Making the Bedroom Elderly Friendly

Situate the bedroom for the elderly individual on the ground floor. Avoiding stairs is best, even if steps do not currently pose a problem for the individual.

Arrange furniture so there is plenty of space to access the door, bed, dresser, bathroom, and closet. If a wheelchair is involved, make sure it freely fits between these areas in the bedroom and hallway.

Install low pile carpet. Carpet is a soft, welcoming flooring material that is not slippery like wood and tile. A low pile variety makes wheeling a wheelchair or crossing the space with a walker much easier than high pile carpet.

Check for good lighting. Make sure there is a big window or two to let in natural light, and that a light switch is easily accessible at the entrance to the room. Put a reading lamp by the bed with a switch accessible to the person while lying in bed.

Install a bed rail and cane to prevent falling out of bed, assist in sitting up and aid in getting in and out of bed. Insert the arm between the mattress and the box spring. Tie down straps attached to the opposite side of the bed prevent the unit from slipping and sliding.

Attach offset hinges on bedroom doors to widen the doorway by up to 2 inches. Use a Phillips and flathead screwdriver, where appropriate, to remove the standard hinges on the door and replace them with offset hinges.

Install lever-style doorknobs on the bedroom door to assist arthritic hands. Remove the screws from the old knob attachment and slide the doorknobs straight out. Attach the exterior lever doorknob first, guiding the spindles into place through the hole in the front of the door. Set the interior lever doorknob in place and feed the provided screws through the exterior and interior knob assemblies.