Kitchen Renovations | 3 Tactics For Designing An Accessible Kitchen For Shorter People
Your kitchen should ideally accommodate your personal needs as well as possible. After all, you're looking to design the space specifically for the way you use it. Don't despair if you're on the shorter side because not everything is made for the vertically gifted. A few adjustments to the design during kitchen renovations will make the space more functional and easier to use. These tactics during kitchen renovations are aimed to create accessible designs for vertically challenged people.
Lower Your Kitchen Benchtops
Lowering your kitchen benchtops makes it easy for the shorter people to work on them without having to step on a stool or platform. This is also an important consideration because vertically challenged people will find it difficult to raise their hands for placing weighty grocery bags onto high benchtops. If the benchtop height is lowered, a short person can easily place heavy items onto it without having to raise his hands. While a typical kitchen benchtop is most commonly 900mm high, shorter people will benefit from lowering this height for easier handling. At lower heights, you won't have to worry about placing bags on high counters and working with raised hands. This means that you won't have to deal with sore shoulders and sprained backs as you work in the kitchen.
Bring Kitchen Cabinets To Comfortable Heights
While sizes and dimensions can remain standard, you may want to bring down your kitchen cabinets to a comfortable height for every person in your family. While the preferred height is 2100mm for tall cabinets, this may not be practical for shorter people who need to stretch out to reach every single item stored in them. Practical access is a key consideration in this case, so you may want to choose a lower height that is convenient to every single family member. During kitchen renovations, you may want to measure a convenient reach-height for the shortest member of the family by having them stand in the room. This will help you hone in on a comfortable height, so that no one has to inconveniently stretch out to pick up basic cooking items.
Make Space For Appliances At Convenient Heights
To save space, many people prefer to mount appliances like microwaves, toasters and mini ovens on open shelves at a height. While this may work for taller people, it simply may not be a good choice for the vertically challenged. While planning your kitchen renovations, you'll want to consider every appliance in your home to determine a convenient space for setting them. For example, microwaves and toasters may work better when placed directly on the benchtop rather than on a taller open shelf. Be sure to consider every appliance in the same manner before finalising your kitchen design.
When you or any family member is on the shorter side, follow these considerations during kitchen renovations to make the space easier to use.
Share
