My favourite fabulous grab rails

Now I know this is a niche post, but even if you don’t need a grab rail yourself, your grandparents or parents might.  Or you might have a disabled friend looking for some help.  I’m guessing most people will have seen those standard grab rails in hospitals or disabled loos or in your doctor’s surgery.  And they are UGLY.  No two ways about it.

I’ve already written a post some time ago about our fabulous loo roll holder and it just goes to show you can find great stuff, but it takes a while to look.

You might not realise the large number of different types of rails you can get – it doesn’t have to be a white plastic one.  So if you know someone in your family that might be looking for one (parents, grandparents etc) then you might want to take a look at some of the great options I’ve found.

We have grab rails outside the front door, and in the bathroom at the moment, and a cheeky one inside the built in wardrobes to help Mr Wheel Chic Home when he’s looking for clothes or putting clothes away.  We will also be installing one in the garden office and the back doors at some point.

In the meantime the Mother in Law is shortly moving house and wants some rails up but wants me to find her some cool ones.  So I thought I’d share what I’ve found.  I’ve love your comments and feedback, if you’ve found something great please share!

Firstly – the bathroom.  This is likely the room that needs the most amount of grab rails.  We have three in ours at the moment.  I’ve written a little bit about it here.

First things first.  THAT loo roll holder.  And of course my very arty pointy folding technique which is of course how I keep my loo roll every day!  Ok, maybe not!

You wouldn’t think it’s a grab rail, would you?  It’s simple, stylish, smart and above all – sturdy.  We bought this at about $45 from USA plus shipping (via Amazon).  Of course it looks great but it’s quite pricey for a loo roll holder.  There are cheaper options, but if you can splash out on one like this I would recommend it from a style point of view.  We’ve just ordered two of these for the Mother in Law’s house as she’s been after this style since she saw ours.

Another great option for the bathroom is this grab rail which looks just like a shelf for your toiletries.  Who would realise it’s a grab rail?  It’s your little secret!  We will get one of these for her new shower too.

Photo Credit: NRS Healthcare in Argos

There’s also this great one which is a towel rail and a grab rail.  It looks cool and serves a purpose.  For me this is the trick to having disability aids around the house.  It needs to be functional first, and sexy second.

Photo Credit: NRS Healthcare on Amazon.co.uk

To get both form and function or to make the grab rail look invisible is what works for me in our house.  If your guests don’t notice it (and ours never notice the loo roll holder) then it’s worked for me!

I love this Shower Riser Grab Rail too.  Most of us will have a shower riser, and why not get one that’s an invisible grab rail.  Not all Shower Risers are suitable as a grab rail, you need to buy a certain style, so please DON’T use your current one as a grab rail as it’s not going to be strong enough.  Look for one built to hold your weight.

This one is from Triton Showers and is strong enough to hold up to 150kg.  You can clearly see the heavier duty fixings at top and bottom but otherwise who would know it’s a disabled bathing aid?  Your guests certainly won’t!

Photo Credit: Triton Showers

Away from the bathroom then and around the rest of the house.  In the wardrobe, Mr Wheel Chic Home has a cheap white hand rail to help him when he’s getting clothes out or putting some away.  It was only about £8 but it’s not seen by anyone but him.  It’s white because the inside of the built in wardrobe is white, so it’s hardly visible once the clothes are there.  So whilst I like the lovely stuff I’m not all about the most expensive, I’m planning where the grab rails are and get the one that’s most appropriate.

I’ve also spotted grab rails that are wooden so you can paint them to disappear into your scheme.  If you paint them the same colour as your walls you’ll be hard pushed to see them as a disabled grab rail.  Painting the wooden rails could be done in my favourite Annie Sloan chalk paint with a good couple of coats of wax for protection, or you could try an eggshell or gloss in same colour as your wall.

Of course if you want to make a fabulously bling statement you could spray paint them in gold, or copper with a clear protective top coat for durability.  That would work really well in a bathroom, if you have gold accessories in there. An example of this is below. These ones are made of beech but repainting them would make them infinitely more cool.

I’m planning to put these next to the bed when he thinks he needs to have them and I will definitely be painting them.  Maybe I’ll arrange them so they look like a faux picture frame and have a cheeky picture inside them to hide them further.  But we’re not at that stage yet!

Photo Credit: Ability Aware

Many grab rails from American companies including Delta Assist are available in brass, chrome, gold, copper or black, so there’s plenty of scope there for either making a statement or making them invisible.  You can also get many styles from more traditional to very modern. Again there’s options to meet your decor.

Sometimes you can’t hide the rail. We have black rails outside the house to match the front door but they are obvious against the red brick.  There’s not much I can do there.  But if you have a white render outside your house, maybe go with white.  Or spray paint them to match your front door.  We bought black to go with ours.

Who says you can’t have grab rails and maintain a sexy interiors vibe?

So that’s a quick round up on some cool ideas to make your grab rails fit your interior.  Have you come across anything I’ve not mentioned?  I’d love to hear about them.

Don’t forget on the UK websites you can buy disabled aids without the VAT if you have a permanent disability – you need to fill out the declaration on the website where you’re buying the products from and you’ll save on the tax.  Win.  I know we’d rather not have to buy these things but if we do, let’s save some cash.

Disclaimer: Please remember that any grab rail should be installed professionally and with the correct fixings for your wall type.  Please make sure you have them installed correctly and that they are placed at the correct height and angle for your needs.