Accessible Holiday Home, Somerset

Stunning wheelchair accessible Freedom by Symphony kitchen for a brand new accessible holiday home

Large open plan Freedom by Symphony wheelchair accessible kitchen designed by Adam Thomas

The Big Tin Barn in Ilminster, Somerset is a new fully accessible venture by the Wilson family, who launched the Barn for bookings in 2024. Visitors can now enjoy a fully featured kitchen from Freedom by Symphony, designed by Adam Thomas.

During the pandemic the Wilson’s considered buying a nearby barn, with the idea of converting it into an accessible holiday home, specifically for people with severe disabilities and complex medical needs. When they came into some money; the family were considering a holiday home for themselves, however they felt a strong urge to help other families given that they had relatives and friends who care for children with complex needs. Shortly after the pandemic the Wilson family acquired the Barn and land, and applied for planning permission. It took 1 year to complete the build, and the holiday home finally opened for bookings in July 2024.

Video providing a bird's eye view of the kitchen at Big Tin Barn

The barn offers ample space with open plan kitchen, living area and garden, a large downstairs bathroom with bath and showering facilities including hoist equipment, and a standard en-suite with showering facilities.  There are 4 bedrooms; 3 bedrooms on the ground floor (1 with ceiling track hoist and 2 profiling beds, a master bedroom, and a twin.   There is a further master bedroom on the first floor (with king size bed + single bed), along with an upstairs living room area.

Large multigenerational kitchen at the Big Tin Barn holiday home in Somerset

The kitchen is a particular feature, as it enables the whole family to use the kitchen safely, and socialise around food preparation.  Food and family meals can be especially important for families with complex needs and limited mobility, when it’s less easy to get out and about. In this kitchen everyone can take a turn at preparing a meal, making it a truly multi-generational space. And everyone can gather and chat while meals are being prepared.

Big Tin Barn, Somerset

In order to understand the features required in kitchen area the Wilson family carried out some online research.  They came across a few accessible holiday home websites that appeared to have a very high spec such as :

• AbleStay accessible holiday home in London

• Flat Spaces accessible holiday escapes, in the New Forest on the South Coast
  

The Wilson’s reached out to AbleStay and Flat Spaces through social media to find out more about these properties, and Charles Van Berckel from Ablestay was quick to reply, offering the Wilsons a tour.  The Wilsons were particularly interested to find out where the kitchen was from, and Charles explained that it was a range called Freedom by Symphony, designed in conjunction with Adam Thomas, an expert with over 40 years' experience in accessible kitchen design.

The family made contact with Adam and Symphony, and their ideas were incorporated into a spacious open plan kitchen design. The final design takes into consideration safety as a high priority, and the most recent multigenerational and accessible design principles, to achieve the most inspired and widely accessible space.

Large Freedom by Symphony kitchen, with l-shaped rise and fall cooking and wet zones

Main Kitchen features:

• Freedom Height-Adjustable L-Shaped Worktop

This ground-breaking feature allows wheelchair users, adults, carers, young adults and children (supervised), to adjust the height of the worktop, making food and drink preparation enjoyable for everyone.

• Freedom Accessible Reduced Depth Sink & Tap

Great for wheelchair users and shorter adults, allowing comfortable seated access to the sink, thanks to the reduced depth sink and front fascia safety panel, while the front mounted tap control is easier to for people with reduced reach to access.

Accessible larder storage in the Freedom by Symphony kitchen at Big Tin Barn

• NEFF Slide & Hide Oven with Heat-resistant pullout Shelf

First seen by the Wilson’s on Channel 4’s 'Bake Off' program,  the door of the Slide & Hide oven slides underneath the oven cavity (pictured above), allowing users to move hot trays and dishes out of the oven more safely.  Fixed telescopic shelf runners inside the oven prevent tipping, with is an essential safety measure. The heatproof shelf directly beneath the oven safely covers knees from hot spills, and provides a safe resting place for hot dishes before transferring to the adjacent height-adjustable worktop.

Pulldown basket by Freedom by Symphony

• Freedom iMove Pull Down Baskets

These clever baskets enable access to wall cupboards, and the upper shelves of larder units. The pulldown basket mechanism is fitted inside the cupboard, and is accessed by the extended handle, improving access and independence in the kitchen.

• Freedom Cabinet with Recycle Bin

These sorting bins encourage recycling, making it easier to sort rubbish before it is collected by the council.

Are you planning a new accessible kitchen? If so, take a leaf out of the Wilson's book and make contact with Adam Thomas, the UK's leading accessible kitchen designer.

To enquire about the Big Tin Barn accessible holiday home, get in touch with the Wilson family by email.

Use the link to see the latest kitchens and case studies on the Freedom by Symphony web site.