SHAKER LIFE | SUMMER 2017 53
and that the inside of the house should not sacrifice anything in design just because it
was being made accessible to the whole family.
Indeed, it’s not obvious from the street – nor from inside – that anything unusual
sets apart this tidy, attractive home. Inside the front door, stairs lead up to two
generously sized bedroom suites. That’s the domain of 22-year-old Nicholas when he’s
home from college. Downstairs, the entry spills into a spacious, light-filled living room
flanked by large windows at both the front and back of the home. Sarah can zoom
around in her wheelchair on smooth hardwood floors, now watching the family cat on
his backyard adventures, and in the next moment alerting her parents that someone’s
coming up the front walk.
At one side of the living room a wide, open doorway – which used to be closed off
with a standard-size door – leads to two first-floor bedrooms. Ben signs to ask Sarah
if she’d like to show her room, and she smiles and eagerly leads the way. A bright,
cheerful spring green room, it has plenty of comfortable touches as well as access to
the sleek Jack-and-Jill bathroom she shares with her parents.
While Sarah can’t speak
or use sign language,
she expresses her
feelings through body
language. When she first
saw the house, even
before construction was
complete, she was so
excited that everyone
was moved, including
the contractors.