Our parents are getting older, now is the time to start thinking about how to adapt a home for the elderly. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a couple years aways from retirement and they don’t look one bit there age but with the ‘busy’ lives we lead these days, it will spring up on us just how elderly they are. Often when I visit my parents, I am often wandering if we should think about installing the stairlift now or wait a few more years. Outside of them moving out of the terraced house and into a bungalow, there are so many modifications we can make to their home.
When I was in high school and even when I went to university, I worked part time as a healthcare assistant in both ‘community’ and residential care so I am family with how to adapt a home for the elderly. Often with ‘care in the community’, the elderly want to still stay at home because the home has all the memories and they want to be surrounded by them but this often means the house needs some upgrades which can be costly. In this post I aim to share some of the tips I picked up working as a healthcare assistant for over 6 years.
*Collaborative post – all opinions shared are my own.
How to Adapt a Home for the Elderly
Your home is your sanctuary or at least should be for everyone and the elderly are no exception but as we grow older, we might either outgrow the house or its no longer suitable. For the elderly who want to still remain at home whether due to financial reasons and sentimental reasons, there are various ways you can adapt a home for the elderly and continue to make it functional as well. The tips that I am sharing in this post are based off the plans we are making for our family home.
Installing a stairlift
As we get older, the stairs became a challenge, I can attest to this even though I only in my early to mid-30s but I have also seen how my parents struggle with stairs. Installing a stairlift in your home would make the elderly’s lives much more convenient as they would still be able to manoeuvre up and down the stairs. The alternative is downsizing to a bungalow.
Move everything downstairs
If installing a lift is not in the budget then you might want to consider moving your elderly family members downstairs so they don’t need to struggle with the stairs but this also might mean you need to instal a downstairs bathroom if you don’t have one. I have seen many clients in the community who opt for this option as it mens they can still stay in their own home.
Install rails in and around the home
The most common places to install railings are the bathroom, toilet and the entry way outside the house. Getting in and house of the tub is a challenge on a good day but adding railings can help the elderly hoist themselves up and down and if its shower room then adding a seat in the shower stall helps as well. When trying to access the house, if there are stairs, step rails would be very ideal and would make it easier for the elderly to move around.
Lowering the counter tops
For the elderly that can still move about either unaided or via the use of a wheelchair, having lowered counter tops would make their lives so much easier. The standard countertop heights would be too high for them to work-off of so consider lowering them to make them elderly-friendly. Both my parents are quite tall so I think the current countertops would still work for them as they get older.
There are many other tips that I can recommend on how to adapt a home for the elderly but the ones shared in this post are the most common ones. Let me know in the comments below, what else you would do or have done to ensure your home is accessible to the elderly friends and family in your life.
khoingn | The Broad Life says
Very good tips to help the elderly at home. I will share this with many people.
Nyxinked says
Having had to do this for a number of relatives, I found that asking for advice from my local council or care home representative to be very helpful. A home should always be the last resort – if you can keep a person comfortable, well and dignified in their own space, it really helps.
bethabeautifulcrazylife says
My in-laws recently had to do this for their parents. Thankfully they had a one level home. These are some great tips!
MELANIE E says
This is something that I may have to consider doing soon. My parents are getting older and seem to be struggling so much more. Thanks for the tips x
Fransic verso says
Great things to do that help with elderly. I will keep these in mind to apply them in the future. Thank you for sharing!
Rose Ann Sales says
This is really important for our elders safety. I really love these ideas thanks for sharing this with us!
Christine says
These are all great ideas! This is so important for your elder’s safety.
Ben says
We had to do a lot of these things for my grandmother as she got older. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to ensure she could live at home.
Beth says
These are great tips. So many things change as you get older. It’s so important to take that into account when caring for our elderly family members.