Make Low-Cost or "Do-It-Yourself" Modifications
Some of the basic modifications to make a home elder-friendly involve adjustments to compensate for sensory loss that can be made without a major investment in remodeling. For those with low vision, walls should be painted a light but glare-free color while ceilings should be white to better reflect the room's lighting. Floors should be dull rather than waxed both for safety and to eliminate glare. Since older people need more light to perform the same tasks that they did in their younger years, more lighting fixtures should be used, especially direct task lighting and higher wattage bulbs. Light bulbs should not be visible so that glare is reduced. Stairways should be well lighted with switches at both the top and bottom.
The use of contrasting colors (red and yellow are best) helps to indicate a change in height from one room to another as at a rear doorway, garage entry or sunken living room. Inexpensive measures can be taken such as using colored tape to indicate the top and bottom steps on a stairway. Grab bars in baths shouldn't blend with the tile walls; rather they should contrast with them to make them more easily visible. Furniture might need to be rearranged for ease of passage and to create appropriate walkways, but there should not be so extensive a redecoration as to make the room feel unfamiliar to the older person. All stairways should have handrails on both sides that extend beyond the last step. This enables a person with weakness on one side to always have a railing available on the stronger side. Handrails should be strong enough to support the full body weight of a falling person.