Let’s Hope Pottery Barn’s New Accessible Line is a Trend that Becomes the Norm
I thought I knew what it meant to make my home accessibility-friendly by the time my son Charlie received his first wheelchair. We ripped up carpet and replaced it with durable wood floors. We installed a lift in our garage. We lowered the threshold bars in entryways for minimal resistance as he rolled into the house. We widen doorways. We built pocket doors so he could slide them open to enter and exit his room. We thought we had it covered…until he rolled up to his desk.
The arms of his wheelchair butted the edge of the desk and we watched as Charlie reached for his iPad, an arm’s length away, but it might as well have been a mile. He couldn’t get to it. He couldn’t reach the lamp to turn on the light. He couldn’t open the drawer that held his markers because the arms of his chair blocked the way. We had remade our entire house, but we could not do a thing about his furniture.
This is why the new accessible home line at Pottery Barn is both lovely and also necessary. It’s a change I hope all home stores will adopt. The 160-piece line includes everything from adjustable desks and tables and beds, chairs with lift function, non-slip rugs, pivoting mirrors, and even non-breakable plates.
Pottery Barn’s motto for this new line “where form meets function” is what we’ve been trying to find for our son for years. We want the adjustability of a hospital bed in his room, but we don’t want it to look like one. We want rugs he can roll over in his wheelchair without slipping. We want a desk that allows him to sit in his chair and do his school work with ease. We all deserve to be comfortable and functional in our homes. And yes, have it look good.
One of the current items on my wish list for Charlie is the bathroom vanity with ADA-approved height and depth. It also has a matching tiltable mirror. Never, in Charlie’s ten years of life, has he been able to roll up to a sink, wash his hands, and see himself in the mirror. These sound like small things, but these are the things that make up a life. These are the things that equal independence. It’s good to know that companies are beginning to consider the needs of a diverse population. It’s about time.
We should not have to fight for every accommodation. We often speak of paving the way for change, but it is a wonderful thing when the road is already paved when we reach it. For the first time in a long time, a company’s goals—“easier access,” “better mobility,” and “custom comfort” align with the disabled community and it is working to support the needs of all consumers. Let’s hope this is a trend that continues until it is no longer a trend, but the norm.
Cover image of the Vintage Rounded Rectangle Pivot Mirror and Clarence 36″ Single Sink Vanity – ADA from Pottery Barn.
