Home adaptations room by room

Room by room, here are a few examples. What’s right for you might not be what someone else has used. And it’s important to think about what’s practical for you and for your home.

Jump to:

• Get expert advice about home adaptations
• Adaptations and equipment for more than one room
• Kitchen adaptations and equipment
• Bathroom adaptations and equipment
• Bedroom adaptations and equipment
• Living room adaptations and equipment

Get expert advice about home adaptations

You might not need to make adaptations, but experts can help you think about safe and effective options before you make any changes. An occupational therapist or social worker can both help you think about what could be best, and how they can be paid for. 

They’ll think about how your MS affects you, how and where you live – thinking about you as a whole person. If you have a social care assessment, it should consider equipment and adaptations.

Read more about assessments and paying for home adaptations

Back to the top

Adaptations and equipment for more than one room

Some adaptations, gadgets and technology are used for more than one room.

Adaptations

In more than one room, you might:

• make doors wider so that a wheelchair can fit through
• move electrical sockets and switches so they’re easier to reach
• fit a second bannister to give you support on both sides as you go up and down stairs
• install a stair lift
• have a ‘through-floor lift’, a lift that goes through the floor, taking you from upstairs to downstairs

You can read more about different types of lift on the Living Made Easy website.

Gadgets and equipment

Some equipment you can use all over your home, and maybe outside it:

• mobility aids to help you move around. The NHS has information about sticks, walking frames or wheelchairs
• things to help you lift or move yourself (or to help others move you). These include leg lifters, slings, hoists, transfer boards, sliding sheets, or bed hand blocks
• specially adapted plugs that are easier to plug in and take out
• gadgets that help you reach for things and pick up them up
• alarms and alerts

Technology

Technology can help in lots of ways, from appliances in the kitchen to apps for mobile phones. Ask an occupational therapist or social worker for details of these systems.

• Alarms and alerts can be a life saver if you’re at risk from falling and need to call for help. You wear a device around your neck. Press it if you need help any time of day or night. For about £5 a week you can loan one from your council or Trust, or rent one from a private company
• If you’re not very mobile, an Environmental Control Unit lets you control the temperature, lighting and your entertainment systems in several rooms. You might be able to get this through the NHS. Or you could buy or rent one, and your local social services might help with this
• You can also control lights, heating and entertainment using a smart phone or voice-activated hubs made by Google and Apple
• Alternative Augmentative Communication technology will help you if you have a serious speech problem. It helps you communicate and be understood more easily

Back to the top

Kitchen adaptations and equipment

Adaptations

You might want to:

• move cupboards, sinks and ovens to a height that’s easier to reach
• lower worktops for easier use if you use a wheelchair
• make floors slip-resistant

Equipment

You might find these helpful:

• large handles to fit over taps. Or knob turners that fit over cooker controls
• easy-grip handles on things you cook with
• a ‘perching stool’ for washing up, ironing or cooking sitting down
• non-slip mats. They keep things from sliding around worktops when you prepare food
• specially adapted easy-grip cutlery, plates, bowls and things to drink from
• adapted items that make cooking or preparing food easier. These include scissors, knives, tin and ring pull openers, and weighing scales that speak

Read more about adapting your kitchen in the Living Made Easy factsheet ‘Adapting your home: the kitchen’

Back to the top

Bathroom adaptations and equipment

Adaptations

You might be able to:

• move your bathroom downstairs by converting a ground floor room
• turn an existing bathroom into a wet room

Wet rooms

Wet rooms are open plan, without steps, so they’re easier and safer to move around in. They’re tiled, sealed, and can have non-slip floors. This makes washing and showering easier. The door can be made wider to fit a wheelchair through.

You could take out the bath tub or make it into a walk-in tub. Or have a walk-in (or wheel-in) shower. The shower can have two settings at different heights to suit different users. A removable shower head with a long hose makes rinsing easier. There’s a wide range of shower seats and adjustable shower chairs to support you when you shower.

You can fix grab rails near the toilet or on the wall near the bath. This is safer than holding on to wash basins, the side of the bath or radiators for support.

You can fit a frame around the toilet that can be adjusted for height and includes built in arm rests. You can also change how high wash basins are.

If you need it, you can fit a hoist or sling to help you on and off the toilet, or into and out of the bath.

Equipment

You might find these helpful:

• a shower chair
• a commode. This is a chair, often on wheels, with a built-in chamber pot for you to go to toilet in. With the bucket removed, it fits over your existing toilet
• a raised toilet seat that fits over the existing seat
• lever taps or ones that use a sensor can be fitted for easier use
• a ‘toileting sling’ is designed specially to help get on and off the toilet

Read more about adapting your bathroom in the Living Made Easy factsheet ‘Adapting your home: the bathroom’.

Back to the top

Bedroom adaptations and equipment

Adaptations

You might be able to:

• fit grab rails on the wall
• fit a ‘through-floor’ lift to take you downstairs from your bedroom
• install a mechanised hoist to help you in and out of bed. It can fit on tracks in the ceiling or it can be floor mounted
• use a mobile hoist
• think about whether any bed you buy has a big enough gap for the legs of a hoist to fit underneath. Usually that’s 20cm or 8 inches. You might never need a hoist, but it could be easier and cheaper if you do

An occupational therapist can show you the most effective ways to get in and out of bed.

Equipment

You might find these helpful:

• slide sheets. They make it easier to move across the bed and move your legs over the side of it
• a ‘bed lever’ or ‘bed rail’. You attach it to the side of your bed. It helps you to sit up, lie down, stand up and get steady on your feet before you move away. Always get an occupational therapist to advise on bed rails – to make sure you and anyone who helps you stays safe
• bed raisers. Fit them to the bed’s legs to raise it off the floor. Use correctly fitted ones designed for this. Don’t improvise with bricks or blocks
• electronic, adjustable and raising beds. They make sections or the whole of the bed higher and lower, so it’s more comfortable for you and anyone who helps you
• a mattress elevator. Electrically powered, it will help you move from lying flat to sitting up. Or find the perfect angle for sitting up in bed
• support for your posture in bed. This could be as simple as shaped pieces of foam. But always get guidance on this from a healthcare professional
• leg raisers that help you lift your legs in and out of bed

Read more about beds in the Living Made Easy factsheet ‘Choosing a bed and bed accessories’. There's also a Living Made Easy factsheet factsheet on hoists and slings.

Back to the top

Living room adaptations and equipment

Adaptations

You might:

• fit a ramp to French or patio windows so you can get into your garden more easily in a wheelchair 
• widen the door to allow a wheelchair to come through
• install a through-floor lift to take you from the bedroom into the living room

Equipment

You might find these helpful:

• a chair that’s the right height and depth for you. So you get the best support and it’s easier to stand up. Chairs with filled-in arms stop magazines and TV remotes falling through
• riser/recliner chairs will help you get from sitting to standing. And they let you change position if you’re sitting for a long time
• the right cushion to sit on. If you sit for a long time, it’s really important to think about good skin care and avoiding pressure ulcers. Get advice on the right cushion from a healthcare professional
• ‘reachers’ can help if your grip isn’t strong. They can help you pick things off the floor or down from a shelf. Some have magnetic ends to pick up metal objects

Read more about chairs in the Living Made Easy factsheet ‘Choosing a bed and bed accessories’.

Back to the top