Top 10 ways to make your home dementia-friendly

Dementia can cause confusion and anxiety so making your home dementia-friendly will make your environment safer, less confusing and better suited to your needs.

Although dementia is a progressive condition, with the proper support you can continue living safely at home. You can make your home dementia-friendly by making small adaptations at home to make it easier to navigate around the home and carry on with daily tasks. 

Making dementia-friendly home adaptations will help you to stay as independent as possible if you have trouble remembering where things are or how they work.

Here are 10 dementia-friendly home ideas

1. Give each room better lighting to help you see clearly

Good lighting can help you avoid confusion, reduce risk of falls, make orientation easier and benefit your overall wellbeing.

Make sure as much natural light as possible can get into your home. 

You can do this by:

• Removing unnecessary curtains and blinds so windows can let in daylight.
• Using curtains that are made of light fabric and are light in colour to reflect natural light during the day.
• Using higher watt light bulbs, especially if the house is particularly dark even during the day.

As well as improving natural light during the day, it’s also beneficial to use light to mark the end of the day as many people with dementia have difficulty knowing when it is time for bed.

• In the bedroom, a great way to help you sleep better is to use heavier curtains or blackout blinds which make the room darker and signals that it is time for bed, no matter the time of year. 

2. Keep your home tidy and remove clutter

Keeping our house neat and tidy can often be the first thing that slips when we have other things going on.

However, if you are living with dementia, an untidy home can make it difficult for you to find or see the things you need and can also make you feel confused and distracted.

• The tidier the room, the more focus you can put on the items that you actually use because they will be easier to spot.
• Putting away or getting rid of things that are not frequently used is a good way to keep rooms clutter-free.

3. Remove trip hazards to make sure floors are safe

Disorientation and poor coordination are common symptoms associated with dementia, increasing a person’s risk of slips or trips.

Removing potential trip hazards around your home is essential for your safety. It will allow you to move around the house freely without worrying about potential incidents. 

• Removing rugs, mats, cables and anything else that is a potential trip hazard will help you to maintain clear floor space.

4. Use colour to your advantage

Dementia can affect your ability to tell the difference between colours. It is important to make it as easy as possible to identify walls, floors, furniture and other things around the house.

Here are some tips to make the home more dementia-friendly:

• Choose furniture and furnishings, such as tables, chairs and beds, with bright, bold colours.
• You can also consider using dementia-friendly colours in your home.
• Make use of contrasting colours to help you find things more easily, so for example, having a toilet seat that is a different colour to the rest of the bathroom is a good idea as well as using contrasting crockery.
• Similarly to above, try to make sure floors are a different colour to the walls to avoid confusion.
• Avoid patterns like stripes as they can be confusing or cause disorientation.

5. Use signs and labels to remind you where things are and things to do

As dementia progresses, your ability to remember where things are or tasks that should be done may decline.

Labels and signs around the house can help you to find things easier, such as the bathroom, as well as helping you to organise your daily routine. Signs should ideally have a picture along with clear wording to make them easy to understand. 

• Labelling doors, drawers and cupboards shows what’s behind or inside them.
• An alternative to labelling could be to get see-through cupboard doors but this will come at an extra cost. 
• Another good tip is to keep keys, mobile phones and wallets in the same place.
• You might also consider putting a calendar up to remember important dates and times, such as when to take medication or any plans you have that week. 

6. Make the bathroom safe and easier to use

There are many different ways to make a bathroom safe and dementia-friendly to use. For example:

• Put a picture or a sign on the bathroom door to make it easily recognisable. Avoid bathmats as they can appear to be barriers.
• If towels, the toilet seat, toilet paper, toiletries and other things have contrasting colours to the rest of the room, they will be much easier to recognise. 
• Consider leaving the light on at night to make it easier to find in the dark.
• Clearly labelling the taps with hot and cold. A flood prevention plug in the bathtub can save you from water flowing over the edges.

7. Make frequently used items in the kitchen visible

The kitchen can be a confusing place if you are living with dementia, particularly as most utensils are stored away and hidden from plain sight.

You can:

• Remove clutter to help to avoid confusion.
• Putting labels on cupboards and drawers makes it clearer where things are. 
• Store away potentially harmful substances like cleaning products.
• Remove artificial fruit.
• Keep pet food separate.
• Use plain coloured plates to make food stand out.
• Try to use clear containers when storing meals for later.
• Choose crockery with contrasting colours to tables and tablecloths.
• Dementia can affect your ability to grip. If you start to struggle with cutlery, get adaptive utensils.

8. Reduce reflections

Mirrors and reflections can cause distress as people with dementia may not recognise themselves. This can be because they have reverted back to a certain point in their life and believe they are younger or they may see themselves as a stranger, both of which can be a frightening experience.

• Wherever possible, cover or remove mirrors and close the curtains in the evening to avoid reflection in windows.

9. Make the bedroom a safe and comfortable space

For many people, bedrooms are a sanctuary, a place where they feel safe and comfortable. This should be no different if you are living with dementia.

To ensure your bedroom remains a safe space and is dementia-friendly, consider:

• Make the bed easier to see, e.g choose linen and bedding with contrasting colours to the rest of the room.
• Choose clothes beforehand. Facing a wardrobe full of clothes can be overwhelming but selecting what to wear the night before or in the morning can make it easier to get dressed.
• Use a night light by the bed to help with orientation, if you wake up in the middle of the night. This can also help guide you back to bed after a visit to the toilet.
• Use heavier curtains to make the room darker at night and help with sleeping. 

10. Use dementia-friendly products designed for dementia

There are products that have been designed to help you with daily tasks, if you have dementia. This is known as assistive technology.

Dementia-friendly technology examples include:

• A digital clock with a large display showing both date and time. 
• A phone with large buttons.
• Devices giving audio prompts to help you remember things.
• Sensor lights.
• Crockery and utensils.

You can also check out this list of dementia friendly products which friends and family can get as gifts.