Essential Home Renovations And Upgrades If You Want to Age In Place

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Do you plan to stay in your home until your golden years? If yes, then doing some home renovations or revamps before you retire could make your home more safe and accessible for your life ahead.

According to a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) together with the AARP Public Policy Institute, about 90% of people at least 65 years old want to stay in their homes for their lives ahead. The problem is that most homeowners make the error of waiting too long to do some upgrades.

One should not wait until your problems in walking or moving around to make renovations to your house. Without a doubt, preemptive improvements are more valuable than others. For a little help, here are some remodeling projects and design changes that’ll help you age in place safely and comfortably. Take a read!

Cabinets

For the most part, cabinets must not be hard to reach. Generally, in a house where there are elderlies living, upper cabinets must be installed at least three inches lower than their usual height. Lower cabinets should be added with pull out shelves for more convenience.

Such an upgrade will help minimize back strain. Plus, they can maximize the storage space in the cabinets. Do invest in high-quality and sturdy cabinets so that they’ll last longer. Consider choosing american kitchen cabinets that are made of premium materials.

Walk-in Shower

For older people who have issues moving around, it can be difficult and painful to climb over the edge of a bathtub. A solution to that is a walk-in shower. It can make your bathroom seem more modern.

Although it can be expensive to build a walk-in shower, the benefits you’d gain later on are worth the cost. The cost plays around 6,500 to 15,000 dollars or more, relying upon the size of the materials and the shower.

Add Some Color to Step Edges

It helps to add some color strips between the edges of steps to prevent a fall or collapse on the stairs. This home update can help you distinguish the steps, especially when your vision gets less sharp over time.

But as time passes by, you may not be able to see the color stripe on the stairs that you are, by and large, used to walking over. And it might be the sole reason for your fall. Colored tape is the answer to this problem.

Opt to incorporate different colors and a design technique on the vertical section of each step. In this way, it can appear or seem less like an aging-in-place house.

Choose a Taller Toilet

Go for a taller toilet when you do a bathroom renovation to make standing up far from doing a chore. Thus, it would take less strength in the lower body to get down and up off the toilet. The standard height for a toilet usually falls between 15 inches and 17 inches. If you want something like a chair’s height, consider seats between 17 inches and 18 inches tall.

Anti-slip Surface

Sliding in the shower is not just a danger for the elderly, although a fall will most likely cause bruises, cuts, or injuries as you get older. An excellent solution is to add an anti-slip surface to the floor of your shower or tub.

The good options are coatings applied to the tub’s bottom or stick-on treads. Also, a no-slip shower mat is a must, provided that it won’t cause its own slipping hazard.

Grab Bars

Install grab bars for additional support all over the house, especially in areas where standing up might be more challenging and painful in the long run. Or to assist you in keeping your balance.

Next to the toilet or in the shower are the most common areas where a grab bar is mostly needed. Today, grab bars are added or combined into multiple products so that it won’t make your home look like a facility.

Door Lever Handles

The majority of people aged 65 years old have arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And when a person has arthritis, even seizing and holding a doorknob can be difficult. The solution is to switch to level handles.

Lever handles costs about 5 dollars apiece. Plus, you do not have to hire an expert to swap a doorknob with a lever handle. This home upgrade is a simple DIY project.

Takeaway

For elderlies, living well signifies or denotes residing at home in a physically relaxed way. Keep in mind that as people age, physical difficulties can make it challenging to move around the house. A simple solution to this is to renovate your home to adapt to these challenges. It can be a smart move to remodel your home for aging in place.

Author Bio

Annalise Weathers is a writer and a blogger. She is best at writing home renovation, real estate, lifestyle, and technology topics. On her day off, Annalise likes to visit places listed on her travel bucket list.