While there is no shortage of companies that offer products for adapting a standard home for the needs of an elderly or disabled person, there are few that look at the complete picture. An exception is AKW, the leading provider of independent living solutions, a company which encompasses both product innovation and design expertise to offer a one-stop shop for accessible living with style.
The need for an accessible home can cover a whole range of circumstances, but while these can vary, something shared is the challenge that can be posed by two key areas in the home – the bathroom and the kitchen. If either of these are inaccessible then, effectively, the home as a whole does not enable independent living.
Traditionally, the approach has been to add items such as grab rails, bath seats, toilet riser seats. Although such products can be effective, as add-ons they can be at best intrusive and at worst they can impede access for other members of the family. They certainly don’t add anything to the aesthetics of the home. Paul Tingey is one of AKW’s design experts and says: “It is normal to talk about adapted bathrooms and kitchens, but if we think only in terms of adapting, there is a great danger that the end result will be a compromise. If you try to change a standard bathroom by just adding assistive products to it, you are trying to turn it into something it was never intended to be. Increasingly at AKW we are putting the emphasis on designing, rather than adapting. This means taking a holistic approach and looking at how the space can best be arranged with the most appropriate fittings and fixtures to make it accessible for any user. If you design for a purpose, what you arrive at is much more likely to be fit for that purpose.”
Of all the spaces in the home, the bathroom is most likely to pose the greatest challenge in terms of accessibility – and in the bathroom, it is the bath that is the most difficult of those challenges. Working with a wide range of local authorities and social housing organisations, AKW has had a lot of experience of bathroom refurbishment projects. The company can cite many instances of situations where residents have had to rely on the help of a visiting carer when they wanted to bathe. This not only limited the times that they could enjoy what for many of us is one of life’s luxuries, it also severely damaged their personal pride and sense of independence.
In offering a solution, rather than suggesting ways of trying to make the bath a little more accessible, AKW’s approach is to take the bath out of the equation altogether and replace it with a shower enclosure. Not just any shower enclosure though. Understanding the principles of accessibility, AKW’s designers propose a number of solutions ranging from a low-level shower tray to a full wet-room environment. The result, in many cases, has been no less than transformational. Paul Tingey says: “We have a long list of testimonials where people have said that having had a shower installed has transformed their daily lives. Many have been able to dispense with the need for assistance and virtually everyone has said that it makes them feel safer and more independent.”
While the solutions to accessibility lie in the detail, such as easy access shower trays or specially designed electric care showers which offer a range of features not available in conventional showers, AKW also looks at the bigger picture. Paul Tingey: “We feel that it’s important that we never lose sight of the fact that we are talking about people’s homes – and that people care deeply about having a home that looks good. For that reason, we are increasingly looking at creating ranges which have all of the design features, quality materials and good looks that you would expect to find in any bathroom boutique, with the added value of having features incorporated that are specifically designed for inclusive living.”
The same thinking applies to AKW’s kitchen ranges. Another challenging – and potentially dangerous – area of the home, the kitchen is, nevertheless, also a space where good looks matter. And it is a space that is likely to be used by a variety of different people. So, for AKW, the priority is to design kitchens that look good and will function equally well for anyone. This means including features such as recessed plinths that will accommodate wheelchair footplates, rise and fall worksurfaces and cupboards, pull-out baskets and larder units and appliances designed with accessibility in mind.
With kitchens, like bathrooms, AKW feels that it is important, as a manufacturer, to offer complete solutions rather than individual items. For bathrooms, therefore, AKW can provide everything from a wet-floor liner or shower tray, through to the enclosure, the shower, sanitaryware and a full range of complementary accessories. Kitchen ranges too are comprehensive, with a wide choice of units and accessories in a range of finishes, with choices of worktops and appliances that cover every requirement.
Paul Tingey: “From all points of view, we feel it is important that we can offer everything that is needed to create an accessible kitchen and bathroom because these are the key features in a fully accessible home. It helps the designer and installer because our ranges are designed to work together to create a functional whole. It certainly benefits the end user, who will not only have the features they need to make their home accessible, they will also have ranges of beautiful products to choose from – we believe that part of being independent is being able to choose how your home looks as well as how it functions.”
