Home Modifications For Each Room
Below are some home modifications that can you achieve your goal of aging in place or when selecting a place to age in place.
If you are concerned if a particular modification would improve a task for you or your loved one, reach out to an occupational therapist as they can complete an evaluation and provide further details on the best modification for you/your loved one.
Entry Into the Home
- The width of the front door should be 36 inches
- This can be achieved through expandable door hinges
- Increasing door width by replacing the frame
- Zero step entry
- Ramp
- Automatic lift
- Handrails on both sides of the stairs
- Adequate lighting to prevent tripping and improve wayfinding
- Lever door knobs
- Requires less fine motor skills and strength to turn the knob
Hallways, Entryway, and Stairs
- Keep these areas clear of trip hazards
- Select floor materials that are slip-resistant and reduce falls
- Preferred materials include ceramic tile, laminate (when wearing non-slip shoes), vinyl, and carpet less than ½ inch thick
- Remove loose rugs that do not have a non-slip back
- Secure any rug left in the area
- Rug tape or non-slip backing
- Increase lighting
- Light switches should be accessible at each end of the room
- Railings on all stairs and both sides of the stairs
- Remove thresholds between rooms
- Threshold ramps
Kitchen
- Motion sensor faucet
- Can be helpful when there are physical or cognitive concerns
- Task lighting
- Improve safety in the kitchen when cooking
- Alarms for stoves to prevent fires
- Remove non-slip rugs
- Front knob stove
- To reduce safety concerns with reaching over hot burners
- Microwave on the counter
- To reduce strain by reaching up to a microwave and prevent burns from spilling food
Bathroom
- Walk-in showers
- Have a small threshold to step over, but they do prevent water from spilling into the rest of the bathroom
- Roll-in showers
- Have no threshold but can easily spread throughout the bathroom
- Shower curtain
- Allow for greater ability to get in and out of the shower as they can be moved out of the way unlike a shower door
- Non-slip bath mats
- Shower seating
- Shower chair
- Tub transfer bench to limit the need to step over the tub
- Hand-held shower head
- Grab bars in several places in the shower
- Practice getting in and out of the shower to determine the best placement for grab bars
- Do not use suction cup grab bars as they can cause a fall
- Toilet transfer aides
- Grab bars
- Toilet safety frame
- Raised toilet seat
Living Spaces
- Chair risers to help make transfers from furniture easier
- Remove clutter and tripping hazards
- Increase lighting
- Accessible seating
- Easy to stand up and sit down from
- Wide spaces to make it easy and safe to move around the room
Bedroom
- Accessible bed
- Bed rail to help with rolling, sitting edge of the bed, and standing
- Hospital bed
- Bed risers to help with standing up and sitting down on the bed
- Satin bed sheets to help improve the ability to roll in bed
- Lighting
- Proximity to the bathroom
- Can utilize a bedside commode if the bedroom is far from the bathroom to reduce fall risk
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References:
Parkinson’s Disease. (2021, March). Helpful home adaptation. https://parkinsonsdisease.net/coping-home-adaptations
Stanford PD Community Blog. (2021, September 22). “Modifications to help make your home safer” - webinar notes. https://parkinsonsblog.stanford.edu/2021/09/modifications-to-help-make-your-home-safer-webinar-notes/
United Disabilities Services. (2021, August 24). Home modifications, part III: Making your entryway safer. https://udservices.org/making-your-entryway-safer/
