If you or a loved one have recently been injured or diagnosed with a condition that has limited your mobility and requires a wheelchair to be used in your home, you need to make sure it's ready. Creating a wheelchair-friendly home is essential for safety and mobility; thoughtful modifications can make daily living easier while maintaining comfort, freedom, and independence.
Our guide covers the key changes needed to improve accessibility, from widening doorways to installing smart home technology.
How to make a home wheelchair accessible
Making your home accessible for a wheelchair is essential to improve accessibility and independence, and ease of living. It requires careful planning, particularly in key areas such as door widths, room layouts, flooring, and furniture placement. Turning space is also crucial, ensuring there is enough room for a wheelchair to manoeuvre easily.
Small adjustments, such as lowering light switches and choosing the right flooring, can make a big difference. For larger renovations, installing mobility ramps and stair lifts, widening hallways, and incorporating kitchen aids and bathroom mobility aids can transform a home into a fully wheelchair-friendly space. You may also want to consider ground floor living so that everything is on one level; for example, bungalows are an ideal living space for wheelchair users.
Adapting a home for wheelchair accessibility
Widening doorways and hallways
If it’s at all possible, you may need to widen doorways and hallways in your home. This is to allow space for a wheelchair throughout your home, as standard doorways are often too narrow. Widening doorways to at least 32 inches ensures smooth entry, or ideally 36 inches to allow for any turning you may need to do.
Hallways need to be kept clear to allow for safer, easy movement and turning. If structural changes aren’t possible, offset door hinges can create extra space without major renovations.
Installing ramps
Steps and raised thresholds can be barriers for wheelchair users. Installing a ramp at the front entrance, garden access points, and any indoor steps can make a significant difference. Portable, folding ramps offer a flexible option, whilst permanent ramps provide a long-term accessibility solution.
Choosing the right flooring
Flooring is another big consideration for making a home more wheelchair accessible. Carpets with thick pile can make movement difficult, whilst rugs can prevent wheelchairs from travelling smoothly.
Choose a slip-resistant, smooth flooring surface throughout your home, like hardwood, laminate or vinyl, to facilitate wheelchair movement. Also, make sure all transitions between rooms are smooth and level.
Lowering light switches
Light switches, power sockets, and thermostats should be positioned lower for wheelchair accessibility, as they’ll be harder to reach. You can also consider smart home options, such as voice-controlled lighting and automated door locks, or app-controlled settings that you can use from your phone.
Rearranging furniture
Much like widening doorways and hallways, you may need to rearrange your furniture to make space for a wheelchair. A wheelchair-friendly home should have clear pathways with enough room to turn. Reducing clutter and spacing out furniture ensures smooth movement between rooms.
Key accessibility aids for daily living
Access aids
With a wheelchair, you’ll need additional support to get in and out of your home safely. Installing grab rails at entrances and along hallways provides extra stability. Well-placed lighting both inside and outside the home enhances visibility and safety, particularly at night.
Kitchen aids
A wheelchair-accessible kitchen should have lowered countertops and easy-to-reach cupboards. You should also make use of our wide range of kitchen aids and equipment to ensure you can still live your best life at home. Appliances with front-facing controls and pull-out shelves make cooking more manageable. Adaptive tools like one-handed chopping boards, jar openers, and kettle tippers can help with everyday tasks.
Bathroom aids
Bathroom aids are another consideration for you to factor into your preparation. This can include things like bathroom grab rails, bath lifts to help you into a bathtub, and even shower chairs to allow you to stay seated while washing.
Bedroom aids
At Complete Care Shop, we also have a wide range of useful bedroom aids that are designed for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility. An adjustable divan bed can make it easier to sit up and get in and out of bed independently. Bedside grab rails provide additional support, whilst ceiling hoists assist with transfers if required.
Lifts
For wheelchair users in multi-level homes, stairlifts or through-floor home lifts can provide safe and easy access between floors. Home lifts are an investment and take up more space, but offer a fully integrated solution for wheelchair users.
Make your home wheelchair accessible with Complete Care Shop
At Complete Care Shop, we offer expert advice and a wide range of mobility aids to help make your home more accessible.
If you need further guidance on adapting a home for wheelchair accessibility, contact our team for recommendations and support.