Senior Citizen Bedroom Design: 16 Ideas & Examples

If your bedroom seems to be missing a little je ne sais quoi, you can try adding some texture or low-contrasting patterns, keeping the size of the room in mind. It’s a good idea, for example, to avoid stripes in designs for senior citizens diagnosed with dementia.

Bedroom Modifications for Elderly

Some recommendations by the Society of Certified Senior Advisors when you plan bedroom modifications for the elderly include the following:

• Choose a ground-floor bedroom for easy access or consider installing an elevator or chair lift.
• Keep clutter to a minimum and the floor clear with wall storage to prevent falls and injuries.
• Install safety handles or rails to prevent falls and for easier access.
• Include an exercise section for mobility-impaired bedroom users.
• Ensure easy and quick access to a bathroom or build an adjoining bathroom.
• Provide remote temperature and lighting control, install light fixtures in the closets, and a night light in the bathroom.

Watch this short video where Trina of Alice Caire offers some alternative, practical steps to set up an elderly person’s bedroom.

How to Set Up Bedroom for Elderly

Set up a bedroom for an elderly person by first focusing on the bed’s positioning. With the headboard against a wall, leave enough room to walk comfortably around the bed.

Choose sturdy furniture that fits the bedroom’s size without overcrowding it. There should be easy access to the closets, doors, and windows as well as to and from the nearby bathroom.

Make sure all the windows have secure locks especially if the bedroom is on the ground floor. It’s also important that the window fittings are easy to use if you struggle with arthritis or are visually impaired.

Place items that are in daily use within easy reach to minimize excessive movement and potential falls, especially when your mobility is restricted.

If you have installed a TV or electronic biomedical equipment in the bedroom, secure cables out of the way to reduce the risk of falls and injuries.

Senior Citizen Bedroom Ideas

Keeping safe design principles in mind, try the following to make a bedroom senior citizen-friendly:

• If you need to use a hospital bed, choose more luxurious linen and furnishings to balance the harsh functionality of the bed.
• Wall-to-wall carpeting is an ideal way to reduce the risk of a fall and soften the impact of one.
• For better climate control and noise reduction, improve the insulation of the bedroom walls, ceiling, and flooring.
• Install a telephone or an intercom system for quick and easy communication with other members of the household and emergency medical services.
• Incorporate familiar decor items and furniture pieces that meet the design safety requirements to ease the transition into the new bedroom.

Implement your ideas with a design app or software before you spend thousands of dollars on unnecessary modifications or items that are unsuitable for your senior citizen bedroom.

Conclusion

Getting older doesn’t mean losing your independence or becoming a burden to your loved ones. Incorporate key design principles like space, light, and color to make a bedroom a comfortable and safe place for a senior citizen.

If you have a little more space like Ferne who built a tiny home for her “mature age” mother Merle, your senior citizen bedroom design dreams can be as big as you wish. Making your home easily and safely accessible benefits everybody in your household.

Sources:

• Rachel Bustin: Ergonomics In The Bedroom – A Guide For The Best Furniture Placement
• Innova Care Concepts: How to Apply the 7 Principles of Interior Design to Care Homes
• Society of Certified Senior Advisors: How To Design Senior Friendly Bedrooms
• S F Gate: How to Design Bedrooms for Elderly People
• Aging in Place: Bedroom Ideas
• National Center for Biotechnology Information: Slipping and tripping: fall injuries in adults associated with rugs and carpets
• Aging In Place: Important Updates And Modifications For The Bedroom