Bathroom Furniture for The Disabled and Elderly

If you are disabled, sick or elderly you more than likely need special bathroom furniture and special fixtures. Your bathroom should not present you with yet another challenge. It should be a place that you can easily take for granted just like the rest of the population. Thankfully there are all kinds of different bathroom furniture designs out there that are made especially to accommodate individuals who are in wheelchairs, walkers or challenged in other ways.

Perhaps your biggest concern as a home renovator is having enough space to maneuver your wheelchair or walker abounding the bathroom. If you are reading this article because you are planning to renovate a bathroom for a challenged individual then your main priority should be to give them some space for their special equipment as they perform every possible function in the bathroom. When shopping for bathroom furniture keep in mind that there are design options available that consider the elderly and the injured including wall mounted furniture. Wall mounted furniture can be crucial to a challenged individual’s personal comfort because it can be mounted at different heights.

The right type of bathroom furniture depends on the needs of the individual who will be using the bathroom’s facilities. Wall mounted furniture that boasts a ledge style is best as there are no cabinets beneath the table to obstruct a walker or a wheelchair. It is also recommended that any vanities installed have a mirror supported by a flexible neck so that it can be tilted to any angle. Another consideration is faucets that are placed at the edge of the counter or side of the sink so that the disabled or infirm person can easily reach them.

Another consideration is accessible storage. These should be in the form of narrow cabinets that have an easy to open clasp. This is especially important if the individual who will be using the bathroom furniture has arthritis.

Another consideration is the height of the wall switch. It should be placed very low on the wall so that someone bent over a walker or sitting in a wheelchair can reach it. You can also buy bathroom lights that hang low by a cord that are easier to reach or install bathroom mirrors with inbuilt lighting that can be turned on by a cord as well.

Other design factors to consider that may be of some aid in a bathroom for the disables is a set of folding stairs, slip-free bathmats for both outside and inside the bathtub, mounted rails for the shower and beside the toilet and an emergency system of some kind in case the person needs the aid of a person while they are in the bathroom.