The “Stay in Your Home Longer” Renovation.
Updating your existing bathroom with a stylish renovation, with the focus being on transforming the bathroom into a safer space as you age.
As experienced home renovation specialists, we're seeing a significant shift in how people envision their living spaces. It's not just about aesthetics any more, it's about creating a space that supports independent living and comfort, particularly as our clients age. And one of the most important parts of the home to consider is for the bathroom. This is a space we use every day, typically multiple times, but sadly, it can become a source of anxiety and risk for those with age-related challenges.
Let's explore some of the ideas on how we can transform bathrooms into a safe space, allowing individuals to age in place with dignity and confidence.
Understanding the Challenges:
Before exploring some of the fun design options, let's look to understand the specific challenges faced by older adults in the bathroom. These often include:
Mobility limitations: Difficulty with balance, walking, and transferring between sitting and standing.
Reduced strength: Making it hard to grip, pull, or push.
Vision impairment: Increasing the risk of slips and falls.
Cognitive decline: Potentially leading to confusion and disorientation.
Chronic conditions: Such as arthritis, impacting dexterity and flexibility.
How we can help:
Our approach is pretty simple, focusing on safety, accessibility, and comfort, without sacrificing style. And here's a breakdown of some of the key considerations, as we look to incorporate age-in place design elements:
1. Entry and Layout:
Low, or no-threshold showers: Stepping over a tub or shower curb is a major fall risk and zero-threshold or curbless showers can help to eliminate this hazard. It can minimize the issue with entering the wash area, and some can even assist with walker or wheelchair access. Of course, we ensure proper sloping for drainage to prevent water pooling, another potential hazard.
Wider doorways: Sometimes, standard doorways are too narrow for wheelchairs or walkers. In these cases, we recommend widening doorways to at least 32 inches, ideally 36 inches, to accommodate mobility aids.
Turning radius: For those in wheelchairs or walkers, sufficient space is crucial for maneuverability. Ideally, a 5-foot turning radius allows wheelchairs to rotate comfortably, but we can help with the design to accommodate what will work best for you and your space.
Clear pathways: Including the right design for better storage options can help to remove clutter and ensure clear pathways to minimize tripping hazards.
Pocket doors or outward swinging doors: Pocket doors are unique solutions that save space and prevent doors from obstructing movement. And if that's not suitable, outward swinging doors prevent people from being trapped if they fall behind the door.
2. Shower and Bathing Solutions:
Walk-in tubs: For those who prefer to take a bath, walk-in tubs with built-in seats and grab bars improve safety and comfort. We focus on models with anti-slip surfaces and quick-drain features. Or as mentioned above, low, or no-threshold showers provide the homeowner with a simple solution to avoid that big step into the shower, which for persons with vision, strength or balance issues, helps them avoid a terrible fall.
Shower seats: You'll probably spend more time in a tub, than you will a shower, but even then, fatigue may set in. Built-in or fold-down shower seats provide stability and an opportunity to rest while showering. To make this work, we consider seat height and weight capacity for optimal comfort.
Adjustable showerheads: Having showerheads with adjustable height and spray settings offer greater control and comfort, and makes this process much easier.
Thermostatic mixing valves: Sometimes the biggest challenge is getting the temperature of the water just right. Making minor adjustments can sometimes be tricky. In this case, these valves maintain a consistent water temperature, preventing scalding and increasing comfort.
Grab bars: Losing your balance and falling around the toilet, into a tub, or shower base can lead to serious injuries, so having an opportunity to stabilize yourself is very important. Strategically placed heavy-duty grab bars securely anchored to wall studs can help steady a person.
Non-slip flooring: Water on a regular tile floor can create a slippery environment and potentially lead to a fall, injuring arms, hips or even head. That's why we prioritize non-slip tile or vinyl flooring to minimize the risk of falls. Textured surfaces and smaller tiles with more grout lines can offer improved traction as well.
3. Toilet Area:
Grab bars: As mentioned previously, using a grab bar to help with sitting or standing around the toilet can assist with balance. So, with grab bars placed on either side of the toilet, it provides better support for transfers.
Adequate lighting: It's important to have a well-lit toilet area to minimize confusion and prevent falls.
Comfort height toilets: One of the considerations to make it easier to sit and stand is to choose the right toilet. These comfort height toilets are easier to use than standard, lower height toilets.
Bidet attachments: If a person has limited mobility, then consider bidet attachments to help maintain better hygiene and reduce the need for excessive wiping.
4. Vanity and Sink:
Wall-mounted sinks: Specifically for those in a wheelchair, these sinks knee clearance and can simplify the process of accessing the sink.
Lever handles: If the homeowner has trouble with arthritis, vision or reduced strength, lever handles are easier to grip and operate than traditional knobs.
Adequate lighting: To help with essential tasks like grooming and medication management, choosing the right lighting is of great importance. Bright, even lighting around the vanity is the key.
5. Lighting and Ventilation:
Bright, even lighting: Integrating layered lighting, including ambient, task, and accent lighting, can eliminate shadows and improve visibility.
Motion-sensor lighting: To reduce the risks of falls in the dark, motion-sensor lights automatically turn on when someone enters the bathroom. You can adjust the operating time of these lights, or they can be triggered back on with motion.
Adequate ventilation: To ensure a healthy living environment, look to include proper ventilation which can prevent moisture buildup. This can help reduce the likelihood of mold and mildew growth, which can also cause slippery surfaces.
6. Technology and Smart Solutions:
Emergency call systems: We've all seen the commercials, but this can be a crucial tool to ensuring the safety of the homeowners. These systems allow individuals to call for help in case of a fall or other emergency.
Smart lighting and temperature controls: To improve convenience, safety and comfort, you can also consider voice-activated or remote-controlled systems for lighting and control. Some of these are activated on their own system, or can be part of a smart home solution app on your phone or tablet.
Water leak detectors: While these are great to minimize the risk of falls as a result of a leak, leading to slippery floors, these devices alert homeowners to potential leaks. Beyond that immediate threat, water damage to floors and walls can lead to major structural problems, moisture itself can lead to mold and mildew growth.
7. Design Considerations:
Personalization: At the end of the day, this is still your home, and you want to stay there. So, rest assured, we understand that every individual has their own unique needs and preferences. And, we'll work closely with our clients to create a safer bathroom that still meets their specific requirements and reflects their personal style.
Aesthetics: We offer a wide range of stylish and functional fixtures and finishes to create a beautiful and comfortable bathroom. In our minds, safety and accessibility don't have to come at the expense of style.
Material choices: We will work together with our clients to ensure that we're using materials that are easy to clean, and that will withstand the daily use that a bathroom sees.
The Renovation Process:
If you've ever gone through this process before and have concerns about doing it again - don't worry. We have a time-tested, proven process that has brought our clients back to us time and time again. As part of the total experience, our renovation process is designed to minimize disruption and ensure a smooth delivery on all of our promises.
- Assessment: As part of our initial consultation, we conduct a thorough assessment of the existing bathroom and explore different options, looking to meet the client's specific needs and goals.
- Design: With that in mind, we create a detailed design plan that incorporates safety, accessibility, and aesthetic considerations. At this time we'll review our vision for delivering on your goals, including such items as fixtures, finishes and colours.
- Construction: We only work with the best. Our experienced team of contractors handles all aspects of the renovation, ensuring high-quality workmanship. We also focus on ensuring that we minimize the inconvenience and mess that usually comes with these types of projects.
- Installation and Completion: We carefully install all fixtures and finishes, paying attention to detail and ensuring proper functionality. This is where the rubber meets the road and we bring your vision to life.
- Final walkthrough: Upon completion of the work, we schedule and conduct a final walkthrough with the client to ensure their complete satisfaction.
Beyond the Bathroom:
Keep in mind that creating an accessible and safe home extends beyond the bathroom. We've helped other clients out with many of the following:
Ramps and stairlifts: For multi-level homes.
Widened hallways and doorways: For easier maneuverability.
Accessible kitchens: With adjustable countertops and appliances.
Smart home technology: For enhanced convenience and safety.
The wrap up
When considering options for your home renovation project, designing for an aging population is about creating spaces that promote independence, dignity, and well-being. By prioritizing safety, accessibility, and comfort, we can provide bathrooms that can help people live in their homes for years to come. As designers and renovators, it's our job to create spaces that allow people to live their best lives, regardless of age or ability. The houses that they live in are not just buildings, they are their homes, where memories have been made and now can continue to be made for years to come.
If you ever have any questions about this style of renovation, or any of the other services that we offer, fill out a form, or give us a call at 519-944-3000
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Mike Godwin
Family Home Improvements
 "Bathroom Renovation Blog")
