If you, or someone you know, are living with reduced mobility, it can be difficult to negotiate steps, stairs and other thresholds in and around your home. You may be struggling to move around freely due to injury, disability, or simply because you’re getting older.
However, whether you’re having problems getting around indoors, navigating tricky steps and entrances outside your home, or expecting a visitor with additional mobility needs, there are lots of ways to keep your home accessible.
This quick guide will provide some inspiration and advice on how to create an accessible home, so you can move around freely.
How can I make my home more accessible?
There are many ways to make your home more accessible, depending on your needs and the type of support you require. You might need more help getting into your home. If you’re a wheelchair user, you can benefit from ramps being installed and fitted. If you’re a little unsteady on your feet, something as simple and relatively basic as a grab rail being added to your bathroom can really help in giving a bit of much-needed support.
Let’s look at some of the most popular ways you can make your home more accessible.
Steps and half steps
As we age, many of us will inevitably start to lose the strength we once had in our lower limbs, so steps and stairs can become more challenging. If you have any high steps at home, a half step may help to make these steps more accessible and easier to negotiate.
The Bigfoot Outdoor Half Step reduces the height you need to step up in one go and instead provides you with two smaller steps, putting less pressure on your lower limbs and helping you to keep your balance. Many half steps are designed for outdoor use with weatherproof materials and strong feet – ideal for modifying steps at your front or back door.
Small steps can also make areas of the bathroom more accessible. Bath steps such as the Adjustable Bath Step can be used singularly as a small step or several can be ‘stacked’ together to create a higher platform, depending on your preference and the available space in your bathroom. You can use these to reach shelves in your bathroom cabinet, for example, if they might otherwise be out of reach.
You can explore our range of half steps here.
Mobility ramps
If you use a wheelchair or a mobility scooter, setting up a ramp on steps or over thresholds can help to make your home more accessible. A threshold ramp fits over raised doorway thresholds, making movement around your home smoother while also improving access to different rooms and outdoor areas when using your mobility aid.
If there are any steps outside your home which currently block access to wheeled mobility aids, you may want to consider setting up a ramp to help make it easier to get in and out of your home. A folding ramp offers a stable and non-slip surface, so you won’t have to worry about trying to negotiate steps. A folding ramp is also suitable for transportation, in case you need it for other areas in your home or when travelling.
Take a look at our collection of mobility ramps here, which also includes a range of non folding ramps.
Grab rails
If you’re able to walk freely around your home, without the need for ramps or half steps, but feel you could benefit from just a little extra support, grab rails could give you the reassurance you’re looking for.
Grab rails – you can see our wide range here – can be installed all over the home, wherever you need stability. Grab rails, or grab bars, provide handheld support when you’re stepping up or down, as well as moving around a room.
For example, you can get grab rails specially suited to the bathroom. Some attach to walls simply through strong vacuum suction pads, so there’s not even any need to fix them permanently if you’re just looking for short term support. You can put these into position near the bath, shower or toilet, to make it easier to move around. The added benefit of grab rails that use suction pads is that they’re portable, so if you’re going on holiday or staying overnight away from home, you can take these with you. As well as bathroom grab rails you can also get bed grab rails to help make it easier to get in and out of bed.
Grab rails aren’t just restricted to indoor use, though. Some styles can be fitted outside, too – ideal for being positioned beside front and back doors to provide you with support and balance as you enter and exit your home.
Additional support when moving around your home
Although steps and ramps can make certain parts of the home accessible, you may find you need additional support when moving around your home. A walking frame is a great option for helping you to get around indoors and offers you sturdy support to encourage better balance.
You may also benefit from a walking frame caddy that can be used on most wheeled walking frames and is designed to carry items from room to room, helping to reduce your risk of falls while pushing the aid. If you specifically need to get support while carrying meals and drinks around, using a kitchen trolley can be a big help.
Other ways to adapt your home
Want to learn more ways you can adapt your existing home to make it more accessible? Take a look at our series on home adaptations, going room by room and offering a variety of tips and suggestions from small changes to larger projects:
If you’d prefer more personalised recommendations, try our Home Living Consultations Service where a registered Occupational Therapist will assess your existing environment and offer their recommendations on products or alternative ways of completing tasks to try.
