Whether you live with an elderly person or you’re adjusting to a new disability at home, changing and upgrading your interior is guaranteed to make life easier. Accessible home design helps everyone to move around, regardless of whether they’re able-bodied or not.
From smooth floors to open-plan layouts, we’ve outlined five of the best ways to make your home more accessible in our quick guide below.
5 accessibility tips to enhance your home layout
Streamline your bathrooms
Bathrooms should always be easy to use, but the smaller details matter even more for those who get around in a wheelchair, use walking aids, or struggle to hold their own weight. Replace any bathtub with a walk-in shower unit, preferably with support handles.
Adding support rails and other sturdy wall-mounted accessories can help ensure that everyone goes to the bathroom with ease. Installing more features only includes more people – and never stops anyone from using the bathroom either. Along with a higher, wall-hung toilet basin, raised bowls and soft-close toilet seats are key features to include.
Install easy-open doors
People with disabilities might not be able to open or close doors and use handles in the typical way, especially if they lack arm strength.
Automatic door opening systems make life simpler for many people, with straightforward button operation or remote controls to choose from. Electric doors are just one example of the ways in which home automation empowers people with disabilities.
You should widen the doorways before you install any new doors. For wheelchair users and for those who help them through their daily routines, wider doorframes make it safer and smoother to get from one room to the next.
Make it flat
Clear, hazard-free flooring is the most logical choice to help everyone get around the house. Wooden or smooth lino flooring allow wheels on wheelchairs to simply glide, rather than lag on sticky carpet or thick rugs.
It’s a good idea to make the floor free of trip hazards or anything a wheelchair might get caught on. Open-plan designs help to promote tidiness, especially if you can incorporate fitted storage solutions in easily reached places. If it’s hard to avoid living across split levels, try to install ramps or lifts to avoid the burden of stairs.
Make lighting simple
Along with helping those who find it harder to get around the house, swapping out your dim bulbs for brighter ones can help with mobility around the house. In hallways and darker corners, motion sensors could make an invaluable choice and reduce the risk of trips and bumps.
Night lights – those activated with a light sensor – make a brilliant choice for hallways to illuminate the way to the bathroom. These handy devices aren’t just for children, so it’s worth finding lights amongst other smart home devices for vulnerable family members.
Keep things low
Lastly, improving access means making everyday tasks easier for everyone!
Pull-down shelves and low drawers are both practical ways to allow everyone access to the contents of the cupboard. This type of upgrade can be made on a budget, but if you can, try to choose built in storage to maximise your floor space.
You could always attach pully tags to cupboard handles to help shorter family members or anyone in a wheelchair to open the cupboard doors with ease. As for desks and tables, try to find those with a lower height.
