Whether you are caring for a loved one battling an injury or illness, or want to ensure that your parent’s home will meet their changing needs as they get older, there are plenty of reasons as to why you would need to make your home more accessible.
The changes you make do not need to be big or drastic – even the smallest changes can have a huge impact on your life. If you are already making changes to your home during lockdown, you can add accessibility to your list!
With that in mind, here are some of the different ways you can make your home more accessible.
Installing handrails in your home is a great way to make your home more accessible, as they provide those who may need it with essential support and can minimise their chances of falling. You may wish to put them in specific areas, such as your bathroom or close to the bed, as this can help people get into a standing position with little trouble.
A stairlift is essential if you live with a person with limited mobility (such as a wheelchair user) as it ensures they have access to the entire house and don’t have to rely on others to help them get up and down the stairs. This allows them to stay in control. Thankfully, companies such as Terry lifts can make the process of installing a stairlift, home lifts or even platform lifts as easy as possible – putting in all of the hard work for you and helping make your home more accessible than ever before.
Light switches are often positioned quite high on the wall, however, this means they are not always the most accessible appliances. If possible, you should lower the switches so that they are at an easily accessible height that can be reached by all those who may need them. If this is not possible, why not invest in technology that allows you to control the lights from your mobile phone or electronic device?
Not only does a step-in shower feel a bit more luxurious (kind of like the showers you see in hotels), they are also more accessible, especially for those who have limited mobility and may find it difficult to step in and out of a bath every time they want a shower. Therefore, a step-in shower is a great step forward in terms of accessibility in your home. Luckily, they are relatively easy to install and won’t cost too much either!
If you have a lot of steps inside or outside your home – for example, two or three steps to enter the kitchen, or a few steps leading to your front door, then you may also wish to install several ramps throughout the home. This will help wheelchair users move around more freely. Thankfully, installing ramps is relatively cheap and does not take a lot of time – you may even be able to instal them yourself!
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