Creating an ADA Compliant Kitchen for a Very Special Family

Updated on: August 01, 2022

We were recently involved in a very special project that truly touched our hearts. We are honored to share the story with you, and we hope it will inspire you like it did us.

A Special Family

Shanae is a single mom who has given up a lot of her own dreams to invest her life into caring for her 4-year-old daughter, who has special needs. Shanae's sweet and joyful daughter Kaidence, was born with a lifelong disability called cerebral palsy. Even though Kaidence has challenges, she meets every day head on with determination and a smile.

Shanae's grit, love, and hope in meeting her daily challenges to care and provide for her daughter inspired Shanae's church family to show them special support and encouragement. The church set out on a project to surprise this single mom and her daughter with a fully renovated ranch-style home custom-made to fit the needs of their unique family.

Designing an ADA Compliant Kitchen

To meet Kaidence's needs both now and in the future as she grows up, the family's new kitchen had to be designed in compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). One of our talented designers at Cabinets.com was happy to help with this project and worked with the necessary contractors and vendors to make it happen.

Most importantly, the walkways and aisles in the kitchen are wider than standard in order to have room for a wheelchair to comfortably get around. As she grows up and gets more mobile, Kaidence will be able to wheel herself around the house with plenty of room to spare.

This island was custom designed specifically for Kaidence so that she could have a wheelchair-friendly place to comfortably eat meals, do her homework, bake cookies, draw a picture, or whatever it is that she wants to do. It meets the ADA regulated height guidelines.

The microwave on the back side of the island is low so that Kaidence will be able to reach it and eventually use it as she grows up. In addition, all of the hardware on the base cabinets is handles so that she can more easily open them, and the drawers are soft close so that no one has to worry about getting anything stuck in them.

Final Project Reveal

When Shanae's church surprised her with their specially renovated house, she loved it and she couldn't believe it was actually hers! Here are a few photos of the finished kitchen, which is ADA compliant.

This was a very rewarding project that we were honored to be a part of. To learn the full story and watch the video of how it all came together, please visit https://newspring.cc/stories/shanae-rice.