Josh & Richelle’s ‘truly beautiful’ accessible bathroom
Newlyweds Josh and Richelle, wanted a stunning bathroom for their new home that incorporated practical access solutions within a modern design. Working with Sallie from Branch Properties, they rejected the institutional and uninspiring designs so common on the disability market. Instead, they used Fine & Able products and expertise to create a “truly beautiful” wet room that perfectly marries style and access.
"They set the bar higher and delivered an accessible bathroom that is truly beautiful.”
Josh
Josh and Richelle's new accessible bathroom.
Who lives here?
Josh, a 26-year-old architecture graduate, and his wife Richelle.
What was wrong with the old bathroom?
Josh was born with cerebral palsy spastic quadriplegia – a neurological condition which makes it difficult for him to carry out everyday tasks such as getting dressed, eating and communicating.
In their new home, they needed to adapt their bathroom to cater for Josh’s specific needs but felt uninspired by the “hospital-looking” designs they were presented with.
“I wanted my bathroom to feel like a home and not feel ‘medical’,” he explains. “To me that was absolutely crucial, but every design I received felt so institutionalised with lots of white tiles and horrible looking floors.”
“There’s an opinion that people with disabilities don’t care about style and I think that’s totally wrong. The entire market of disabled or adaptive products needs to move to recognise that people who have disabilities are actually people first and foremost.”
What does it look like now?
Josh and Richelle's wall-mounted basins.
Josh's height-adjustable bath.
Josh and Richelle's simple but effective dressing table and storage area.
What are your top tips?
For Josh, early stage thinking about accessibility, married with style and design, is the key to getting what you need. It's important not to settle for basic, institutionalised design. Instead, get creative and work with people who see you as an individual.
He says: “Other companies tend to see people with disabilities as one homogenous group, whereas Fine & Able took time to understand me as a person, and how they could use their design skills to help me overcome some of my challenges.”
“They set the bar higher and delivered an accessible bathroom that is truly beautiful.”
See what you can do
If you want to learn how Josh and Richelle put this look together, download our brochure or get in touch to see how the Fine & Able team can help you design your own accessible bathroom.
