10 Ways to Make your Home Child and Elderly Friendly

Contrary to popular belief, it is not complicated nor expensive to ensure that your abode is child and elderly-proof. From choosing the appropriate furniture to installing anti-slip tiles, here is a simple list of straightforward home remodels which you should consider.

Design: The Alchemists Design

1. Choose furniture with rounded corners

Steer clear of furniture which has sharp edges and opt for ones that have soft and rounded edges. Consider installing edge protectors to prevent the potential for mishaps.

Tip: Furniture that is used in high-traffic places should be installed with edge protectors.

Design: Weiken.com

2. Secure furniture onto the wall

Anchor the furniture onto the wall (with safety traps or L brackets) to prevent accidents when the furniture tip over and crash onto the children. This happens when the kids try to climb or pull things from the top of the furniture.

Tip: Keep items which are attractive to the children, such as food, toys or the tv-remote, in the drawers instead of on top of furniture. This is to prevent your child from trying to get it and he or she sees it.

Design: ROOOT Studio

3. Use only kid-friendly paint

Kids tend to abuse the walls with the ink, crayons and pencils and unless you plan to repaint the walls every year, you should consider using durable, easy-to-wash wall paint which makes the wall easy to clean.

Tip: Consider transforming a wall into a chalkboard board, with the chalkboard paint, for your children to unleash their creativity.

Design: The Local INN.terior

4. Attach baby gates at strategic locations

Attaching a gate to the top and bottom of the stairs, kitchen, and bathrooms helps to keep your child safe from potential falls or dangerous places. Easy to install and remove sleek retractable gates have become a home staple for homeowners with young children.

Tip: Baby gates can be used to keep out pets too.

Design:  Target

5. Install surveillance cameras

If you are away from home most of the time, technology has made it possible for you to check in with your kids and elderly parents even when you are at work.

Tip: Ensure that your internet plan can support high-resolution surveillance camera streams.

Design: The Alchemists Design

6. Ensure that the abode is well-lit 

Proper adequate lighting can make it much easier for the elderly and kids to find their way around and minimise the risk of falls. 

Tip: Install night lighting for accident-prone areas such as kitchens and bathrooms.

Design: LemonFridge Studio

7. Consider switching to motion sensor lights

Simple tasks such as making the way to the bathroom can be very unwieldy for the elderly or small children. Hence, having motion sensor lights installed along the hallway means that they do not need to fumble around for the light switches and risk tripping in the dead of the night.

Tip: Consider mounting the motion sensor lights around 6 to 10 feet above the floor and positioned such that most movement will be detected across the sensitivity zone.

Design: APRT Studio

8. Install grab bars in bathrooms

A bathroom is a very dangerous place, especially for the elderly and small toddlers. Hence, grab bars offer additional support to hold on to while sitting down or getting up and in addition, they also double as a towel rail.

Tip: Using an existing towel rail as a grab bar is not recommended since they might not be designed to take on the weight of an adult.

Design: Homu Homu

9. Opt for slip-resistant floors

Consider installing anti-slip floor tiles to make the kitchen and bathroom slip-proof and safer. Steer clear of rugs and floor mats which cannot be secured onto the floor.

Tip: If replacing the existing tiles with the anti-slip tiles is not an option, it is possible to create more traction by doing an anti-slip treatment which is usually done by applying an anti-slip coating on the existing tiles.

Design: Kaizen Architecture

10. Install charging points at the bedside

For elderly parents who face difficulty moving about or are bedridden, it is important to ensure that the essentials are within their reach. Hence, instead of using power extenders with messy (and easy to trip) codes, having charging points near the bed helps to ensure that they do not have to drag themselves from the bed to get hot water or charge their phones.

Tip: Use a multi-device charging plug to keep the bedside table clutter-free.

Design: Weiken.com