Universal Design: Child-Friendly Design Elements for Your Bathroom

Designing a safe and child-friendly kitchen in your Scottsdale home is obviously of the highest importance, but what about your bathroom? Universal Design practices provide a big impact on the flexibility of your home as you and your family goes through the various stages of life. From the young to the young at heart, there are many design aspects that you should be discussing with your remodeling contractor when planning your bathroom remodel. Here are just a few things to start considering in your overall design:

• Be mindful of selecting slip-free flooring options.
• Single handle faucets provide safer water temperature selection over those with hot and cold levers when small children or elders are users. Touch-free faucets are a handy feature as well.
• Deeper sinks lend to less splashing during hand washing and teeth brushing tasks.
• For primary bathing bathrooms, a handheld showerhead on a slide bar is particularly useful for all ages and mobility needs. As your child grows the showerhead can be adjusted appropriately. Ask about temperature control features to prevent the possibility of scalding.
• Moisture sensing ventilation is a helpful option to incorporate for the entire family and could double as an energy saving feature for those with children that may forget to turn it off.
• Low or no threshold shower to prevent tripping and bathtubs that are not high walled.
• Lower level vanity is beneficial for shorter children that may not be able to reach or for those that may have mobility limitations accessing a typical counter height vanity.
• Ample and accessible storage options.
• Standard height toilet selection is key for those with families. Adults, when planning a bathroom remodel tend to lean towards a taller toilet height for comfort reasons, but those with families it is recommended to choice the standard height so that smaller children can utilize safely.
• Grab bars located next to the tub or shower entrance are helpful to children, as well as adults entering into the wet areas of the bathroom.

Incorporating Universal Design elements into your bathroom ensures that the space works for both the young and aging members of your household. As mentioned these are just the start of the checklist of items to consider when doing a bathroom remodel. The most important step in the process though is choosing a bathroom remodeling contractor that you can trust and that is proficient in Universal Design practices in Scottsdale.

The good news is that we are a reputable general contractor and have been working with your friends and family on their home remodeling projects since 1996. By simply searching TWDAZ you will quickly see a vast majority of excellent reviews by homeowners just like you sharing their experiences with the TWD team and the quality standard they build by. That’s why we have earned the #45 rank in the Top 550 Full Service Remodelers in the Nation by Remodeling Magazine. Go ahead and check us out, then visit our home page for a full list of services we offer. While you are there, request your free on-site estimate to start discussing incorporating Universal Design into your bathroom remodel with our certified design team.