Handicapped, Accessible, Universal 2

Both Ann and I are blessed with four generations alive and (considering all things) well. The age range is seven months (baby Hayden) to 94 (Tad). We wanted our new home to accommodate with ease and comfort and smiles the oldest and youngest and everybody in between.

My Dad, Tad, has stayed with us in the earlier incarnation of 40B a number of times. Given his limited mobility and the inherent dangers of negotiating a strange set of steps, we decided to have him camp in our living room on a full size bed we set up. That gave him single level access to a half bathroom, the kitchen, the dining area, the balance of the living room with its TV and weather station screen, and the main waterside deck. After his first visit, we took the bed apart and stored it away but after his next visit, we simply left it up, using the horizontal surface to fold laundry as it made is way from the basement to the upstairs bedrooms.

The main floor of our home was telling us something.

Ann and I just returned from seeing A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Fred Rogers would often say “I like you just the way you are.” I wanted to design a house that welcomed everyone just the way they are; both now and for the future.

When my Dad stayed with us he couldn’t take a shower, since the only shower was upstairs. So a fully accessible, roll in bathroom with shower was a must.

Note linear drain, high window, privacy glass in door, and no separate shower area. Not shown but will be there; grab bars and shower seat.

Most of the main level is an open space enveloping the kitchen, dining space, and living space. But the bed in our old living room reminded us that privacy, at times, is also important, especially for overnight guests. And it is both visual and acoustic privacy. So it was important to have a space where the doors could be shut. That meant a space with walls and doors.

South facing, a great morning space.

Guest bedroom? Den? Breakfast room? Home office? One of the foundational principles that underlay the design of 40B is spaces should have multiple personalities; changing hats and jackets and shoes as the guest list changes and the seasons advance.

With their at-least-a-queen sized bed, guest bedrooms work against multiple uses. One solution is a pull-out sleeper sofa. For those of us who have spent a good number of nights on one, the mattress-that-must-fold works against sleep comfort. The solution we chose is an old one, the Murphy bed. From Wikipedia;

The bed is named after William Lawrence Murphy (1876–1957), who applied for his first patents around 1900. According to legend, he was wooing an opera singer, but living in a one-room apartment in San Francisco, and the moral code of the time frowned upon a woman entering a man's bedroom. Murphy's invention converted his bedroom into a parlor, enabling him to entertain.

Murphy beds are having something of a renaissance with more adult children coming back to live with their parents and the increasing popularity of tiny homes of many stripes.

One example is my brother-in-law Kevin’s studios at 305 Commandants Way in Chelsea, MA.

Here’s the Murphy bed in the 40B to-be-named space:

Furniture in front of the Murphy bed will be on casters to make rearranging the space for sleeping easy.

What surprises there might be when the bed comes down . . .

Next week; Handicapped, Accessible, Universal 3, High tech help.