Here’s How to Make Your Home More Disability Accessible

Home should be a place of maximum comfort and security for everyone – disability or not. If you’d like to make your home more disability accessible, we have the blog post for you! Below are 5 actionable and practical ways to make your home more disability accessible regardless of condition.

Rearrange Your Furniture

The layout of your house matters. If your furniture is creating sharp turns and unnecessarily narrow passageways, it’ll become difficult for wheelchair users to get around. Rearrange your furniture to create more open space. Shuffle everyday-use furniture and appliances around to be easily accessible.

Widen Doorways and Hallways

Like with the first point, it’s important to make it easy for wheelchair users to navigate around your home. Part of this means having doorways and hallways wide enough for wheelchair users to get through them comfortably. Doorways and hallways should be at least 32 inches wide, and even this is a tight squeeze. We strongly recommend doorways and hallways be at least 36 inches wide to make wheelchair users feel as comfortable as possible.

Say Bye to Doorknobs

For those that have a difficult time gripping, a door knob can be a frustrating nightmare. One recommendation we have is to swap doorknobs with push/pull bars. If you have a bigger budget, more accessible options are to opt for press lever handles or automatic doors.

Upgrade Your Toilet and Bathtub

Everyone needs to use the bathroom and everyone deserves to take a comfy bath when they want to.

For your toilet(s), install handrails and safety frames. Handrails eliminate a user’s need to balance and make getting up and down from the toilet an easier process. Safety frames provide a sense of security and comfort while using the toilet.

For your bathtub(s), upgrade to a step-in tub and line your tub with a slip-resistant material. Bathtubs have tall sides and are notorious for being a barrier to entry – a step-in tub makes getting into the tub easier and safer. Slip-resistant material makes getting out of the tub easier, and offers a sense of security.

Remove or Renovate Steps

A frustrating – if not impossible – hurdle for people with physical disabilities is maneuvering onto steps. This might mean the large staircase in your house, but also the one or two steps that lead inside your home or to other rooms.

The solution is to remove or renovate steps into ramps. If you are installing a ramp, be advised that you may need to apply for a building permit before you can do so.