Interesting Tips to Remodel a Home for Improved Accessibility

A change in your personal mobility could come suddenly, perhaps after an accident or illness. Whatever the case, you could find yourself struggling to move around your own home safely and easily. Here are some options to improve your home for accessibility.

A change in your personal mobility could come suddenly, perhaps after an accident or illness. Also, it might happen gradually over time, simply as part of getting older. Whatever the case, you could find yourself struggling to move around your own home safely and easily. When reduced mobility becomes a daily challenge, the home you’ve loved for so long may no longer be a good fit for you.  

 
In extreme cases, such as becoming reliant on a wheelchair, you might need to find a new home better suited to your changed circumstances. But in most cases, there are lots of simple adaptations that can be made to your existing home to make it ‘user-friendly’ again. For instance, if getting in and out of the bathtub has become difficult, there are various ways to make it easier. Incorporating products such as bath seats, bath lifts, or accessible baths with an opening door. You could even replace the bath with a walk-in shower, complete with seating.  

 
If you’re a little unsteady on your feet, grab bars or handrails can be fitted at strategic locations around the home. Wherever you may need a helping hand or a bit of extra support. In the bedroom, replacing your bed with one that stands higher off the ground, or is electrically-adjustable. This provides another great way to adapt your surroundings to meet changing needs. Similarly, replacing low seating around the home with high seat chairs or electric riser-recliners can make standing up and sitting down a lot easier.   

Installing a ‘Personal Emergency Response System’ in your home is another way to make it safer. While not strictly a home adaptation, it could bring increased peace of mind in knowing that help is only the push of a button away if you get into difficulty or have a fall. There are various types available and they can be a real lifeline, especially if you live alone. Arguably the single most beneficial adaptation you could opt for is a stairlift. For most people with impaired mobility, it is usually stairs that represent the biggest challenge and the biggest potential danger. A fall anywhere in the home can be serious, but a fall on the stairs could be devastating.  

 
Many people with mobility challenges find the stairs problematic. Some limit the number of times they use the stairs each day or change their living arrangements so they can use only the ground floor, effectively giving up half their home. A home stairlift lets you move smoothly up and down your stairs in safety and comfort whenever you like, and preserves access to all of your home. Modern stairlifts are unobtrusive, designed to blend well into a domestic setting. For anyone who struggles with the stairs, a stairlift delivers life-changing benefits without the upheaval and cost of moving away from a much-loved home filled with happy memories.  

 
When combined with some of the other adaptations mentioned above, a stairlift can transform a dwelling that has become challenging into one that is comfortable, welcoming, and homely again.