Looking for a way to make your bathroom more accessible for a wheelchair or walker? Want to add safety features to a slippery bathtub?

There are many ways to make a house more adaptable to an existing or expected physical ailment or disability. Many of these changes also can make a house more comfortable for families with a wide range of ages, physical sizes and lifestyles. A hand held shower can work for someone with limited mobility or for an adult who is washing a small child, for example.

A bathroom countertop with varying heights might be used in a household where one person is tall and the other is short, for example. “If we’ve got a 5’2” woman and we install stock cabinets and also have a 6’3” gentleman use it, obviously the woman will be uncomfortable and the gentleman will be uncomfortable,” said Diana Schrage, an interior designer with Kohler Co. in Kohler, Wisc.

This approach to adapting housing to fit the needs of many people is called universal design by many in the housing industry. “It’s designing with as broad a base as possible to accommodate as many users as possible,” Schrage said. “When we think of that wheelchair height (for a countertop), it is also the right height for a three-year-old.”

There are many options for renovators who want to tailor their space to their physical needs. Here's what to consider in a bathroom. The main areas to focus on are the shower, tub and floor, as these can pose safety problems.

To minimize costs, plan these changes before construction begins:

• Look for shower stalls that are flush with the floor; make sure the floor slopes toward the drain to avoid water problems around the opening or pooling water near the drain
• Add grab bars in the shower and tub
• Widen doorways to allow a wheelchair to pass through
• Replace door knobs with levers for those with arthritis
• Add lighting to help with visual problems
• Lower the bathroom sink for wheelchair access
• Change cabinetry under the sink so that doors roll into the cabinet instead of opening outward
• Consider a console instead of a traditional vanity, but be careful of pipes hitting the legs of a wheelchair user
• Use small ceramic tiles; the more grout you have, the more resistance against slipping