Living room tables serve as important surfaces to store items. If there’s tabletop clutter, with items spilling onto the floor, try using a tabletop basket to collect them all. Clutter is a common problem, as people with dementia lose the ability to housekeep. At some point, you or someone else will need to do the tidying up to keep the person safe at home.
Many people with dementia have problems with depth perception, increasing their chances of tripping over low tables they can’t easily see, especially glass tables. For safety’s sake, place colorful items on the table to increase visibility; better yet, remove or replace small or low tables near the walking path. For example, consider replacing the cocktail table with a higher table that’s more easily seen.
A higher sofa table is a wonderful alternative to the traditional low cocktail table. It not only reduces the chance of tripping over a low table, but the higher surface comes in handy for all kinds of activities. For example, just pull up a chair – and you now have another place to enjoy afternoon tea. And in this room, we’ve used a bright easy to clean, vinyl coated tablecloth – and it didn’t cost us a fortune.
You’ll want to make sure that tables aren’t wobbly, especially if the person holds onto them for support. You can easily put a small wedge (wood or heavy cardboard) underneath a leg to make the table stable.
