A towel bar should not be just a towel bar; it should be strong enough to also function as a support bar. Regardless of whether there are handicapped people around... we are all occasionally, momentarily handicapped so we would all benefit from this way of thinking.
The case about the towel bar is rooted in an actual experience: some years ago, a couple of days after hip surgery, I happened to lean towards such a bar and -- ouch! -- landed with full weight on the "new" hip when the decorative towel bar gave way. Luckily nothing went wrong
