Inclusive Bedroom Designs: A Space for Everyone?

In recent years, only 1.9% of British homes were planned to wheelchair accessibility standards, with 2024 seeing one-third of disabled renters stuck living in homes that do not suit their needs.

More than one in five people in the UK are disabled, so it’s essential that our new government commits to the M4(2) baseline for all new builds, ensuring that more homes are held to a higher set of accessibility standards.

But with research revealing that someone who uses a wheelchair may have to wait almost 50 years for a properly accessible home to be built and become available to them, how can we make sure that our homes are as accessible as possible in the meantime?

In this piece, The Sliding Door Wardrobe Company, take a look at how smart furniture and colour choices can make your bedroom more accessible and inclusive as we wait for the government to provide better housing options for the disabled and neurodivergent community.

An accessible route

According to the Office of National Statistics, almost 40% of the disabled community own their own home. This opens up further opportunities for accessibility as disabled homeowners can make modifications to their space, whereas renters either can’t or must seek permission from their landlord.

Issues concerning housing accessibility have long been a point of contention in parliament, with motions being raised from as recently as March 2024. Many renters are refused even basic, necessary home modifications, such as the installation of ramps and grab rails.

Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) Forum England is looking to work with the new government to achieve a better quality of life for everyone within the disabled community. They are pushing for more accessible homes, so it’s hopeful that renters will have ramps, grab rails and more as standard.

Personalise your space

If you do own your own home, installing rails and ramps where possible will also help to make your space easily accessible. It’s definitely worth considering your ability to add these features if you live in an older home with steps and uneven flooring that make getting from room to room tricky.

Door handles are another essential consideration – make sure that they are installed at the right height for you, personalising your space and ensuring ease of access in and out of your bedroom.

Ensuring that the room is open and accessible is one of the most important considerations to be aware of when designing your space. Installing fitted furniture is one of the best ways to save floor space and make sure that large items of furniture don’t encroach into the usable area.

This kind of forward planning is especially important if you use a wheelchair, but it is also useful in terms of wayfinding and safety if you’re visually impaired, creating an easily accessible route through your room.

Colour choices

When it comes to colour schemes, overly bright tones and busy patterns can make a space inaccessible to those who are neurodivergent (those who see and think about the world differently to what is considered the ‘norm’) or live with a visual impairment. Opt instead for calming pastels and muted tones where possible and try to avoid primary colours as these can be very overstimulating.

Peaceful blue tones have been known to help reduce heart rate and promote calm amongst those who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), while neutral, grey-toned and pastel colours are a positive choice for those with autism.

Recent research has shown that including greenery and plants in a space can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. This is important for those with neurodivergence who may experience higher levels of worry and anxiety than those who are neurotypical. Try placing some small green plants at varying points throughout your home to cultivate a feeling of calm.

Colour is also incredibly important when it comes to wayfinding. There are more than two million people living with a visual impairment in the UK and, of those registered blind, more than 95% are able to discern some light.

This makes colour contrast essential when designing an accessible home. Doors, stairways and essential pieces of furniture should stand out against the surrounding walls and floor to help those with sight loss navigate the space easily and safely.

Hacks worth investing in

There are a number of other simple hacks you can invest in to make your home more accessible. These additions are even more essential if you’re renting and you have been blocked from making significant changes to your home.

Check out our clever accessibility hacks:

• Automated curtains and blinds that open at the touch of a button.

• Telescopic window opening tools, allowing you to open windows from any height.

• Non-slip, smooth flooring, providing a safe surface for the use of wheelchairs and motorised scooters.

• Light switch cords, allowing you to control the lighting in your home from any height.

• Pull-down clothes rails, allowing you access to your wardrobe from any height.

• Extension cables to raise charging points to an accessible height.

Whether you’re a homeowner or you’re renting a house, there are several adjustments you can make to ensure your space is as accessible as possible. With new housing pledges from the government, hopefully the housing market will become a more accessible and inclusive place over the next five years.