Family on Grand Designs create wheelchair accessible house

Set against a Grade II-listed building and Bronte Country’s rolling hills, couple Kara and Jonny have built a family home inspired by the natural landscape.

But the build didn’t come without its challenges as Farsley-based Wighton Architects worked around strict listed building and green belt regulations.

Designer and Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud described the project as something that would “radically alter the lives of the people who live in it”.

The accessible kitchen designed around Kara's needs (Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) Jonny is a self-employed electrician working in Bradford but Kara was forced to give up work after a life-changing diagnosis.

Three years ago, Kara’s legs started to go numb during a family holiday.

By the time the plane landed back in the UK, Kara was helped off the plane in a wheelchair. She never walked again.

She was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease - Neuromyelitis optica, or NMO - which causes irreparable damage to the central nervous system.

Double doors lead to the lounge area (Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) “You don’t think it’s going to happen to you,” she told Grand Designs.

“You don’t think as a family you would have to be facing disability.

“A month and a half later, he said 'we’ve found a shadow and we’re a bit concerned'. It turns out it was a baby.”

Before the big build, the couple lived with their two children in a small converted garage next to Kara’s childhood home.

But learning to live with her disability in a non-accessible space proved challenging. 

The spacious accessible bathroom (Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) The couple set out to create their dream home that was both accessible and beautiful.

Kara told the show: “Accessibility and functionality, people haven’t designed it to look sexy.”

Plans for the new build included old bricks once used for the old stable block that previously stood on the site. The zinc cladding and wildflower roof helped create a modern feel.

Views of Bronte Country from the bedroom (Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) The project costs were set at £380,000 - £100,000 more than the couple’s former home sold for.

Inside, the kitchen features bricks showing the names of long-gone companies and bricklayers while light shines through the space through sunroofs.

Jonny used his electrician skills to bring an old Butler’s Bell board back into use - meaning Kara can ring for assistance in any room - and in style.

Outside the property (Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) There’s a wheel-in kitchen pantry, a floating lowered worktop, and wide corridors.

The total costs rose to £400,000 amid rising prices for construction materials.

The show’s host Kevin suggested the house had a Wes Anderson feel to it - the director known for artistic films like The Grand Budapest Hotel and Asteroid City.

The wildflower roof (Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) The presenter said: “This building is full of potential and new opportunity for Kara to explore and realise.”

He added: “Kara and Jonny never wanted to build this house. It’s only here because Kara became paralysed. Full with light, joy and bravery it breaks the mould of what accessible design means.

“They wanted so much - to build a house which was functional and ergonomic and delivered all the accessibility they needed which was also properly constructed and beautiful at the same time. They cracked it.”

The property blends into the landscape but has a modern feel (Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) At the end of the programme, Kara said: “This building gives me freedom. I don’t feel trapped. Just by thinking a bit harder you can make accessibility work. I wanted it all and I’ve got it all and more.”

Stuart Wighton, director at Wighton Architects in Sunny Bank Mills, spoke about the scale of the project and what needed to be taken into account.

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus, he said: “We were asked to create an accessible dwelling that didn’t look like your typical accessible dwelling.

(Image: Wighton Architects Ltd) "The house is located within the grounds of a listed building, also on land that is green belt. We had to design something that was on a sloping site, that didn’t harm the listed building and impact on green belt land.

“It was creating something that flowed easily and predominately functional but had that design and wow factor that raised it above a standard typical house. 

“We’re very proud. They can enjoy a family house like any other family.

“It’s what can be achieved with some good design, good planning.”