Actress Ali Stroker Unveils Major Home Renovation Plans To Meet Her Limited-Mobility Needs

Ever since Tony Award-winning actress and singer Ali Stroker became the first person who uses a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage, she’s used her voice to help make all spaces more accessible for individuals with disabilities—and that now includes upgrading her own home.

Stroker, 38, lives in a suburb of New York City with her husband David Perlow, 37, and 2-year-old son Jesse. Their family is part of the 25% of American households that—according to 2019 U.S. Census Bureau Data—include at least one member with a disability.

“The Glee Project” star was only 2 years old when she suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident that paralyzed her from the waist down. She’s used a wheelchair for mobility ever since, and knows all too well how frustrating it can be to navigate places that aren’t designed with the disabled community in mind. Speaking to Realtor.com® from her kitchen, Stroker shares it’s been even more maddening that her personal spaces have never fully functioned to meet her needs.

“Accessibility in the home is not usually common,” she says. “I’ve never had an accessible home 100% across the board.”

Stroker notes there are design pain points that pop up in nearly every room of her abode, but it’s the heart of the home that is particularly tough to get around.

“One of the main things is the kitchen,” she says. “As a mom, I want to cook. I want to clean. I want to maintain the kitchen and use it to feed my family. I have a son who’s 2 years old, and the dishes are a chore—it’s always been hard for me as far as reaching both the dishwasher and the sink.”

After years of having to adapt to her surroundings, Stroker is finally going to remodel her home to make it less challenging and more convenient to live in.

“With this renovation, I need my home to work for me,” she says. “So much of my life I’ve accommodated for a home that I was living in because it wasn’t accessible, it wasn’t custom to what I need as a person who uses a wheelchair who has limited mobility. It’s always been a dream for me to create an accessible home.

“Right now in the process we’re in the design phase, and [some] of the things that we’re going to be doing is adding accessible counters that are my height [and] a sink that I can roll under.

“My husband is able-bodied, and he uses the kitchen a lot, [too]. He’s a really wonderful cook, so creating a home that’s inclusive for both of us has been really important to me, thinking about not just what I need, but what does he need?”

It’s shaping up to be a complete kitchen transformation; however, the Whirlpool partner plans to keep one existing appliance that already serves her well: a lower-level dishwasher rack that rotates 360-degrees, which reduces her need to reach or reposition her wheelchair.

“Right next to the sink will be the Whirlpool dishwasher with the Spin&Load dish rack, because now it’s become, like, a part of my routine,” she says of the inclusive feature that was designed in collaboration with the United Spinal Association.

“You literally just spin it,” she adds. “I can reach any point in the bottom shelf of the dishwasher, so this makes loading [and] unloading so much simpler, and obviously makes my day easier.”

Stroker’s accessible dishwasher has even streamlined dish duty for the youngest member of her household.

“My son can turn it and he can help load things,” she says. “I just love that you can create a home that is inclusive to everyone.”

Stroker believes all homeowners should improve the accessibility of their properties since it’s incredibly impactful and easy to do. Indeed, some of the most useful upgrades she recommends don’t require any construction.

“A lot of homes have stairs,” says Stroker. “You can buy a ramp and have it in your garage so if there ever was a moment that a family member [or] a friend needed it, you can put it out and have them [cover] the stairs.

“Also, thinking about height as a wheelchair user—I sit, so if you’re really thinking about creating accessibility in your home, sit down and see what you can reach, what you can’t reach, what you can see, what you can’t see, and, you know, [put] shelving low to the ground.”

Stroker’s mission to create accessible spaces for all even extends to the TV sets she works on. The “Ozark” and “Echoes” actress hopes that creating such highly visible examples of inclusive design will reflect and validate the experiences of the disabled community.

“The set designers have called me and talked to me about accessibility because they want the space that I’m in to feel authentic to someone who has a disability,” she shares. “That’s what I try to do in my work, so if I’m working with a set designer, I’ll say, ‘Hey it’s really important that in a home, like, I can reach everything, I can access everything.’

“In particular, we created a really accessible kitchen in ‘Ozark,’ and I was so excited that whether people noticed it or not, I think that somebody who has limited mobility—somebody who’s in a chair—would really appreciate that because it is authentic.”

Whether it’s a make-believe home or a real one, Stroker’s dedication to making accessibility mainstream continues to push forward.

“When you get creative, accessibility and inclusivity can be so beautiful,” she says. “The reality is, there’s so many of us out there who have different abilities, who have limited mobility, and you can live a full and beautiful life.”

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