Accessible Freedom Kitchen

The journey started with Shannon’s Occupational Therapist, from Anglian Case Management, contacting Blaines to enquire if we were able to design and install a kitchen for Shannon and her family. It would be a kitchen that would need to encompass the needs of Shannon and her P.A (personal assistant) and the needs and wants of a busy family.

Shannon, her Mum Paula, and her Occupational Therapists visited our Accessible showroom to come and touch

This kitchen has been designed for Shannon who is a full-time wheelchair user, and she uses the kitchen with the support of a P. The kitchen, however, was designed with the whole family in mind which led us to use different design features in a different areas.

This was a full turnkey installation that included removal of the kitchen, first fix of all services, installation of kitchen (including electric rise and fall worktop) templating and installation of stone fixed worktop, decoration, flooring, and second fixing of services. This was a large rectangular kitchen with one window and one doorway, allowing for the use of tall units and wall units.

We have used many different items to make life as easy as possible for Shannon, such as the 300 pull and twist larder unit, oven housings with heatproof pull-out draw underneath, slide and hide ovens, and front-facing tap controls on the rise and fall to aid the independence of Shannon.

The family requested the use of a boiling tap, but this was unable to be installed onto the sink due to the rise and fall because it would not have been safe, nor is there anywhere, to have the water boiler and all the associated plumbing. We created a separate unit for the boiler and then a separate drip tray for the tap on the fixed piece of the worktop. The boiling tap has built-in safety features, so you are not able to accidentally get boiling water.

Safety is always paramount for any user within the kitchen, and we have added extra features to make this happen. Around the rise and fall, there is a safety stop bar that runs along the edge of the facia which when squeezed stopped the downward movement of the worktop and allows the worktop to rise so that the user underneath is not squished. The worktop on the rise and fall unit has a lipped “waterfall edge” which gives added protection from spilled liquids not dripping onto the client. This is even more beneficial when boiling or scolding liquids are used so that the user does not get burnt. It is proven that these “waterfall edges” can reduce serious burns or scolds by up to 70%.

Draw units and pull-out larders made life a lot easier for the client to access her items within the kitchen. As a wheelchair user, it was not possible for her to use base unit cupboards. Pullouts enabled her to position herself in such a way that she could open the units with the aid of her electric wheelchair.

This Kitchen has been designed to support a younger client and her family. The kitchen has been “future-proofed” so that it continues to support her as she grows up.
This kitchen was designed with the design and budget in mind.

Shannon, Paula, and other parties involved in the project were over the moon with the finished product, and the room looked amazing.