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Aging-friendly design is a systematic project.

There are many detailed designs that are aging-friendly and do not require increasing costs, but many families do not do so because they are not serious about it and only make some superficial designs that deceive themselves and others!

The picture below is a negative example: a bunch of handrails were installed mindlessly, but there were no anti-slip measures on the floor, and there were also problems such as dim lighting and a small shower room.

It seems that the decoration takes care of the elderly, but in fact, parents may not be old enough to need handrails, so it is impossible to really help them.This situation of "superficial filial piety" has been spreading to the decoration industry!

Truly considerate and aging-friendly design requires a process of continuous renovation based on the conditions of the elderly after renovation, and then adding items during this period. Unfortunately, this has not been done!

In order to avoid everyone from crossing the river by feeling the stones, in this issue, let’s talk about truly attentive aging-friendly design, including but not limited to the following aspects.

Anti-drop and anti-bump

Preventing falls and bumps is bound to be the first line of defense to ensure the safety of the elderly. Specifically at home, the ground must have sufficient friction, be non-slip, and have no tripping obstacles. The drainage must be smooth to avoid falls and secondary injuries, etc. All of these are counted. So how to do it specifically?

①Living room

Sufficient space for activities;

People's visual spatial perception will degenerate with age, and they will gradually become insensitive to the distance of objects.

Therefore, in order to prevent the elderly from bumping into things when moving around, there must be enough space left in the living room.

Bad example: The coffee table takes up most of the living room

If necessary, the coffee table can be reduced in size and any obstructions to the passage can be moved out of the way, including tripping objects such as trash cans.

If the patient is an elderly person in a wheelchair, the net width of the passage should not be less than 80 cm to facilitate the passage of the wheelchair.

Rounded corners to avoid damage from bumps;

Once an accidental bump occurs, the damage caused by rounded corners will definitely be less than that caused by right angles, there is no doubt about that.

However, some people may feel that they have to make so many changes during decoration and find it difficult to accept it. However, this is not simply for aging-friendly purposes. From an aesthetic point of view, rounded corners are actually softer and more beautiful, which can increase the beauty of the home.

Avoid missteps:

Some people find out that there are misalignments between spaces in their homes after the renovation is completed. They feel very regretful when they think that the elderly and children might trip over them.

In fact, there is no need to worry too much. After you move in, you can add a gentle slope and the problem will be solved.

②Bathroom

The most important thing about the bathroom is anti-slip, which is actually very simple:

A non-slip mat, or soft material (floor roll) on the ground;

It can still maintain good anti-slip performance after contact with water, and is very friendly to the elderly, adults with poor balance, and children.

A good pair of slippers;

Ordinary slippers are slippery when they come into contact with water, especially when they are filled with slippery shower gel. Ordinary people may slip, let alone the elderly, so you need to buy slippers with better anti-slip properties for them.

Among all slipper materials, the anti-slip performance is TPR≈rubber＞EVA＞PVC, while the comfort level is EVA＞PVC＞TPR&rubber.

Therefore, it is more recommended to use EVA upper + TPR or rubber sole, which can ensure comfort and anti-slip performance.

In addition, it would be better if the soles of the shoes had hydrophobic holes to prevent water from accumulating on the soles of the feet and causing slipping.

A good floor drain;

If you live with the elderly, it is actually not a big deal. We will help clean the bathroom after taking a shower. But if the elderly live alone, even though the floor drain is a small item, only a good floor drain can ensure hydrophobicity, avoid water accumulation, and avoid frequent cleaning after taking a shower.

a good bath chair;

There are many bathing chairs, but those suitable for the elderly must have the following features: stability and good anti-slip properties; armrests on both sides for the convenience of the elderly to get up; the ability to hold the shower head and the seat surface to be hydrophobic.

Shower curtains are more convenient;

Compared with glass partitions in the bathroom, shower curtains are definitely more convenient for the elderly.

First, it doesn't take much effort to turn on or off; second, it doesn't require cleaning and maintenance. If it gets dirty, you can just throw it in the washing machine to wash it, and if it breaks, it's not expensive to replace it.

more details:

If the elderly person reaches the stage where they need to rely on a wheelchair to move around, if necessary, an inclined surface can be designed under the bathroom cabinet to facilitate the wheelchair to enter and exit, and the mirror can also be made into a makeup mirror with an inclined angle.

In fact, in addition to accommodating the elderly, if there is a big height difference between two people in the family, you can also refer to this mirror approach.

After the most important living room and bathroom areas are solved, the ideas for other areas are similar to those for the living room and can be used as a reference.

Ensure ease of use

Elderly people generally have degraded perception and slow movements, so truly age-friendly designs must ensure ease of use.

①Induction lamp;

If there is no lamp in the bedroom that the elderly can reach when lying down, you should add a light that automatically turns on when the elderly stand up. This will help avoid accidents in the dark.

Decoration

Later installed

Including getting up at night and going to the bathroom.

Forget about other lamps with color temperature adjustment. They seem to be designed to take care of the elderly and meet different lighting needs, but in fact, we are too lazy to adjust them after we buy them, let alone the elderly. With that budget, it is better to improve the quality and brightness of the lamps.

② Choose a higher bed and pay attention to the height of the sofa;

It is relatively easier to get up from a high position than from a low position. We can all clearly notice the difference. This is even more important for the elderly because their movements are far less flexible than ours. If the position is too low, it will increase the difficulty for them to get up.

The elderly prefer to sleep separately, so you can also consider two beds

A bed of appropriate height will make it easy for the elderly to get in and out of bed; the sofa should not be too low, and it is best to have armrests so that they can use their strength when getting up.

③Add a shoe-changing bench;

The purpose of adding a shoe-changing bench is to allow the elderly to sit down and change shoes safely and without any obstacles when changing shoes when entering or leaving the house.

To go into more detail, a shoe horn is also a necessity. If you need to go out with a cane, it is best to bring a cane slot so that the cane can stand steadily. This will prevent you from standing up with great difficulty only to find that the cane has fallen and you have to start all over again.

④Store commonly used items at high gold levels;

The simplest reason is to avoid climbing up and down. I am trembling when I hold a stool to reach things in the wall cabinet, let alone my elderly parents.

Put things at a height that is within their reach to prevent them from taking risks that are not suitable for their age group. Of course, don't put things too low to reduce the need for bending over to bear weight.

I don't know who came up with the idea of ​​placing microwave ovens under wall cabinets. It is not only inconvenient to take heated meals at high places, but there is also the risk of soup dripping and scalding, so you must be vigilant.

Consider the deterioration of vision, hearing, etc.

The elderly also experience a series of deterioration in their senses, such as vision and hearing. Based on these characteristics of the elderly, some minor changes should be made in their home decoration.

①Regional lighting;

No atmosphere is needed, bright is more suitable.

The living room and bedroom can use ceiling lights + key fill lights, for example:

The fill light next to the sofa makes it brighter and clearer when doing detailed actions such as sewing and reading newspapers;

You also need to add fill lights at the head of the bed in the bedroom.

②Special lighting;

Earlier, we mentioned that ease of use can be improved by induction lights, which is one type. Another type is special lighting. For example, it is recommended to install spotlights on the top of the toilet.

On the one hand, it serves as an auxiliary light source for the bathroom. More importantly, the bright light makes it convenient for the elderly to check whether their excrement is normal.

③ Floor;

It is recommended to choose wooden flooring because it is more anti-slip than ceramic tiles. It can protect the elderly from secondary injuries when they fall. At the same time, it has a greater contrast with the white walls and has no reflection, making it easier for the elderly to feel the ground.

④Light doorbell;

I only realized this after I found that my mother couldn't hear the doorbell when she was at home. Moreover, every time I opened the door, I could see her self-blaming expression.

After switching to a light doorbell, you can use both hearing and seeing at the same time. Plus, most of the elderly's activities are in the living room, so it will be much easier to knock on the door.

Good for first aid

When it comes to first aid, it is the thing we least want to experience, but just in case, we still have to pay attention to the details.

①The door should be able to be opened from the outside;

For bathroom partitions, whether it is a sliding door or a hinged door, only if it can be opened from the outside can we rush in to help as soon as an accident occurs.

There are too many cases online of elderly people and children being trapped in the bathroom. There is no need to repeat their mistakes when it is something that can be easily avoided.

②Medicine box storage;

This is not limited to medicine boxes, but at least the medicines have a fixed place with sufficient capacity to be stored. Because the elderly have a lot of medicines and poor memory, if the medicines are placed in several places, it is easy to forget or cannot find a certain medicine.

③ Emergency button;

Elderly people living alone are bound to have areas that cannot be taken care of. The emergency SOS pager has two ways to call for help: one button and one pull rope. Help can be obtained anytime and anywhere, giving both the elderly and their children a sense of security.

In fact, this thing is not only included in the aging-friendly design, but many homes in new communities are also equipped with security buttons for emergency calls to China Unicom property.

Write to the end

Filial piety does not necessarily require a certain superficial design for aging, or some universal design. The core is always to continuously optimize the details according to the conditions of your own elderly.

Finally, I wish all the elderly good health and everlasting smiles.

——New Residence’s recent popular content——

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