Teddy bears! I am into frogs …. does anyone know of froggy chairs I could use on my camping trips? My most comfortable chair was a $39.95 fake leather recliner, purchased at Montgomery Wards in 1966 when my husband was convalescing from surgery. Recovered twice, new springs the 2nd time. In 2006, I arrived home from work and sank gratefully into this now 'vintage' chair and it gracefully, though noisily, collapsed. Springs, nuts, bolts, shredded innards, and me - scattered all over the living room! So I splurged on a frighteningly expensive modern chair, the second most comfy chair I have had. 6 years later the footrest refused to support my size 7 bare feet. A bolt had sheared off, and the mechanism could not be repaired. Enter the 3rd most comfy, an Ikea Poang, covered with a blanket while awaiting a custom made slip cover. By now, I have accumulated 74 years of aches and pains that often awake me at night; I crawl to the Poang, and snooze happily 'til morning. No photo of the heroic Monkey Ward, chair, but next two pictured.

Hi everyone, so... 3 years later and after many back and forth we have decided to knock down the house and rebuild. The cost of renovating was just too prohibitive and not to mention the unexpected surprises that surely would come with it. We should start the building of the new home in a month or less. Just wanted to thank everyone who helped in this thread, your opinions were very important and helped us decide. We are not doing a custom build, instead we chose one of those pre-designed homes (Dennis Family) but we are very happy and excited. Cant wait for it to be done. Will post photos when ready.

Long ago when I was in high school, we had a sports lesson doing hurdles. I loved it and secretly thought I was great at it. At the end of the lesson, we were sauntering back to class and I decided to show my friends once again how good I was. Now, hurdles must be approached from only one side. If you don't make it over, (from the right side)it smacks down. The other side doesn't move when hit. Well, I approached from the wrong side and had a little too much saunter and not enough pace, so didn't make it over. I hit it hard and the hurdle didn't budge. I was draped over the top in a horribly awkward position. Finger tips just off the ground on one side, toes just off the other side, bottom in the air, school uniform around my ears! Everyone gathered around laughing their heads off. Finally, after much laughter I was lifted off by my school mates. Lesson learnt, don't show off!

The term used is universal housing design. that might help you find some resources. https://universaldesignaustralia.net.au/category/housing-design-guidelines/ A lot of agencies release pdfs and guides with info like what standard measurements etc for halls and kitchen benches etc. I wouldn't install anything specific like because it will be easier to source those as required. but the things like space and layout certainly need to be done now! Access in an out. When I used a wheelchair we really struggled to find houses to rent I could access. the best we could do was a house with 4 steps in and out, and my husband had to carry me up the stairs. generally speaking wider passageways and traffic zones. You need space around furniture placement for mobility aids and wheelchairs. A shower that is open and is continuous with the bathroom floor. non-slip tiling. A bench or sitting area in the bathroom for changing and showering. As someone with mobility issues sometimes things that don't seem an issue are, like when your mobility is affected even slight level changes are an issue. my most frustrating level change is just the 5cm rise on the kitchen tiling and around the fireplace hearth. It's hard to explain but the small level changes are harder than stairs! So a flat floor that stays flat with no lips or trimming or metal capping on the carpets is important. Overall, keeping things low maintenance because any illness or mobility challenge brings fatigue and things can get too hard if the house is fussy. simple no fuss surfaces and hard-wearing materials. I really like cork floors as they are easy to clean and if you fall its not as painful. Good connection to outdoors and a nice view. The worst thing is it becomes harder to get out and about and sometimes you aren't well enough to, so for those days staring at a blank wall is the worst, an interesting view with good bright light and fresh air helps a lot. . don't use taps and door handles that twist and turn on, use sliders and knobs and handles that you push down with your whole hand to open. Good easy access to the home for emergency services. A wide front door that could allow ambulance access. One home I visited with universal design positioned bedroom and bathroom on opposite sides of a wide tiled entrance area that also had the laundry in a cupboard. It meant for good access to the bathroom and easy laundry use, and good emergency access to bed and bathroom in case of a fall. they also had a help button in the bathroom. but I would suggest phone access across the house or a handy (Dry) mobile phone nook works just as well. a bathroom close to the bedroom, but not so close that a partner is kept up at night. Think about the overall traffic flow, if you have to move too far and cross back and forth a lot it's going to be really exhausting. Disability modifications actually kinda suck and aren't always useful. The wheelie walker i was supposed to use as I learned to walk again actually was so heavy it would exhaust me, I find grasping dado rails and chairs and doors is often easier, so an oversized timber dado rail that could be grabbed hold of would be useful, and making sure its not far to sit down and rest. a chair in the bathroom, a chair in the bedroom, a chair near the front door for sitting and sorting shoes etc. they can be pretty corner chairs and not disability chairs iykwim. often just good efficient design and layout are key. Flexibility so that things can be adapted to suit specific requirements.