Su Casa member Hihowareya recently updated her kitchen with a cool DIYed backsplash, some fresh paint colors, and new lighting. She also made an important, practical change to her kitchen as well: she added an island and sink that allowed her wheelchair-bound mother to maneuver around the space and use the kitchen to her best advantage.


To find out how Hihowareya created this island on a tight budget, read more.

She writes,

The island is lower so [my mom] can reach the sink. The sink is a bar sink and we picked out basically the cheapest sink and faucets out there that would suit our needs, and that total came out to be less than $100. The sink is 15 inches by 5 inches deep, so it's tiny but it serves its purpose. The countertop to this island is a butcher block we custom ordered from Home Depot for $227 (that's including tax) and measures 42 inches x 25 inches. We bought two unfinished oak wall cabinets, placed them back to back, and then I stained them with the same stain as our original cabinets so they'd match (my mom wanted matching). There's also an electrical outlet on it, so my mom can plug in her teapot to boil water and make her tea, or plug in her bread maker and make bread and such. It's awesome how something so little can improve someone's independence tenfold.

Hihowareya reports that the entire island and sink renovation cost less than $400. What a great investment! She was able to give her mom more independence in the kitchen, and I bet that now, Hihowareya has another set of helping hands in the kitchen now as well. Have you made any renovations that improved accessibility for a wheelchair-bound family member? How did you go about it?