Our Dementia-Friendly, Accessible Bathroom Remodel

My sincere wish is that some of the design and efforts I put into my dementia-accessible bathroom remodel will help someone else with planning and designing their restroom to assist their loved one. This was very carefully planned out after studying restrooms in several assisted living, nursing and rehab facilities. This restroom was a life-saver for us in my husband's in-home care plan. It is also designed to be comfortable for me, and can later be converted to a less intimidating, non-handicap looking restroom by a future buyer, should they not prefer the handicap bars and roll-in shower feature. My home has 2 additional full bathrooms that offer tub/shower combinations, so the decision to remove the tub was not difficult, considering the amount of usable square footage I gained for my husband's care. The entire restroom measures 11'4"L x 9'4"W. Please feel free to ask any questions or write comments for feedback.

I start with photos showing the old layout:

This first picture is how my bathroom began. Dual, inaccessible sink vanity on the left, inaccessible garden tub on the right. Dangerous, inaccessible glass shower door with a fiberglass shower enclosure that had two dangerously low benches and was unmaneuverable. The door jamb you see to the right of the shower is the entry to the toilet room.

You couldn't get a wheelchair into the toilet room without taking off the door, and even then it would have been very tight and scraped. There was no room for a caregiver to maneuver easily to assist, and virtually nothing for my husband to grab for support, other than the toilet paper holder.

There were space-hogger drywall shelves that also used to dominate the toilet room.

Toilet room is on the left in this photo, standing at the old shower. This is also a good view of the old  inaccessible garden tub we never used.

The is the pre-remodel view into the bedroom from the old shower door.

This is the finished product. Replaced the dual-sink vanity with a single free-standing vanity with a mirror and light over it. The little shower bench (right of the vanity), was originally purchased for use in an apartment garden tub/shower we had back in 2012. Current uses were for a seat to watch over my husband when he used the bathroom. Every piece of equipment I purchased came in useful for many scenarios. The portable heater was used to warm up the bathroom for my husband's showers, even in the summer, because he's so sensitive to cold. The shower curtain set was also originally purchased for another bathroom, and just happened to work perfectly. We put double-hooks on the curtain so it would ensure water won't run out from under the curtains when showering.

This is the finished roll-in shower.  The logic for the set up is discussed a few photos down, showing the mid-remodel.  This photo shows the shower curtain installed and you can see the roll-in floor. I designed it so that, for resale, a buyer can potentially remove each bar and the shower curtain rod, and replace only 1 tile for each end (I have an entire extra box of tile for this scenario). A glass enclosure could be installed over the roll-in ridge, and you'd never recognize it was formerly an accessible shower. The lower shower head is also great for showering pets. The rolling PVC shower chair has paid for itself in spades...it doubles as a toilet and transport chair, using an insert that makes it be a full seat.

Finished toilet room/area. This includes a supply cabinet that matches the vanity and mirror set. I purchased all 3 at Home Depot. The shower/toilet room common wall is in the same place it was before the remodel, less the huge drywall space-hogger shelving.  The gained space allows plenty of room for a caregiver next to the toilet.

Finished accessible pedestal sink (complete with animal friends). Plenty of room here to maneuver a wheelchair or power chair for access.  The separate handles and high faucet made it easy for my husband to get his hands under the water and turn it on and off.  Once he was bedridden, the extra space in front of the sink became a holding area for a bedside drop-arm commode we had to use occasionally when a two-person assist wasn't available.

This is the current post-remodel view into the bedroom from bathroom, similar to the before picture. You can also see the layout in our bedroom with my husband's hospital bed butted right up next to my queen bed, so we only had to use the railing on one side. Home Health and Hospice nurses all appreciated the safety and convenience of this for him to be able to stay home, and the ability to sleep right next to him.

This is the vanity mid-remodel. This photo also shows the slope of the floor into the roll-in shower. The shower walls are the same footprint as before the remodel. Much more space, and plenty of maneuverability for a shower chair, without the bulky fiberglass shower enclosure. The new shower is about double the size of shower enclosures that were used to shower my husband in assisted living.

This was taken before the shower curtain rod was installed. Because of the dementia, I chose NO fixed bench. (The contractor kept insisting we needed a bench, but in the case of my husband's declining coordination, and how he was showered in facilities, they never used their fixed benches because it was too difficult to maneuver my husband on and off of it. It would actually be dangerous and take up valuable space). The shower handle was intentionally installed behind his hand-held shower head so caregivers can shower him without getting the hose caught on the handle and unexpectedly changing the water temp. It also ensured we wouldn't be reaching through the water to get shampoo, soap, etc. The lower alcove and combination storage/grab bar are easily accessible from inside or outside the shower.

This is a close-up view of my husband's side of the shower...planned for bathing him from inside or while standing outside of the shower.

I tiled up 4' for ease of cleaning in case of unexpected messes. The footprint of this room is exactly the same as pre-remodel. We took out the space-hogging drywall shelves that used to be on the left, and removed the door and jamb, then added the grab bars (reinforced behind the drywall). We did move the toilet away from the grab bar wall by 6" from where the old toilet was. There is now plenty of room for a caregiver to stand to the left of the toilet to assist. The wall on the left is the shower wall with my husband's shower head is on on the other side. I created a toilet paper alcove vs. a holder so there would be nothing available to grab onto besides the grab bar. We also added the storage cabinet over the toilet, seen in the finished product photo, that holds toileting supplies and briefs.

This is another view of the toilet room/alcove from standing in front of the shower. We also reinforced the wall behind the grab bar that's on the right. I honestly wasn't sure we'd ever use that grab bar, but it turns out we use that one the most!  The other side of that grab bar wall is the former garden tub area, now my husband's accessible pedestal sink.

This is a mid-remodel photo of my husband's pedestal sink on the wall the old garden tub faucet came out on. Again, there is LOTS of room to maneuver a wheelchair or power chair in front of it. The other side of this wall is the bedroom wall