For designers of accessible accomodation, firstly it is possible to make an accessible room which does not look ugly and medical. Just make a web-search for grab rails, flip-down hand rails and so on.
Use lever handles on all doors. There should be space beside the door for a wheelie to pull open the door.
Leave space on both sides of the bed as many wheelies have a preferred side because of their special circumstances.
The floor should not be carpeted. This makes rolling easier and any spillages easy to clean up (OK, such as urine if you must have details). I recommend timber or cork myself as it is warm but easy to clean, but tiles are OK.
In the bathroom, make the shower cubicle large enough for a wheelchair user, including their feet.
Slope the floor gently in the bathroom towards the shower.
There should be no steps (yes, even a centimetre makes it hard for many wheelies).
Lots of power-points please; we often have to charge power chairs, ventilators and so on.
The bed should be higher than usual to facilitate transfers from bed to wheelchair.
Desks/tables should be high with no support rail underneath to block knees. The legs should be far enough apart for a wheelie to fit between them.
For plumbers/tilers. A sloping roll-in wheelchair accessible shower area needs enough room for a wheelchair. Otherwise the water will always spill out into the rest of the room. The rest of the floor should slope gently towards the shower area, not towards the door! Thus if water does escape it flows back into the shower, not out the door into the bedroom.
For those who aren’t disabled, you are using probably the only accessible room in the establishment and one of the few establishments with access. In return you usually get a much larger bedroom and a larger bathroom (even if it usually has the worst view in the place) so don’t whinge about the step-less shower or the grab-rails and other helpful items. It’s for I disabili, not for you so count yourself blessed.
