6 Simple Ways to Make Your Kitchen Age-Friendly

Your kitchen is used every day. As you age, you will notice that it’s not as easy to get to items on the top shelf of the tall cabinets or in the back of deep drawers.

The lower cabinet that was once easy to look behind now strains your back. And the knobs that were once easy to open are now difficult to hold. Even with limited mobility and physical limitations, one thing remains the same; you want to be independent and live in your home.With your kitchen in particular, it can be one of the most dangerous places in your home. With sharp knives, open fire, and wet floors all in one space, slip and fall, burns, and cuts happen.

Without a proper kitchen set up to lessen and prevent these accidents, any of the dangers can drastically change the way you live. Whether you’re trying to create a more comfortable home for yourself or an older loved one, these 6 kitchen changes can make your kitchen more comfortable, safe, and easy to use without sacrificing the beauty of your space.

Let’s jump right in.

As we grow older, our back pain seems to grow with us. It can be painful and feel impossible to crouch over to look for a hidden tupperware lid in the back of under-the-counter cabinet shelves.

To prevent further back pain and injuries, consider installing pull-out shelves. Pull-out shelves are essentially layered drawers behind a cabinet door. Like pull-down shelves, pull-out shelves allow you to maximize storage space. With multilayer pull-out shelves, you can easily organize and spot all your kitchen staples at a glance.

With different tiered drawer sizes available, you can organize your most used cooking essentials closer to hip height to painlessly access your favorite tools and produce.

As we grow older, our back pain seems to grow with us. It can be painful and feel impossible to crouch over to look for a hidden tupperware lid in the back of under-the-counter cabinet shelves.

To prevent further back pain and injuries, consider installing pull-out shelves. Pull-out shelves are essentially layered drawers behind a cabinet door. Like pull-down shelves, pull-out shelves allow you to maximize storage space. With multilayer pull-out shelves, you can easily organize and spot all your kitchen staples at a glance.

With different tiered drawer sizes available, you can organize your most used cooking essentials closer to hip height to painlessly access your favorite tools and produce.

Spices, condiments, and sauces hiding behind one another is a thing of the past with a lazy susan. A lazy susan is a simple and effective way to make your life easier. With its simple rotation, you can access all items with a light tap on the spinning wheel. Say goodbye to the pain of strategically pulling out tall, heavy jars over even taller items.

Lazy susans are so versatile, they can be used anywhere in the kitchen.

Here are our favorite places to use a lazy susan:

Fridge — So you don’t have to dig into the back of the shelf to grab your favorite sauce
Pantry – Easily grab spices as you cook your favorite meal
Dining table – Grab your salt, pepper, utensils, or napkins without having to stand up and reach over the table

You can also use a lazy susan to organize medication and easily access bottles without taking every single one out.

Whether it’s your kitchen cabinet, doors, or plumbing fixtures, knobs become more difficult to use as you age. Having to grasp and twist knobs can strain your hands and wrists, especially if you have arthritis.

Knobs cause pain because they are typically small and round, requiring you to grip on tightly and pull to open and close cabinets — or twist and turn to open doors or turn on water faucets.

For those without wrist issues, it’s easy to overlook this problem. But it can be extremely painful for those with arthritis or those who lack the grip to do everyday tasks.

So, what kind of age-friendly hardware should you choose instead?

If you want to create a kitchen that ages well, skip the knobs — on your doors, plumbing fixtures, and cabinets.

For your plumbing fixtures and doors, opt for lever handles. Lever handles are easy to use with a light touch and a simple push down or pull upwards motion with your entire palm.

For kitchen cabinets and drawers, d-pull handles are a great option because they provide lots of stability and make it easy for you to slip your fingers through to open the drawers.

The best part? With many style options available, you will find the right lever color and style to fit your home design.

By simply changing the hardware on the sink, cabinet doors, and door knobs, you will make your day-to-day tasks more pleasant and less painful.

Great lighting does more than make your room look bigger. It makes your kitchen safer. Increased lighting allows you to see everything in your space better to avoid tripping and falling.

Consider adding or upgrading overhead lighting to LED lights for clear, bright lights so you easily find everything you need in your kitchen.

Adding extra lighting under your kitchen cabinets can brighten up your workstation so you see what ingredients, appliances, or knives are in front of you.

Falling at any age will hurt, but for older adults can be fatal. About 36 million older adults fall each year, which has resulted in over 32,000 deaths. Injuries from the falls include broken bones, head injury, and hip fractures. These falls can happen anywhere, but most common in the bathroom and kitchen, where there are higher chances of a slippery floor.

To reduce the chances of life-changing accidents in your home, add skid-resistant tile floors.

It has more texture on the surface to provide more grip and traction so you can confidently walk in your home even on wet surfaces.

If you’re concerned about cleaning, don’t be. Skid-resistant tile floors are just as easy to clean as normal tiles.

With the help of our design experts, create a custom age-friendly kitchen so you can enjoy your kitchen without back or wrist pain.

Whether you’re looking for age-friendly cabinets or plumbing fixtures, Twenty Five Company is available for a free design consultation to create an age-friendly home that is both functional and beautiful.