Useful ways to modify your kitchen when living with low vision

Guide Dogs Client, Annette, recently renovated her home and offered us her insights and experience on how a person with low vision might modify their kitchen to increase their independence and improve their level of safety.

Annette offered several suggestions that might be helpful, but keep in mind that this is general advice and the right modification for your home will depend on your individual circumstances and needs.

By placing tactile markers on the buttons of appliances like your oven, cooktop, and microwave, you might be able to locate and use common functions more easily.

Textured flooring can provide sensory cues, making it easier to navigate the kitchen more safely. Such materials include rubber or cork, that are slip-resistant and provide good traction. In addition, light tends not to glare off them.

You can also consider using rugs, mats, or different flooring surfaces to help identify which part of the house you’re in. For example, carpet in the dining room can be an obvious contrast to hard floors in the kitchen.

Benches and furniture with protruding or decorative sharp edges can easily catch on clothing. They’re also more painful in the case that you bump into them with your hip, thigh, or shins.

Rounded edges are safer and, although everyone’s taste is different, usually look good, as well.

Using boards with high-contrast colours can make it easier to see what you’re cutting. For example, a white cutting board can provide good contrast for dark-coloured foods like eggplants and avacados. A dark board can make it easier to work with foods like garlic and lemons.

Brightly coloured utensils are easy to see against dark or silver pots and pans. And it might also be worth considering coloured handle covers and pot holders, both of which can make pots and pans easier to use.

As we mentioned in our guide to modifying your living room, smart lights can be an excellent option for people with low vision.

Smart lights can be controlled by voice to dim, brighten, or change colours of lights and lamps around the home. They also tend to be really efficient, which means a much longer lifecycle and less need to undertake tricky changes.

Our Occupational Therapists help you to approach your everyday routine with confidence – everything from cooking with friends to making your garden beautiful.