My lack of cooking prowess is rather legendary; try as I might, my fear of being burned trumps my usage of the stove more often than not, and because I hate wasting food and money, I don’t often attempt new dishes. But the biggest stumbling block to my cooking, by far, is the condition of my lower body.

Most people scoff at this. “What is so strenuous about cooking?” they ask. “All you do is stand there and stir!”

That’s exactly right. You have to STAND…and STAND…and STAND…and by the way, STAND. Which is all well and good, unless you have twisted both ankles at least 5 times and have crunching, pre-arthritic knees. When standing for long periods of time (more than 15 minutes) causes extreme pain, you tend to avoid standing when possible. And in most kitchens, standing or sitting on one of those wooden suppositories people call “stools” is your only option.

(Seriously…these things are NOT comfortable unless you are under the age of 10 and/or have a butt less than 5 inches wide.)

So, after thinking over this problem a few days ago, it struck me: I’m already considered handicapped enough to warrant a handicapped parking permit, even though I don’t use a wheelchair. How do people in wheelchairs use kitchens? How could a kitchen be modified for handicapped purposes?

Kitchen Accessibility: Lowered Counters, Special Appliances, and Creative Storage Solutions

One of the most literally painful chores for me in the kitchen is food prep. I start hurting within 5 minutes, as my knees and ankles swell from standing on them; the swelling and pain then make me hot and tired (and very cranky/impatient, as you might imagine). Thus, before I’ve even started really cooking, I’m already frustrated and in a lot of pain, which no pain pills can really touch. To combat this, I could definitely benefit from roll-under/sit-under cabinet tops, which give plenty of room to work while sitting. Plus, the upper-cabinet shelves that extend down would mean I wouldn’t have to keep getting up and down on a sore ankle/knee.

A roll-under/sit-under sink and stovetop could help with actual cooking and cleaning; suddenly, hand-dishwashing and food-stirring/watching wouldn’t be the impossible tasks that they seem to be right now. (I also like the idea of an induction cooktop, so I don’t burn myself reaching over the stove for pots and pans.)

Finally, putting utensils in creative lower-cabinet storage is a more accessible kitchen design, since it puts everything close at hand and limits stretching/getting up and down. Anything I can do to stop stressing out my joints would be nice!

More Details and Ideas

Accessible kitchen design is more than just counters and cooktops, however–many more details have to be taken into account! The following pages give more advice and ideas:

AccessibleLifestyle: Kitchens
AgeInPlace: Kitchen Ideas
GE Appliances: ADA-Compliant Appliances