We understand how you want to live life comfortably as you take on disability and challenge it, on a day-to-day basis. Much more so if you have loved ones who have disabilities. You will want to safeguard your home down to the inch for them.
Image by Jeff Kingma from Pixabay
At the same time, retaining that aspect of “home” even in utilising safety devices, especially in the bathroom, is central to your buying decisions.
Image by Jeff Kingma from Pixabay
For decorative grab bars, you can review this simplified buying guide as you plan on what grab bars to purchase.
Multi-Function
This goes beyond saying that grab bars fulfil the function of weight support, balance, and stability. Yet when it comes to decorative handles, their function and description widen according to each category’s design.
For instance, there are handrails that have dual layers because they are dual-purposed. The main bar is for gripping whereas the secondary bar is for hanging towels and/or articles of clothing.
Another dual-purpose grab bar is one that has a weight supporter as well as a tissue roll-holder.
Besides these, designers and/or manufacturers have also stretched their creative designing skills by fashioning ADA grab rails which have a tier or tray attached beneath the main bar. These extra “shelves” are for your toiletries, folded towels, and other items you’d like to organize on them.
Image by Anemone123 from Pixabay
End Grips
Grab bars with capped ends exude a polished finish. More importantly, capped ends will lessen the likelihood of incurring scrape and scratch marks on your skin in the event that you graze your hand or arm on them.
Angled ends, in contrast, give off a very chic look. And if that is the tone you wish for your bathroom, these will definitely be your go-to.
Double Grip Bars
Decorative ADA bars are also available in pairs. They serve as reinforcement so that you can prop yourself up with both hands. Many who have a weaker grip and/or are unable to bear their weight with only one arm choose sets such as this.
RhinoRails | Leading supplier of heated towel rails, bathroom radiators, stainless steel grab Trevor1980, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Paired bars should always be placed perfectly adjacent to each other. There is no specific ADA requirement about how far each individual bar is supposed to be from the other. Our tip is for you to do the math by using your shoulder width as the basis of measurement.
What’s great about this handrail duo is that they add class to a bathroom. Station them on opposite ends of mirrors, or at the head or tail-end of a bathtub a la swimming pool ladder handle.
Bar Rings
These half-circle beauties have a simplistic elegance to them. To “soften” the overall appearance of your bathroom and let it have a touch of sophistication, bar-ring handles are a one-stop interior design revamp. A few of these on the wall divisions next to sanitary and bathing hardware and you’ll be good to go.
Image by Jean van der Meulen from Pixabay
And it’s not just that they are pleasing to the eyes. Bar rings have resilience in terms of carrying any weight that’s propped up against them. You can rely on them to hold you steady as you bear your weight on these rings.
They are frequently put in place the curved side-up. But if you believe that it will be more convenient for you to clutch them the other way around, then feel free to invert the grab bar during installation.
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