Architect Deborah Pierce doesn't design homes for disabled people. She designs homes for people who like to entertain, who love the outdoors, who enjoy hobbies and pets and grandkids - and who have disabilities.
Pierce designs homes that accommodate the needs of everyone who lives there, including the need to live in surroundings that are homey and attractive. She shares her approach in The Accessible Home: Designing for All Ages & Abilities.
The book covers the many considerations in creating a home for an occupant or visitor with a disability, from how wide to make the doorways to where to put the food processor. Pierce coaches her readers to address those details thoughtfully, so the resulting house looks like a home, not an institution.
The book features 25 homes that exemplify her principles, including some that were newly built and some that were renovated. All share Pierce's belief that a home should be sunny, comfortable, intimate and yet generous enough to accommodate others - as she puts it, "a great place to live."
The Accessible Home is published by the Taunton Press and sells for $27.95 in softcover.
