Adapting Your Home for your Grandparents

Until we moved into our first home, I’d never really considered about adapting certain elements to make it more comfortable for my grandparents or elderly relatives. I’ve done quite a few posts about the fact we have just bought our first home. One of the key features is that it does have a lot of steps. This obviously is not ideal if you do have visitors with mobility issues and we actually have been thinking about ways we could maybe adapt our home. The house is perfect for us but I do really want it to be super comfortable for visitors.

As I’ve mentioned, our house has a lot of steps. Steps up to the house, steps up to the front door and steps unto the garden. Unless I put the ramped slip way up to the house, there isn’t much of a way around this. The only short term solution is that there is a steady hand rail installed so it’s easier to get up and down. I didn’t give much thought to the steps everywhere when buying the house but it could be an issue if visitors aren’t that mobile.

A downstairs toilet would be a dream scenario but sadly we don’t have one or the space to install one. This means that to use the bathroom, you are looking at even more steps. If you were really looking to adapt your house to make it more friendly towards grandparents and elderly relatives, a homelift would be a great thing to consider. Age co homelifts explain that there is minimal building work and fully comply with British safety standards. I think it would be kinda boujee to have one of these in your home too! Obviously, installing a homelift isn’t for everyone so again, having a sturdy handrail is a good temporary measure.

Outdoor lights is another thing which is really important. Especially if we are having visitors in the evening. Given that we do have a lot of steps around, having outdoor lights will be crucial for navigating the outside of the house and preventing any incidents. There’s some great outdoor lights which you can invest in which will automatically turn on with a sensor when someone is nearby. Just been mindful of the position of the light so you don’t annoy neighbours with shining a light into their property. It’s also worth mentioning that outdoor lights are great for security, especially if they are triggered by motion. This could put off any intruders.

Have you done anything to your home to adapt to elderly visitors?