Design for elderly

To many people it is a big disparity of getting older. Some feel that it is hard to walk or get problem with their balance, some loose some of their sight and some loose some of their hearing. For those people it is important or even necessary to design their house or apartment in a way that facilitate them. I am going to mention things that can be done in a home for elderly to make the life easier for them.

When you are older you might have walking or balance problems. Because of that it would be great to avoid thresholds in the home so the person wont be able to stumble on them. It can be big consequences if an elderly falls on a threshold. If the person has that much walking problem that he or she even need an indoor walker the thresholds would be in the way. For the same reason it could be a good idea to skip carpets in the rooms, it is easy to stumble at them as well.

If you have walking problems it can be hard to walk in stairs. If there are stairs in the house it is very important to have a handrail to which the person can hold to and keep up the balance with. But better than stairs would be to have an elevator in the house, that will make it easier for the elderly. To avoid falling in stair the apartment or house can be furnish with different thinks so the person does not have to walk in the stair, for example a washing machine. It could even be good to have a balcony if the person wants some air but don’t want to walk in stairs.

While showering it can be very slippery. Because of that I think it is important to have a carpet in the shower or the bathtub that’s makes it hard for the person to slip. It can also be a good idea to have some kind of ledge in the shower so the person does not have to bend to get things that is standing on the floor. For some elderly it can also be very good to have a handrail in the shower and beside the toilet so they can hold to that if they loose the balance.

When walking around in the house or apartment it is important to have many thing to hold on to, like furniture or handrails if you loose your balance. For some elderly it is a very bad idea of climbing in the house and because of that it is very good to not have shelves to high. It is better to have lover shelves but more of them.

To avoid the problem of running to the telephone it can be good to have a portable phone that the elderly can bring to every room when walking around. It is also important to have light rooms with a lot of windows If the rooms are dark it can be hard to see if there are something laying on the floor or it is easier for the elderly to kick a table or a chair etc. It is also important that all the light swish is easy pushed.

Summarized, it is good to have open spaces and a lot of things to hold to. It can be dangerous to have things on the floor that the elderly can slip on and to facilitate walking in the home it is good having handrails in the home.