Accessing Our Spaces

When most people hear “accessible housing,” they think of ramps and wide doorways. Those things matter — but they’re not the whole story.

 

For me, accessibility has always been about something deeper: does this space support the way I actually live?

 

I live with a disability, and I’ve spent years running into homes that don’t work for me. Not because the doors were too narrow — but because the spaces themselves were designed for someone else’s life, not mine.

 

I don’t need 2,500 square feet to spread out in. I need a home that doesn’t waste my energy with long hallways or rooms I’ll never use. I need spaces where every step, every movement, is intentional — designed to make life easier, not harder.

 

Accessibility isn’t just about mobility. It’s about mental health. It’s about sensory processing. It’s about whether a space feels safe, manageable, and livable for the person inside it.

 

For someone with anxiety or PTSD, accessibility might mean a home that feels calming — with fewer harsh noises and unnecessary barriers, and spaces designed for privacy without isolation.

 

For someone with sensory processing differences, it could mean sound insulation, better natural lighting, or a layout that avoids overwhelming clutter and confusion.

For someone with mobility challenges, it may be step-free entry, smart storage within reach, kitchens and bathrooms designed for easy use, or spaces that promote economy of movement.

 

Accessibility is about who the home works for. And too often, our housing market still builds for a narrow slice of the population, leaving everyone else to fight for costly modifications or to settle for a home that exhausts them instead of supports them.

 

At Little Haven, we design small but thoughtful spaces. Homes that remove obstacles instead of creating them. Spaces where comfort, efficiency, and dignity are built in from the start — not added later as an “option.”  

 

Accessibility isn’t about features; it’s about freedom.  And everyone deserves that.