Top Ideas On Customizing A Kitchen For A Senior

July 22, 2014 Uncategorized

Senior citizens have a number of special needs in their homes that need to be catered for well in advance in anticipation and preparation for difficulty years ahead. For instance, there is a need to create a more functional kitchen space that can be used more often with due ease in the coming years. Here are some ideas on practical ways to customize a kitchen space for a senior citizen.

Start by moving items off the ground

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As a person grows older, he or she becomes less flexible. This however doesn’t mean that he or she can no longer enjoy his or her kitchen. The best way to keep the kitchen as usable as before is to move the most used items off the floor so that they can easily be reached. This way, the senior person doesn’t have to bend as much when cooking or performing other tasks that need to be done in the kitchen. Here are some tried tips for moving items off the floor to waist or eye level.

• Start by having the oven built into the wall. This way you can bake your cakes without bending. The burners on cook top can be built into your normal food preparation counter for ease of use.

• Have the flooring material modified to one that is can easily be cleaned and maintained. Though you can’t exactly move your floor to a waist level, it is possible to change the flooring to a type that is easier to clean and maintain. Go for a type that can be mopped up without scrubbing while on the knees or even continuously bending.

• Have the cabinets lowered to levels that can easily be reached. The chosen cabinets should be the types that have shelves on rollers so that you don’t have to bend or reach deep into them while searching or looking for items.

Opt for a more workable kitchen layout

The chosen kitchen layout needs to be optimized for a senior person’s lifestyle. While at it, make the kitchen space as safe as it can be possible. When planning the layout, it is important to consider the state of your future health because the older you grow, the more health challenges you will experience. Here are some kitchen layout tips for a senior person’s kitchen space.

• Do away with the steps. The majority of modern homes have some sort of steps or the other leading to and from the kitchen. If possible, have all these floored in order to eliminate the risk of tripping while moving around the kitchen area.

• Plan carefully about the senior person’s mobility necessities in the kitchen. In the near future, your elderly mum might need a wheelchair to a walker to help move around the kitchen. To take care of this issue in a timely manner, the layout of the kitchen as it is now has to be re-organized. While at it, be sure to leave sufficient cooking space.

• The kitchen and the dining area should be as close to each other as possible. Remember that as you grow old, tasks such as carrying heavy dishes get really difficult. So having the dining table just a few steps from the kitchen is recommendable. Consider creating a pass-through if possible or having a cart to help you easily move dishes, food items and so forth back and forth.

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