Home adaptations can completely change the lives of people living with injuries and disabilities.
Some accessibility-friendly changes to a property can be fairly significant, while some are less so. But what difference does it make for the rest of the family?
Carry on reading this blog for a good look at what home adaptations are like for the whole household.
What Are You Worried About?
Home adaptations change parts of a property to help people living with reduced movement go about their days as comfortably and independently as possible. Yet it’s quite common for all family members to worry that the new facilities, equipment or design will appear too cold and clinical or change the home too much.
But you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Adaptations have come a long way in recent years. Sure, the utilitarian versions exist. But most adaptations are sleek, stylish and carefully designed to blend in seamlessly with a modern household. Home adaptations can even make a house more desirable if you plan to sell on later down the line, making them a cost-efficient investment.
Let’s take a look at some of the different adaptations and how they’re able to improve the lives of not just the intended user but the whole household.
Adaptations In The Kitchen
The kitchen is most often the beating heart of the home. It’s a place where the family can join together after busy days at school and work to cook, eat and connect.
Making a kitchen accessible and inclusive for all members of the household can include…
Lowering Worktops
Reducing the height of work surfaces in the kitchen makes them easier to reach. This can be beneficial when standard-height worktops sit too tall for wheelchair users, making stretching up and over an uncomfortable or even painful experience and preventing the user from executing their task.
Installing worktops without cabinets below will get the best out of the new setup for wheelchair users, too, as they will be able to position their legs underneath whilst preparing or cooking food. An L-shape counter is the most space-efficient option for small kitchens and is also the most accessible solution, as wheelchair users won’t need to move around as much to get to either end.
Whilst permanently lowering kitchen worktops is best suited to a home where a single user preps and cooks the food, other members of the household, such as children, can also benefit from the change in worktop height. Suddenly they’re able to be involved in kitchen antics and are likely to show a keen interest in helping to prepare meals alongside their trusted adults.
Rise And Fall Counters
In homes where different members of the household prepare food, rise and fall counters work like a dream because they are effortlessly height adjustable.
Not only do rise and fall counters look exactly like standard worktops, meaning your kitchen will stay styled exactly how you like it, but they are easily height adjustable. They’re the flexible option, available in both manual and electric mechanisms, and can be simply altered to anyone’s height preference at every use.
For wheelchair users, rise and fall counters also provide that much-needed leg space that enables safe and comfortable food prep and cooking.
High Contrast Handles
The stark change of colour between your cupboards and their new high-contrast handles can make it easier for people with visual impairments to see and reach for. This might not have been top of your list, but high-contrast cupboard and door handles are an easy and cost-effective adaptation that can look fantastic in a modern kitchen, improving the aesthetic of the whole room.
Shallow Sink
Standard sinks are often too deep for many people with limited mobility to reach, whether they’re in a wheelchair or not. A shallow sink stops items from sinking too far down into the suds when doing the washing up and allows items to be carefully lowered into a dry sink without them crashing to the bottom.
Needless to say, this is of benefit to all members of the family. Shallow sinks look like regular sinks, but they are easier to clean and maintain and are wonderfully inclusive of any children residing at the property. Start those kids off helping with the dishes from an early age!
Accessible Storage
The aim of adapting a kitchen is to reduce all unnecessary straining, twisting and reaching. And drop-down storage does just that.
Drop-down or pull-down storage makes kitchen cupboard organisation a dream and is something everyone in the home will appreciate. No more searching high and low for where-on-earth-you-put-the-basil, or cupboards full of half-used packets of baking ingredients that fall out every time you open the door.
With drop-down storage systems, everything has its very own place, and it’s easy to see what you’ve got. Or what you need, for that matter.
Induction Hob
Cooking on an induction hob works by heating the pan directly, rather than the hob itself. It’s fast, like cooking on a gas flame, and precise, like cooking on an electric hob, but much safer for everyone in the household because the surface doesn’t get hot.
Adaptations In The Bathroom
The bathroom is another room of the house that gets heavy foot traffic. Not only is it a practical space, but it offers rest and relaxation and adaptations here can transform bathing and showering for the whole family.
Level-Access Showers And Wet Rooms
Accessible showers and wet rooms are on trend. Often seen in boutique hotels and high-end homes, these adapted bathroom facilities feature no shower tray, meaning entering and exiting is easy, and there is a lot more room to move around in when you’re washing.
For those with a reduced range of movement, level-access showers and wet rooms remove the trip hazard of a bath or step to navigate, making bathing independently a breeze. And for the whole family? Utter luxury, a stylish aesthetic and simple maintenance.
Walk-In Bath
A shower isn’t for everyone. Some patients or customers may need or simply want the option of running a bath instead, to soak the muscles and relax the brain. Walk-in baths provide safe and stress-free bathing because the user can enter through floor-level doors and sit comfortably whilst the bath runs, and the doors provide a watertight seal. These are fantastic for families with kids, too.
Motion Sensor Taps
Motion sensors are a brilliant, innovative way that home adaptations have developed in recent years. And their state-of-the-art technology sits happily in the field of luxury styling, too – what more could you want in the bathroom of your dreams?
Easy to use and easy to clean, motion sensor taps remove the need for the accuracy and dexterity required for standard faucets, making them the number one choice in accessible bathrooms.
Floating Sinks
Modular, wall-hung basins, or floating sinks, are popular replacements for pedestal or cupboard-topped sinks in accessible bathrooms.
Often smaller, offering a space-saving benefit, floating sinks enable wheelchair users to get up close and use the facilities comfortably because they can wheel their legs underneath with ease. They can also be installed at a height more suited to the user’s needs, and look sleek and sophisticated in a modern bathroom.
Height Adjustable Toilet
In a home where multiple people are using a shared bathroom, it might be suitable to install a height-adjustable loo. Similar to the height-adjustable worktops we visited in the kitchen section, this ingenious design of the toilet enables each user to position the facility at a safe and comfortable height for their own use.
Adaptations Around The House
Let’s take a look at other common home adaptations and what they feel like for the rest of the household.
Stairs
When you hear the word stairlift, you might assume we’re talking about old, clunky mechanisms that are noisy and in the way. But far from it. Modern stairlifts are unobtrusive and can even be relatively discreet, blending into the rest of the house.
Doors
Widened doorways can make all the difference for people with limited mobility living at home because they allow more room to manoeuvre.
Although it takes a bit of building work to get the job done, larger doorways can improve the look and feel of your home because they allow more light to flow through the rooms, giving the impression of larger, light and airy spaces.
External Adaptations
The outside areas of a home count, too, you know! Consider these adaptations and what they could do for you.
Raised Garden Planters
If you’ve ever watched a garden makeover show, you’ll know all about planters. And they’re superbly stylish. Raised beds and planters provide depth to a garden, showing off different levels of colour and texture to really make a garden look incredible.
From an accessibility point of view, raised planters mean that getting your hands in the soil to soak up the goodness is truly within reach. Standard ground-level flowerbeds are too far down for many people with reduced mobility to reach comfortably and safely.
Ramps
Ramps and sloping paths are often installed to make getting in and out of the house simple and safe, and they get a bad wrap.
With a little bit of thought and planning, these outdoor areas that are so crucial to the independence of their users can be dressed up with adjacent flower beds and plant pots and look great as part of your garden.
Living With Adaptations Enhances A Home For Everyone
Making changes to your home might feel like a big move, and you may worry that they’ll negatively affect everyone in the house, as well as the style and decor.
But worry not. Modern adaptations transform a home for the better and are designed to blend in seamlessly with a domestic environment.
Are you considering making your bathroom more accessible? Find out what features make for a great adapted bathroom in our recent blog.