Safety becomes a very important issue especially when you have young children or older parents living with you. This would affect your choice of materials and the design of the layout of your new house.

Having non-slip tiles in bathrooms, kitchens and other areas of the house is a must. It might also be essential to place non-slip underlays beneath carpets to ensure that nobody falls.

The home should be kept neat and free of clutter. This is not only more pleasing to the eye but it also greatly reduces the danger clutters might posed to unsteady adults and curious little hands.

Glass in the house may be an ideal material to add style and spaciousness into the house. But its transparency and fragility deem them a danger when they are used for dividers, tables and chairs. The transparent nature of glass fools the eyes and may cause serious accidents and falls. Glass tabletops, screens and doors must be made of thick tempered glass. You can also purchase stickers or decals to decorate the glass screens so that they are visible to the eye. However if you already have glass furniture, you can purchase an attractive tabletop to make it visible. For your glass accessories, you can secure them using non-slip plastic feet or blue tack.

It would be best to avoid some contemporary furniture designs which have sharp angular shapes and delicately balanced bases if you have active kids or elderly folks. They may look stylish but are dangerous for the unwary. Sharp edges on furniture such as bed frames, tables and chairs may cause serious bumps or cuts. Round edged tables, well-padded sofas and bed frames would be safer. Use corner guards to correct the existing point corners.

Choose chairs that are solidly built, are stable and have arm rest. Armrest acts as useful support when getting into or out of the chair. Although roller chairs are great for moving around, they can also slip when the elderly use them as support or when kids climb onto of them to have fun.

All handles on wardrobes, cupboards and even doors should be large and have handles that are easy to grip especially for the elderly. This would minimise the effort needed. Swivel or pull out cabinets would make it easier for them to manoeuvre and locate what they want.

The bathroom might be considered accident prone zone especially when you have elderly. So you might want to install extra support bars as a safety measure and try to eliminate steps or curbs at the entrance of the bathroom itself.