We're delighted to offer alternative adaptations to the clinical grab rails currently on the market. We know that people care about the way things look because it effects the way we feel. People don't want stigmatising, clinical, intrusive products in their home. They want products that prolong independence with dignity and pride.
The cheap rails installed by health and social care as temporary measures have become universal without much thought going into their appropriateness.
People are often deterred from installing needed adaptations because they are unattractive and single them out as being old or vulnerable.
Every design decision we make has the potential to include or exclude customers. The current model of home adaptations is built around function and need, rather than centred on what people actually want and desire.
This presents people with a range of products that, although functional, are clinical, unattractive and stigmatising – a symbol of lost independence, disability, old age and vulnerability. Products that exclude customers and have so much negative stigma attached to them that people would rather make dangerous decisions that damage their health than get them installed.
Older and disabled people have been poorly served to date with products and services often disempowering, clinical and stigmatising. This had led to limited demand for products and services that do exist.
Poor design can also have a serious detrimental impact. A report on doorstep crime showed that 43% of victims had a handrail, grab rail, a ramp to their door, or a key safe for use by carers. This suggests that criminals use these items to identify vulnerable residents.
The solution is simple – good design.
Our whole ethos at Invisible Creations® is to Design for Dignity™. We create products that are designed to remove the negative stigma so often associated with current assistive and accessible products. We believe homes should be a haven, not a hospital and products designed to help you remain independent should be attractive, not clinical.
Our initial focus has been to design adaptations that provide all of the function of a grab rail but with style and dignity at the heart.
Meet Delores Taylor, who was looking for better options to help her live more independently in her own home. Delores needs extra support to help her navigate her home without fear of falling but she hated the idea of installing clinical grab rails. Delores told us that the rails she had been offered looked like something from a hospital and she wasn't willing to compromise her dignity to get them installed. She was especially concerned about the outdoor rail, sharing that it would make her feel vulnerable and a target for criminals.
"I was thrilled when I found Invisible Creations® with their stylish, discreet and beautiful designs for home adaptations.
I love that they really blend into the home, they're there doing an important job, helping me get around my house easier, giving me something sturdy to grab onto if I was to fall, but they don't stand out as a grab rail, or look like a product for an older person or a disabled person.
We don’t want a label, we want more inclusive products. And these are just nice products that look good in my home but they give me the support and reassurance I need to keep me safe."