^{The lower bed height accommodates designer Maegan Blau; her wheelchair was not compatible with a flatweave rug, so she repurposed it as a wall tapestry. A modern barn door offers accessible privacy for the washroom. Roll-up concrete sinks are practical and aesthetically pleasing.}

With accessible elements and a modern, Southwest aesthetic, Maegan Blau, founder and principal designer of Blue Copper Design, tailored a spec home to accommodate her and her husband; he is six feet ten inches tall, and she uses a wheelchair since a spinal cord injury.

Their personal space now fits like a dream. “I like to keep a primary bedroom simple,” says Blau, who values investment pieces like their king-size bed and coordinating nightstands. “I love being in bed and being in the bedroom. There is an opportunity to have fun, like [with] an accent wall.” Here, she highlighted the wall behind the bed by painting it a rich, dark blue and displaying a vintage rug like a tapestry. “It’s a flatweave, and flatweaves and wheelchairs do not get along very well,” she adds—so on the wall it went!

For accessibility, Blau says a floor rug may seem counterintuitive for someone with a wheelchair or a walker concerned about a tripping hazard, but they can be helpful when installed with care. “Hard flooring is important, but for transfer zones like a bedroom, even with brakes, a wheelchair or walker can still slide on a hard floor,” says the designer who prefers low-profile rugs with some weight to them and rug pads to keep them in place.

full access

Consider these tips for accessibility from designer Maegan Blau.

“A handheld shower is an absolute must, especially if you have a rainhead,” says Blau. “It helps with cleaning, too.” A bidet seat can also be beneficial.

Smart light fixtures or light bulbs can be controlled from an app or be on timers. “Anything that limits somebody from physically getting up can be really helpful,” she says.

“As a whole, people often think of accessibility as something other than the norm, but you can use design features that are not for access but enhance accessibility, like curbless showers,” adds Blau. “Accessibility is tied to something ugly and expensive and difficult, but that’s not the case at all. It can be beautiful, and the renovation is expensive, not the features.”

The concept is not complicated. “You are using design ideas to enhance someone’s life, but it’s not reinventing the wheel,” she says. For her and her husband, Blau thinks: “What would be best for me and best for him, and does the middle work for both of us?”

Blau likes to experiment in her home, where wall art includes varied mediums like photography (candid shots of a couple are her favorite for a bedroom),a basket collection, and the rug tapestry. “It’s a cool way to repurpose an item. It adds texture and softness, too,” she says of the tapestry.

Approximately 80 percent of Blau’s clients have some level of accessibility needs. “Bed height is really important,” she says. “You might have to get creative; we chopped the legs down on our frame. Adding an adjust- able base can replace a hospital bed for many clients.”

In the primary bathroom, a roll-in shower features a curbless entrance between two basins. “I love a his-and-hers shower,” says Blau, who stores essentials in cubbies. “I am a big believer in respecting your space and not going over the capacity of what your space can hold.”

Other details include concrete roll-under sinks and a barn door divider for privacy. “It helps having the water closet separate for people with accessibility needs. If you don’t have the door swing, it can be a lot easier to man- age,” she says. The metal wall for the barn door wasn’t part of the original design, but, adds Blau, “it’s one of my favorite features of the home.”