that makes it difficult to reach, or a sore knee that makes bending painful.
An award-winning designer
When McBride was called in to do interior design for a contractor building a custom home in the Tubbs Fire burn area, McBride decided to put her years of knowledge to the test. She worked in many universal design ideas throughout the house. The trick, she claims, is not just to design for functionality and ease of use, but to also make it beautiful – so beautiful that you wouldn’t notice it was designed with accessibility or older customers in mind. The modern house has warm, neutral tones in white, light gray and lighter wood. Sprinkled in like Easter eggs are helpful tricks to make it easier for someone who is getting older or has mobility or movement problems.
The bathroom caught the attention of the International’s judges The recent Design Society awards. They named her Designer of the Year in the Universal Design/Aging in Place category. It was one of 41 categories for everything from small powder rooms to entire houses and every interior space in between. Universal Design was one of nine specialty categories. The awards attract entries from designers across the country.
First, the shower is curbless with double doors that swing to either side, allowing a wheelchair to easily roll in. There are two doors that swing in both directions and two shower heads, one on a pole that is height adjustable so that someone who is in a wheelchair, a shower chair or is just short can use it.
The sink floats in the middle, so that a wheelchair can easily drive up. But if you didn’t need a wheelchair, you could also place a stylish chair there. The mirrors are illuminated by touch and all cabinets have handles that are easy to grip. The handles of the faucet are levers. Although other cabinets in the room don’t float, McBride created extra space beneath them so that at least the footrests of a wheelchair could slide underneath. The room lighting is turned on with a toggle switch that can be turned on with a simple press.
All surfaces are easy to clean. The counters are quartz and the tiles are large – 24 by 48 inches – so the grout lines are small. Because the site has no privacy concerns, she installed seven-foot windows, almost to the three-foot ceilings, to let in light, views of nature and promote well-being, she said.
Designing their home
When designing her Fountaingrove home with Alexa in mind, McBride thought about a multitude of details.
“Granted, I didn’t have to think about the kitchen, but I definitely had to think about the bathroom and the walkways to the house. Instead of adding steps, we created a beautiful winding walkway to the door,” McBride recalls of the house she built in 2000 and sold just before the Tubbs Fire in 2017. “We got a wider 42-inch door instead of a 36-inch door. inch wide door. We had wilder hallways and even thought about the turning circle coming out of her bedroom. You have to think about things like that if you are a wheelchair user.”