Since starting the blog and my instagram a few years ago I’ve been luckily and privileged to ‘meet’ a lot of disabled people with a love for interiors who have since become Instagram friends and who provide me with inspiration every day.
I’ve been collecting some of their stories on the blog in the Accessible Home Tours section and I thought it might be time to look back and do a round up of some of my rooms in their houses, because well, frankly we might be all a little bored of looking at our own homes and might want some escapist inspiration for the moment!
In these strange times where many of us around the world are staying safe in our homes, many people with disabilities are at home for weeks and months on end. It’s important to those with a disability that their home is safe, secure and welcoming for them if they are unable to leave for long periods. We are all recognising that feeling at the moment, with many of us locked down and improving our homes where we can, decorating, gardening, planning. But sometimes we want to get some inspiration, and I hope this post and the posts it’s connected to can give you some ideas for your own home.
If you’d like to feature on the blog in an accessible home tour then why not get in touch using the ‘contact‘ page or pop me a DM on Instagram.
The Lavenders
First up is The Quarry, the lovely mid-century inspired ranch home in Indiana, USA of LeAnne and Derek and Barkus their dog. LeAnne has a lovely blog, where she talks about Derek’s accident that changed their lives and changed the way they view their home – and how she now helps people design their own accessible home.
I’m always jealous of American homes, the space and size is amazing. Having lived in the American Mid-West myself, I’ve seen some large homes and I’ve seen walk in closets bigger than my bedroom!
So let’s look at my two favourite spaces in their home. First up is the beautiful custom bathroom, with specific equipment for bathing and plenty of space for the wheelchair. In the reflection in the mirror you can see the bathing wheelchair for use in the shower.
There’s more details on LeAnne and Derek’s story in my blog post here.
Beautiful wheelchair height sinks and vanity unit 
One of the lovely living areas in their home.
Pati Robins
It wouldn’t be a round up of accessible homes without Pati’s name coming up. Many people that follow her or see her pictures on Instagram might not realise that her home is adapted and has accessible features in. Her rented home in South Wales is full of bold and fabulous design ideas, many of which are on a budget or home made, and she manages to draw the eye away from the accessible adaptations used by her husband to keep their home quirky, homely, and safe for him to get around.
The stair lift in Pati’s home is a perfect example of a way to disguise what is an ugly piece of equipment and make it look beautiful and make it part of the furniture. It’s been painted to match the walls. Such a simple idea!
Take a look at my chat with Pati here
Can you spot the track for the stair lift? 
The stair lift here is almost invisible!
Blue Copper Design
I recently spoke to Maegan from Blue Copper Design, and I’m blown away by her home in Arizona, USA. Again, those big American homes allow for lots of space and you can certainly tell that Maegan is a wheelchair using Interior Designer with a specialism in adapted and inclusive homes. She can use her experience to help guide other wheelchair users through the design process to help give them a lovely home.
I love the hints and tips she gives us in our chat here – do pop over and take a look to see how she works her way through the design process.
My favourite rooms in Maegan’s home is her gorgeous kitchen, with everything set to her specifications and for her wheelchair – it’s stunning and about as big as my house! Also I love the cement sinks in the bathroom, set to the right height for her needs and a striking design statement with copper hardware.
such lovely design, also look at the accessible sliding barn door! 
#kitchenenvy
Some More Favourites:
So far I’ve chatted to people in homes with stairs, bungalows, ranch homes and with different disabilities, wheelchairs, no wheelchairs, sensory rooms and so on. What has struck me so far in my Accessible Home Tours journey is the fantastic creativity in how our accessible homes are designed, hacked or changed to accommodate the needs of the specific disability concerned. What this has shown me is that we don’t have to look at accepting ‘Hospital Chic’ in our homes, and that people with a disability in the home are just as interested in interior and interior design as anyone else.
Below I’ve put together a few more of my favourite photos from Series 1 of Accessible Home Tours: which one is your favourite?
Lee – Bungalow Transformation 
Deb – PearlGrey7 
Rachael – Eclectic Eccentric Home
That’s a wrap for Series 1 of the Accessible Home Tours and I’m busy planning Series 2 – please contact me if you’d like to be featured. In the meantime, stay safe at home and enjoy the home inspiration!