Rebecca A Withey: The new LumoTV show DeSign got me thinking about accessibility in living space (BSL)

As someone who adores design related television shows, I recently enjoyed LumoTV’s brand new show, DeSign where a team of builders, led by deaf architect Chris Laing, transformed the home of a deaf couple.

In the show we see Chris explain the importance of considering access when designing room layouts and how the mindful placement of doors, windows and even mirrors can create a much more deaf-friendly space.

Nowadays, quite a few of my deaf friends make use of technology to ensure their home is accessible and alerts them about visitors arriving. Flashing and vibrating doorbell alerts are often used and the increase of Ring doorbells means that deaf users can receive alerts directly to their mobile phone when someone is at the door.

Gone are the days when deaf people must wait around in a state of hyper-vigilance when expecting parcels or deliveries!

As the show DeSign demonstrates, there are plenty of ways that you can make small changes to increase accessibility. Even little things like selecting specific colours or textures for a kitchen splash back can influence whether or not there is a reflection and therefore if you’re able to see movement behind you.

The main change that the build team implemented in the first episode was to create an open plan layout between a kitchen and living room. This meant the residents would always be in full view of each other, and less likely to get spooked by an unexpected arrival!

Such a change reminded me of the difference between my hearing parents home and my husbands deaf family home; the latter having been designed with BSL users in mind.

Whilst my parents home is a traditional Victorian style house with two divided living rooms and a separate kitchen, my deaf in-laws created a home that was much more open plan in order to suit their needs.

Notably, my in-laws living space was one large open area that flowed directly to the kitchen, without a door or stud wall in sight. Bear in mind, while this worked well for deaf BSL users to see each other, host parties and keep conversations flowing, it did mean that that there was no control over where sound travelled to around the house.

At my parents house, however, my Dad is able to listen to his music in one room while my Mum watches a show in the next. You can also play the radio in the kitchen and this wouldn’t affect the acoustics of enjoying a television programme in the main lounge.

This sort of thing would not be possible to achieve in an open plan design where you would naturally have overlapping sounds and it just goes to show the importance of creating a space that works for your needs.

While my hearing parents are able to call each other from within the different spaces in the house, my deaf in laws were able to flash lights and wave in the open layout to get each other’s attention.

I really enjoyed the unique perspective Chris Laing offered on DeSign and it was so refreshing to see deaf BSL-using builders representing and displaying their skills!

I would love to see this kind of accessible design insight shared on mainstream shows such as DIY SOS or Interior Design Masters so that more designers are able to make informed decisions when creating spaces for deaf users in mainstream settings.

What did you think? Have you watched the show?