Collection by Nadja Jonsson

Inclusive Design

This proves that accessible design can be beautiful and possible.

Sliding pocket doors can be used to close off the kitchen from the dining room. The cabinetry was custom built from mañío wood.
Sliding pocket doors can be used to close off the kitchen from the dining room. The cabinetry was custom built from mañío wood.
The house is spread out across a single floor, there are no internal stairs. This layout accommodates the physical disabilities of one of the clients’ children.
The house is spread out across a single floor, there are no internal stairs. This layout accommodates the physical disabilities of one of the clients’ children.
Local fauna can pass beneath the elevated home into the courtyard and out onto the other side. The interior courtyard was partly inspired by the lush, open-sky garden at the National Library of France.
Local fauna can pass beneath the elevated home into the courtyard and out onto the other side. The interior courtyard was partly inspired by the lush, open-sky garden at the National Library of France.
Large glass sliding doors connect the indoor living room to a covered outdoor patio with views of the lake.
Large glass sliding doors connect the indoor living room to a covered outdoor patio with views of the lake.
081
081
The kitchen cabinet wall provides storage and workspace, yet retains an open feel by stopping well beneath the ceiling. Sliding cabinets at the bottom reduce the number of space-hogging swinging cabinet doors, and a KitchenAid mixer is hidden behind the horizontal lift-up cabinet at right, which recesses into the wall. “The cooktop is at a height where I can see into my pot of spaghetti sauce,” says Braitmayer. “I cook in this kitchen more than ever before.” The countertops are heat-resistant, allowing more options for the person cooking. To the right of the sink is an ADA-compliant dishwasher from Miele. The pendant lights are from Progress Lighting.
The kitchen cabinet wall provides storage and workspace, yet retains an open feel by stopping well beneath the ceiling. Sliding cabinets at the bottom reduce the number of space-hogging swinging cabinet doors, and a KitchenAid mixer is hidden behind the horizontal lift-up cabinet at right, which recesses into the wall. “The cooktop is at a height where I can see into my pot of spaghetti sauce,” says Braitmayer. “I cook in this kitchen more than ever before.” The countertops are heat-resistant, allowing more options for the person cooking. To the right of the sink is an ADA-compliant dishwasher from Miele. The pendant lights are from Progress Lighting.
As an architect who specializes in universal access design and ADA compliance and as a wheelchair user herself, Karen Braitmayer was no stranger to the challenges of accessible design. Although she had been able to take advantage of her 1954 home's single-level, open layout, as her daughter (also a wheelchair user) grew up, the family's accessibility needs also shifted. The main living area includes a more formal sitting area near the entrance, the dining area, Braitmayer’s workspace, and the kitchen—you can see the couple’s daughter working at the island. In the foreground is a pair of midcentury chairs; at left is a Heywood-Wakefield that Braitmayer found at an antiques shop. Seattle-based designer Lucy Johnson completed the interiors. The windows are from Lindal, and the exterior doors are from Marvin.
As an architect who specializes in universal access design and ADA compliance and as a wheelchair user herself, Karen Braitmayer was no stranger to the challenges of accessible design. Although she had been able to take advantage of her 1954 home's single-level, open layout, as her daughter (also a wheelchair user) grew up, the family's accessibility needs also shifted. The main living area includes a more formal sitting area near the entrance, the dining area, Braitmayer’s workspace, and the kitchen—you can see the couple’s daughter working at the island. In the foreground is a pair of midcentury chairs; at left is a Heywood-Wakefield that Braitmayer found at an antiques shop. Seattle-based designer Lucy Johnson completed the interiors. The windows are from Lindal, and the exterior doors are from Marvin.
“When we first drove by the house, I saw the front and said, ‘No way,’” remembers Braitmayer of initially seeing the home, which was advertised as having a level entry. “But then we discovered the alley leading to the back of the house and the garage, which already had a ramp, as the previous owner’s wife also had a mobility limitation.” After the family settled in, Braitmayer began working in the garden, which she says “can never really be finished—there always has to be something left to do.”
“When we first drove by the house, I saw the front and said, ‘No way,’” remembers Braitmayer of initially seeing the home, which was advertised as having a level entry. “But then we discovered the alley leading to the back of the house and the garage, which already had a ramp, as the previous owner’s wife also had a mobility limitation.” After the family settled in, Braitmayer began working in the garden, which she says “can never really be finished—there always has to be something left to do.”
Like an outstretched umbrella, the canopy structure creates an open gesture for greater social conviviality, while at the same time, invites the natural world in.
Like an outstretched umbrella, the canopy structure creates an open gesture for greater social conviviality, while at the same time, invites the natural world in.
A series of cantilevered roof beams, supported by 3” diameter pipe columns, create a canopy structure.
A series of cantilevered roof beams, supported by 3” diameter pipe columns, create a canopy structure.
View from the accessible terrace.
View from the accessible terrace.
In the living room and kitchen, soft-but-tough Expanko cork flooring provides comfort and stands up to dings and scuffs. While the kitchen was designed primarily with Surendra and a caregiver’s needs in mind, it also accommodates the five-foot-radius of a wheelchair.
In the living room and kitchen, soft-but-tough Expanko cork flooring provides comfort and stands up to dings and scuffs. While the kitchen was designed primarily with Surendra and a caregiver’s needs in mind, it also accommodates the five-foot-radius of a wheelchair.
Zoning laws determined the maximum square footage of the guesthouse; as a workaround, Schwartz created a detached two-car garage, which did not count toward the dwelling’s overall size. In addition to the breezeway and the overhang, a series of ipe slats unite the two structures, covering the doors and a walkway in between. The living area is furnished with a Raleigh sofa and armchair by Jeffrey Bernett and Nicholas Dodziuk; the direct-vent gas stove is by Jøtul.
Zoning laws determined the maximum square footage of the guesthouse; as a workaround, Schwartz created a detached two-car garage, which did not count toward the dwelling’s overall size. In addition to the breezeway and the overhang, a series of ipe slats unite the two structures, covering the doors and a walkway in between. The living area is furnished with a Raleigh sofa and armchair by Jeffrey Bernett and Nicholas Dodziuk; the direct-vent gas stove is by Jøtul.
On approach to the guesthouse, the family keeps an edible garden in concrete planters by the property’s landscape designer, Cielo Sichi of Landfour.
On approach to the guesthouse, the family keeps an edible garden in concrete planters by the property’s landscape designer, Cielo Sichi of Landfour.
On approach to the guesthouse, the family keeps an edible garden in concrete planters by the property’s landscape designer, Cielo Sichi of Landfour.
On approach to the guesthouse, the family keeps an edible garden in concrete planters by the property’s landscape designer, Cielo Sichi of Landfour.
hallway looking south
hallway looking south
north elevation
north elevation

18 more saves