Is it easy for you and your friends to enter your home?
Are you constantly battling the elements and cursing the tripping hazards?
How do you think it would feel to have an accessible front entrance?
Well, perhaps a little like this……
It’s a hot sunny day.
You’ve just arrived back home from grocery shopping.
You park your car in your driveway and gather your grocery bags out of the trunk.
You head up the flat walkway towards your wide front door. Just last week the delivery guys commented on how easy it was to get your new refrigerator through the opening.
You stop part-way along to readjust your bags using the handrails for a bit of support.
As you reach your front door you realize the sun is hotter than you expected. But that’s ok because you find relief in the shade of the large covered landing.
You smile as you remember not having to shovel it of snow this winter, as the roof kept it wonderfully dry.
You put your things down on the bench as you search in your purse for your keys. You ponder sitting out here with a coffee later, to watch the world go by.
You really appreciate not having to remember to switch on the automated exterior lights for evening visitors, or for the nights when you come home and it’s dark. You feel secure knowing they will turn on with any movement outside.
Unlocking your front door, it swings open easily using the lever handle. You gather up your bags and step effortlessly through the zero-threshold entry into your bright spacious hallway.
Placing your bags down on the buffet you turn to slide the retractable screen door closed. This is so much more convenient than dealing with the two swinging doors you used to struggle with. The sliding action is also easier for your best friend to operate, who uses a walker.
For the moment you decide to leave the front door open to allow the gentle breeze into your home….
Does that sound almost too easy?
Well, if you incorporate accessible features, it can be that easy
Here’s what makes an accessible front entry:
- A wide, flat walkway with handrails and no stairs
- A 36in/91cm wide door with a low threshold
- A lever-handle on the door not a knob
- A covered area over the front entrance
- A bench or seat near the front door for resting bags and parcels on and for sitting outside
- Automatic motion-sensor lights around door and up the walkway
- Retractable screen door rather than a swing screen door
- Spacious interior entry hall
Read about front door security and automation here.
Read here how to plan the placement and choose the style of your interior doors.
Action Plan
Don’t stop at your front door with these tips; apply them to all the entries into your home. The more accessible your outside areas are the more joy you will get from them and be able to share them with all of your friends regardless of their age or abilities.
What could you do to your front entrance to make it a more welcoming and safer place to come home through?