Whilst a lot of home interior articles often discuss the merits of style and aesthetically pleasing color choice, there are many situations where a sense of practicality and functionality are vital. A home is a home, first and foremost, after all.
When dealing with a home that includes elderly or disabled members, this is certainly the case. Primarily, this is because you need to make decisions with practical and functional results. A nice looking house is pointless if someone living in it cant use it to its fullest extent. To this end, here are a number of areas and factors that need to be considered.
Fortunately, most of these don’t infringe on your style or colour choice, but they are none the less important and should always be prioritised above such matters. So, whether it’s the right choice of flooring or the benefits of a home lift, it might be worthwhile for you to take time and consider the practical side of home interiors.
Flooring
Your choice of floor can have very real consequences. Laminate flooring, although it looks nice, is known to be slippery. As such, it can be a very dangerous hazard for elderly people, where a slight slip can lead into a very serious fall. Instead, you should focus on carpets and other floors that are hard, soft or simply aren’t slippery. Carpets have the added bonus in that they absorb water and liquids. When walking isn’t a strong point, risking a slip from spilled fluids is just another risk many would rather be without.
Likewise, if you have a wheelchair, you need to be careful about how thick the carpet is. Thick and long hairs give the wheelchair more to sink into, making it harder to push. Combined with the above considerations regarding laminate flooring, it’s safe to say that there are some careful considerations. Depending on the individual needs and circumstances of those in the house, it might be crucial to strike a working balance between all the varying factors and needs.
Home Lifts
Again, when dealing with elderly or disabled people, mobility is a critical issue. In the home, this is best reflected through the stairs, which often become a major challenge or difficulty for those who already struggle with walking.
One of the solutions to this is to install a home lift. This small, compact lift works like a traditional lift, moving you between floors. Additionally, larger models can even accommodate wheelchairs, meaning such people wouldn’t need to leave the comfort of the chair to move around the home freely, a practical option that’s extremely useful and beneficial.
Of course, such lifts do need to through the ceiling, meaning some alterations are required, but it is over a simple process. This means you need two rooms, one above the other, with space in the right area. This is the hardest part to manage, but once you do, it is a rather simple process with plenty of benefits that outweigh all the hard work.
