Creating More Ideal Accessible Homes

Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods announced that they would be building three wheelchair-accessible homes in August of 2021 as a concept project. They were built in Moore, Norman, and Stillwater communities as modified versions of existing floor plans. Being in a wheelchair or having mobility limitations can be very frustrating in a home that has stairs, carpet, and narrow doorways or walkways.  Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods came up with a way for people to “age in place” and be extremely comfortable in their own home by designing more mobility-friendly homes.

The phrase “age in place” describes these homes perfectly because these homes allow people to stay in their home’s longer. They are also homes that can support all age groups and make it very easy for older family members to come over to the house, as well as children or young adults that may be disabled or have mobility challenges. Getting around a normally built home in a wheelchair or on crutches can be extremely difficult if not impossible. These homes are universal and change the way people live their day-to-day life. People of all kinds can now be comfortable in their own home without having to worry about tripping over the steps or falling in the shower.  

There are so many great features that you can add as custom options in your Ideal home that can tremendously improve your way of living. Most customers choose to eliminate any stairs or steps in the home to make it easy to get around and to also get in and out of the house. Solid surface flooring is also a great option to make it easy to move around in your home. The kitchen has some awesome options including roll-out shelves in all base cabinets and pocket doors under the sink so people can get close to the sink to do the dishes. Lever handles are also an option all throughout the house to make opening doors easy. The roll in shower option makes it very easy for people to get in and out of the shower and makes them feel comfortable and safe. Another great feature are grab bars in the shower and around the toilet for extra support if needed. The master bathroom and the hall bathrooms have roll-up vanity options so that people can get closer to the vanity and mirror if needed. Throughout the house, the outlets may be raised for easy access when needing to plug or unplug things.  

These accessibility options are most frequently added to the Edison and Fitzgerald house plans, as well as in the Forrester and Holloway house plans. The CAD Operator at Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods, Joseph Shore, said “These house plans are popular sellers to begin with and are most cost efficient for the customer to be able to modify as well. There is very little that must be structurally changed to allow for these accommodations with these plans.”  Customers can pick and choose the accessibility upgrades that will be most accommodating to their needs and wants. Customers may also choose all the upgrades depending on what they are wanting.

Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods hopes to inspire more home builders to offer the concept of universal home design. Joseph Shore said, “We work to do our best to live up to Ideal Homes (Why) to create The Ideal Place to live.” Creating a home that is accessible for all people and would give people the option to make a house their forever home without the need for adaptation with age is the goal Ideal Homes is striving for.