As you grow older, there may come a time when you will find it increasingly difficult to carry out day to day activities such as chores in the kitchen. In such cases, many people consider either moving house or modifying their kitchens in order to make them more suitable for their needs. If you are in such a position, it would be wise to consider doing the latter as it makes more sense than moving house. If you move to another house, you may find that you still need to make a few changes to the kitchen to make it more user friendly, which in turn means that you will spend even more time and money on creating a home environment suited to your needs.
To ensure that these changes are effective, you will need to first identify the problems you are likely to face with old age, and then come up with a blueprint that will allow you to rise above these challenges. This effectively ensures that you get the best value for money possible. Some of the kitchen ideas in Newmarket you can incorporate into the design include:
Safer cooking technologies
When customizing the kitchen to make it more ideal for an elderly individual, you should consider making use of cooking technologies that are safer. With advances in technology, there are many ways you can do this. One of the most notable is to consider throwing out your regular cooker and replacing it with an induction cooker. This works on the principle of magnetization, in which a cooking pan or other device is magnetized repeatedly in order to make it hot. The plate of such a cooker always stays cool to the touch, since it technically generates no heat. This reduces the risk of fires and burning by accidentally touching a hot cooker. Other benefits include quicker cooking time as well as reduced energy wastage.
The use of custom-made cabinets
Cabinets are central to the functioning of any kitchen. When they are not suited to one’s stature or other physical traits, it becomes difficult to use them. When modifying the kitchen to accommodate an elderly individual, you should consider getting them with this in mind. For instance, if one becomes shorter due to scoliosis brought on by old age, you could install overhead cabinets that are at a height that is comfortable for them.
You can also incorporate other technologies including automated shelves which slide in and out of place at the push of a button. This will reduce the risk of items from top shelves falling and potentially harming one. Many manufacturers today will build cabinets to suit your exact specifications without being overly expensive. Potential cost should therefore not make you shy away from purchasing them.
Easy to clean surfaces
If you intend to be doing your kitchen chores well into your old age, making sure that it’s easy to do so will be doing yourself a favor. When designing a kitchen that you can easily use, you should also consider making it easier to clean. This can be done by eliminating designs that involve too many nooks and crannies that will need too much time and attention to clean. Having simple, clean surfaces made out of a material that only needs wiping will facilitate this. This way, you will only have to spend a short time cleaning, and still be assured that the end result will be satisfactory. There will also be less likelihood of suffering from chore-related problems such as back pain due to having to bend over for too long.
Improving visibility
As you age, you may end up having visual problems. This could be due to a combination of factors including old age itself as well as other comorbidities such as diabetes or hypertension. Poor vision in the kitchen could lead to difficulties in cooking as well as a higher risk of injuries such as fires. You can prevent this by making sure that all writing in the kitchen is large enough for you to read if you happen to have reading problems. When redesigning the kitchen, you can also find ways of making sure that enough light streams into the room. This includes through installation of large windows to let in enough natural lights. You can also strategically place bulbs in areas where they are critically needed, such as over the cooking area. This way, you will never have to strain to do anything in the kitchen.
Friendly storage
In addition to the cabinets, most people have extra storage in the kitchen, in the form of a small room slightly detached from the kitchen. This is usually used to store items that are not required to be in the kitchen on a regular basis, such as extra bales of flour. When redesigning the kitchen, remember to also consider making a few changes to this room to make it easier to use. Putting shelves at a reasonable height and making sure that there is enough lighting in the room will all contribute towards making it more functional.