Adaptation In A House - Downstairs

Living room

• Use ‘reaches’ to pick things off the floor or down from a shelf
• A chair that’s the right height for you with filled-in arms can be easier to get up from. Filled-in arms also stop magazines and TV remotes from falling through.
• Avoid raising your chair height with piles of cushions. This is bad for your back and can make getting out of the chair more difficult

Stairs

• Two banisters can be a real help with balance
• Stair lifts are also a good option for some people

Entrances and exits

• Making sure you have easy access to and from your home is as important as improving things inside
• Fitted handles on the side of a door frame can be helpful to get up and down a step. Adding a half step to reduce the height of the step can also help
• If you use a wheelchair sometimes, you might want to have ramps fitted, or use temporary ones
• If you use a wheelchair, you might need to widen doorways to fit through

Garden

• Grow plants in containers instead of in the ground
• Use long-handled garden tools saving you from getting down to ground level
• Use automatic watering systems
• Paving or decking is generally easier to maintain and more accessible