How to Design a Lefty-Friendly Home in a Right-Handed World
In honor of Left Handers Day on Aug. 13, here are a few ways to make your favorite lefty’s life easier
Gwendolyn Purdom
August 11, 2018
Lover of architecture, history, dogs, the Chicago Cubs, crowded bookshelves, and homes with a story. Former editor at Preservation mag and Culturess.com.
Lover of architecture, history, dogs, the Chicago Cubs, crowded bookshelves, and... More
The left-handed among us are used to adjusting. They adjust to baseball mitts, scissors, school desks, power tools and endlessly smudging pens, among countless other daily details designed for their right-hand-dominant counterparts. Since the early ’90s, the 10 percent of the population estimated to be left-handed has had Left Handers Day, an annual celebration of southpawedness. It’s an occasion to highlight the long list of high-achieving left-handers throughout history (Bill Gates, Oprah, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Steve Jobs and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to name just a few), but it’s also a call for awareness of lefties’ often-unsung struggles.
In honor of this year’s holiday, it seemed a good time to adjust our default right-centric mindset when it comes to home design. Here is a (left) handful of ways to get lefty-friendly design right, along with some insight from those working to make life easier, no matter which hand we favor.
In honor of this year’s holiday, it seemed a good time to adjust our default right-centric mindset when it comes to home design. Here is a (left) handful of ways to get lefty-friendly design right, along with some insight from those working to make life easier, no matter which hand we favor.
‘Lefties’ World Works Backwards’
What’s perfectly natural for the right-handed majority can be awkward and uncomfortable for lefties. “Right-handed people don’t realize how lucky they are to have everything just meant for them.… Let’s start by pointing out that all door knobs turn to the right side,” says Andrea De los Monteros, a lefty and the director of merchandise for several shops at San Francisco’s Pier 39, including Lefty’s the Left Hand Store. “Understand that lefties’ world works backwards.”
Standard scissors and can openers, De los Monteros says, are some of the trickiest everyday tools lefties have trouble with, as they’re specifically designed to be powered by right hands.
What’s perfectly natural for the right-handed majority can be awkward and uncomfortable for lefties. “Right-handed people don’t realize how lucky they are to have everything just meant for them.… Let’s start by pointing out that all door knobs turn to the right side,” says Andrea De los Monteros, a lefty and the director of merchandise for several shops at San Francisco’s Pier 39, including Lefty’s the Left Hand Store. “Understand that lefties’ world works backwards.”
Standard scissors and can openers, De los Monteros says, are some of the trickiest everyday tools lefties have trouble with, as they’re specifically designed to be powered by right hands.
But there are plenty of other home features like appliance knobs and hinges configured so a left-handed person needs to reach across their body or turn their body an unnatural way to access them. Of course, this doesn’t have to be the case. Things like refrigerator hinges and cabinet pulls can be moved to an opposite, more comfortable side relatively easily, experts say.
And if you or someone you live with is left-handed and you’re considering remodeling, thinking through natural logistics before you place furniture and appliances can also make a big difference. A dishwasher, for instance, might feel more natural for a lefty if it’s placed to the left of the sink, such as the one shown here. (Of course, it’s worth mentioning that since 90 percent of the population is right-handed, these kinds of more permanent choices might make resale a little more difficult, unless you’re planning to sell exclusively to lefties.)
Install Your Kitchen Sink for How You Like to Cook and Clean
Install Your Kitchen Sink for How You Like to Cook and Clean
Specially Made for Southpaws
There are some resources out there for lefties looking for everyday home items that allow them to use their dominant hand, and some say the number of such items seems to be growing, albeit slowly. Though the products can be pricier because there’s not as high a demand for them, they can also make someone’s life noticeably easier. Lefty’s — the San Francisco shop devoted to left-handed tools, supplies and lefty-pride apparel — offers everything from left-handed corkscrews and knives to left-handed notebooks, oven mitts and garden pruners in the store and on their site.
“We always love hearing about (or seeing it ourselves at our San Francisco store) lefty kids using — for the first time — products designed specifically for lefties,” Lefty’s Bridget McCarthy says. “Parents are literally brought to tears seeing their kids’ enthusiasm and aptitude shine through as they ‘come home’ to using their naturally dominant hand for everyday school tasks, creativity and recreation. It can be truly life-changing.”
There are some resources out there for lefties looking for everyday home items that allow them to use their dominant hand, and some say the number of such items seems to be growing, albeit slowly. Though the products can be pricier because there’s not as high a demand for them, they can also make someone’s life noticeably easier. Lefty’s — the San Francisco shop devoted to left-handed tools, supplies and lefty-pride apparel — offers everything from left-handed corkscrews and knives to left-handed notebooks, oven mitts and garden pruners in the store and on their site.
“We always love hearing about (or seeing it ourselves at our San Francisco store) lefty kids using — for the first time — products designed specifically for lefties,” Lefty’s Bridget McCarthy says. “Parents are literally brought to tears seeing their kids’ enthusiasm and aptitude shine through as they ‘come home’ to using their naturally dominant hand for everyday school tasks, creativity and recreation. It can be truly life-changing.”
Other businesses, like California kitchen and bath company Native Trails, have recently added products to their lineup that can be installed for right- or left-handers. The Cocina Duet Pro sink, shown here, for instance, can be adjusted so the smaller basin is on the left side, making it easier for prep work and dishes to flow from left to right instead of the traditional right to left. Native Trails has several left-handed staffers, including a top designer, says Vice President of Sales Eric Dietz, so creating comfortable and ergonomic designs for left-handed customers has long been incorporated into their mission.
“With the consumer being very savvy now and using search engines to find what they want, we recommend utilizing these search engines to highlight left-handed-specific applications for the products they are looking for. There are a lot of great companies in all industries that are realizing the scope of these left-handed users and creating products to appeal to them,” Dietz says. “I imagine this segment offering will continue to grow with education and demand, similar to the gluten-free food offerings over the last 10-plus years.”
Similarly adjustable sink options are also available from companies like Elkay, Franke and Leisure Sinks.
Find a kitchen designer near you
“With the consumer being very savvy now and using search engines to find what they want, we recommend utilizing these search engines to highlight left-handed-specific applications for the products they are looking for. There are a lot of great companies in all industries that are realizing the scope of these left-handed users and creating products to appeal to them,” Dietz says. “I imagine this segment offering will continue to grow with education and demand, similar to the gluten-free food offerings over the last 10-plus years.”
Similarly adjustable sink options are also available from companies like Elkay, Franke and Leisure Sinks.
Find a kitchen designer near you
Whatever Works
Even if a new configuration of a tool or piece of furniture feels more natural for some lefties, it may not be that way for everyone. Because everyone is different, and left-dominant people often learn to adapt to our right-dominant world by using their right hand in some situations, experts say people should go through their own natural motions for different situations to see which hand they prefer before making any big changes. Some left-handed people, for instance, prefer to have side tables on their left side while others like being able to set things down on the right so their dominant hand has more room.
Which hand you use when you reach for silverware or cereal bowls may determine the best way to organize and open your cabinets. In bathrooms with double vanities, it may make the most sense for lefties to claim the sink on the right so they have more open space to reach for things on the left. Light switches and outlets may be most convenient on one side of the doorway for some people and the other side for others. Figuring out what works for you makes all the difference.
Tell us: Lefties, how do you navigate your right-hand-oriented home? What changes have you made to make things easier? Share your stories in the Comments.
More
Design Details: Make the Most of Your Cabinet Pulls
Breaking Out of the Kitchen Work Triangle
Even if a new configuration of a tool or piece of furniture feels more natural for some lefties, it may not be that way for everyone. Because everyone is different, and left-dominant people often learn to adapt to our right-dominant world by using their right hand in some situations, experts say people should go through their own natural motions for different situations to see which hand they prefer before making any big changes. Some left-handed people, for instance, prefer to have side tables on their left side while others like being able to set things down on the right so their dominant hand has more room.
Which hand you use when you reach for silverware or cereal bowls may determine the best way to organize and open your cabinets. In bathrooms with double vanities, it may make the most sense for lefties to claim the sink on the right so they have more open space to reach for things on the left. Light switches and outlets may be most convenient on one side of the doorway for some people and the other side for others. Figuring out what works for you makes all the difference.
Tell us: Lefties, how do you navigate your right-hand-oriented home? What changes have you made to make things easier? Share your stories in the Comments.
More
Design Details: Make the Most of Your Cabinet Pulls
Breaking Out of the Kitchen Work Triangle
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I use the left-handed chopsticks to change my blinker fluid and to rotate the air in my tires.
I married a lefty.. it was awkward at first, we would bump noses, I would try to remember to walk to his left to hold hands and when setting the table I reverse his drink and flatware... it's all finally become habit.
~ As the oldest of 5 kids, I'm a leftie with 2 brothers and a sister who are all left-handed. At 4 years of age, my [meshuggina] parents discouraged me from using my left hand. It was natural yet, each time I picked up a pencil or crayon with my left hand, I was always told not to. Or they smacked on the back of my left hand. In the winter of 2017, my husband (who's right-handed) and I went ice skating. I wanted to finish the lap before the rink closed. As I'm coming around to the end, my skates went out from me with my right hand/arm going backwards. An orthopedic doctor diagnosed a hairline fracture, my right arm was in a cast for 6-8 weeks; then I wore a brace. EVERYTHING WAS DONE WITH MY LEFT HAND. I've never used my right hand for doing things since and have to this day remained a SOUTHPAW. I prefer the left side of our bedroom where my nightstand is. to access what I need. Even my cowgirl closet is set up that way. All of my hangers go from right to left for easy access. ~