Aging Safely At Home: Senior-Friendly Home Design And Modifications

Research shows that 80% to 90% of seniors feel safer at home than anywhere else and prefer to age in place rather than transition into retirement or assisted living communities (choicemutual.com). However, to age in place safely, specific senior-friendly home designs and modifications must be implemented to minimize trip hazards and optimize accessibility and ease of living.

7 Proactive Steps To Create A Safe & Accessible Home

HomeAide Home Care has provided licensed, experienced in-home care for Bay Area seniors for over a decade. We are often contacted to perform in-home assessments and discuss senior care services after a significant accident or injury occurs. In almost all cases, proactive home modifications would have prevented the accident. That’s why we recommend implementing these steps before anybody needs them.

The following seven tips help minimize trip and fall hazards and create a home where everything someone uses regularly is easily accessible. Remember that safe spaces allow seniors to be more independent and active, enhancing their daily quality of life.

Decluttering for aging safely at home

Our slip, trip, and fall hazards section below mentions keeping items off floors and out of hallways. However, removing clutter, in general, helps to keep things lighter and brighter in addition to reducing trip hazards. 

Decluttering the home and moving things on that are no longer needed or used sets the stage for the rest of these senior-friendly home modifications because it gets things out of your way and creates more space.

Minimize trip hazards

Slip trip and fall accidents account for nearly 90% of all emergency department visits from adults 65 and older (CDC). Sadly, many of these visits result in hospitalizations or surgical procedures, after which aging loved ones never seem quite the same.

This is why it's so essential to minimize slip, trip, and fall hazards for all adults, especially those 55 years and older. 

Some easy ways to start:

• Clear clutter from your floors or stairs – including small furniture, pet bowls, trailing cables, or other things that pose a trip hazard.
• Never leave items stored on stairs or in hallways.
• Leave enough room around furniture and furnishings for easy maneuvering (36” or more is ideal).
• Remove loose mats and rugs to reduce the risk of tripping accidentally. Or, use slip-proof mats underneath rugs - taping corners or edges of the rug if necessary - to keep area rug edges from curling or lifting. 
• Always wear socks, slippers, or shoes with non-slip bottoms/soles to prevent slipping.

These are a great place to start. The more you work to create a slip, trip, and fall-safe home, the more you’ll notice other things that can be changed or modified in main living spaces.

Re-arrange for accessibility

The less we have to stand on stepladders, bend over, or squeeze into tight spots to reach what we need, the less apt we are to fall. This is especially true as we age and are more prone to vertigo, dizzy spells, or inflexibility.

Once the home is decluttered - or during the decluttering process - there’s an opportunity for rearranging cabinets and cupboards so that items used the most are stored or located in prime, easy-to-access positions. 

• Make sure any frequently-used items stored on a second story are moved to a downstairs location.
• Move everyday items to the easiest-access cupboards and closets.
• Try to store things as close as possible to where they are used.

Take extra precautions in the bathrooms

Bathrooms are considered the most dangerous rooms in the house because they have wet floors that are slippery and many hard surfaces and edges.

• Use non-slip flooring materials.
• Use a bathtub or shower mat to prevent slipping the bath/shower.
• Install grab bars on the shower wall as well as the tub edge and next to the toilet.
• If you’re installing new countertops, choose rounded rather than square edges.
• Install a light and motion-sensitive nightlight for improved illumination.
• Use a faucet/spout cover to soften the surface.

Install grab bars, rails, and ramps

Grab bars, railings, and ramps can only help if they’re installed. Installing them after they’re is great for the future but means an aging loved one suffered unnecessarily.

• Install grab bars. We mentioned these in the bathroom recommendations, but we want to reiterate their importance. Towel bars do not count as grab bars because they can pull right out of the sheetrock.
• Ensure all stairs (interior and exterior) have secure railings.
• If the only entrance to the home requires stairs - even one or two - install ramp options.

These changes not only benefit aging homeowners but also support guests who need mobility support or extra help.

Focus on task and safety lighting inside and out

Adequate lighting is another overlooked aspect of creating a home that’s safe for aging adults or anyone with diminished vision or other physical disabilities. It’s easy for people with clear, healthy vision to forget that common age-related vision issues (glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts) make the world blurry or dim. 

Bright daytime and nighttime lighting - inside and out - ensure your loved one can see as much as possible and that they aren’t maneuvering around the house by adaptive memory or feel. 

Mobility-friendly flooring

Most seniors who age in place will need some type of mobility aid at some point. This could be a walker, cane, or wheelchair. And aging isn’t the only reason these are necessary - they’re also used after any type of injury, after surgery, or when illness makes someone weaker than normal. 

Mobility-friendly flooring includes hard surface options like vinyl, laminate, or hardwood and low-profile carpeting like a Berber.

HomeAide Home Care Helps Clients Aging Safely At Home Maintain Safe, Accessible Living Spaces

One of the most significant benefits of using part-time or full-time in-home care is that our staff considers safety a top priority. We do our best to help our clients implement home design modifications to support healthy aging and can recommend licensed professionals to tackle projects that go beyond our scope.

Contact HomeAide Home Care to learn more about our services and for professional tips on making your loved one’s home safer and more accessible.