Home is the most comfortable place in the world. Especially, for the people with any kind of physical and mental disability. They feel more confident and safer in the surroundings they know and around the people who take care of them. But the things may go antagonistic if their precious nest contains the décor and interior settings which may go against their comfort and safety.
There are some home interior items and furnishings which made it difficult for people with wheelchairs or walking sticks, to roam independently within the house. You need to check the interior of your house for the following glitches, which can bother your family members and guests with mobility issues.
Unsafe floors
Tripping over a bunch of wire lying on the floor or getting slipped on the tiles can happen to anyone. But the difference is, it can be more dangerous for people with physical or mental disability than the other counterparts. It is because, once fallen they can find it difficult to arise in the absence of any man-help. To avoid such situations, make sure your décor does not include items like lamp or lighting fixtures for a cabinet which have extended wires running throughout the floor.
Floor tiles with slippery characteristic are another cause of concern. The rubber flooring is the best choice to be made for the house to be accessible by the wheelchair users. They are considered 100% safe with stable, firm and slip resistant characteristics. They provide a soft cushion in the incident of any fall. Other floor types like hardwood, laminate, and ceramic tiles are good options too but each has their limitations in terms of being scratchy, noise amplifying and non-resilient, respectively.
Inaccessible Baths & toilets
Using bathrooms and toilets independently, is one of the dreams of every disabled person. They do not want to ask people to company them in their awkward private moment. But with inaccessible baths, they are left with no choice but to ask others for help. The low toilet seats, high elevated tubs, narrow shower area, the absence of support rail, are few ingredients of inaccessible bathrooms. Luckily, there are accessible bathing and toilet solutions available throughout the United Kingdom which could make their life much easy and safe. Walk-in baths and showers which have a perfect level stepping with comfortable shower seat and accessible water knobs are the best gifts for people with disability. Click here to see some perfect walk-in baths and shower options for your bathroom. Install support frames beside the toilet seat and place a raised additional seat on the toilet bowl for a secure visit of disabled, to the toilet.
Carpets
Although it is advised to avoid carpets if there are disabled people living in the home, carpets have their own pros- they provide comfortable underfoot surface and safety from a fall, but they can be a cause of allergies due to dust mites and provides friction while driving wheelchair over them. But if the disable people want to have a carpet underneath them, then go for the carpet tiles that can be easily replaced and removed for cleaning. The lower the carpet pile, the easier it is for wheelchairs to travel.
Too compact space
With people having mobility issues, in the house, you should be extra careful as not to over-furnish your house with furniture and décor accessories. This may lead to a compact space which would hinder the free movement of wheelchair users. This doesn’t mean that you should not furnish at all; Rather than choosing bulky furnishing, you could just choose more space saving ideas in furniture and decors. They will not only look modern & elegant but will also provide comfortable living conditions for your disabled friends and family.
Poor lights
The inappropriate and insufficient lights in the bedroom, bathrooms and living area of the house may give a depressing feeling, especially among the people with any kind of disability (even to the able ones). Apart from this, bad lights may cause illusions, which may lead to accidents. You have to fix any such issue concerning light fixtures. Focus on the primary lights, bulbs, tube lights, lamps for more brightness and soothing features. It is also advisable to use night lights for every room, if possible. There are motion sensor safety lights available too, which can be a great idea for the home having a physical or mentally challenged member.
It is the duty of able people like us to provide the disable people with best they can have- their independence being the foremost thing. We might love to take care of them in every instance, but they need some independent space of their own. For those moments, consider changing the above mentioned unsafe interior environments of your home.
