If your bathroom doors are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair or a walker, count yourself lucky. Most aren't, and families do come up with the most ingenious ways to get their disabled loved ones into the bathroom. Moving is a last resort, but some seniors eventually do that, too. There several are ways to make the bathroom door accessible that don't require a moving van:

How to Widen Your Bathroom Doorway

Offset Hinge

1. Replace the standard hinges with offset hinges. This will allow the door to clear the frame when open, which will give you at least another inch of clearance. If there's no room for the door to "offset" because of counters or fixtures in the bathroom, replace the hinges as above, and reverse the direction so the door opens out instead of in. This will require some basic handyman work.

Bypass Door

2. Replace the standard door with a bypass door. A bypass door slides on a rail to one side of the outside wall. While this solution is quite cost effective and easy to do, it will also create a real trip hazard at the door, so it's not the safest choice.

Pocket Door

3. Install a pocket door that slides into the wall. Because you will have to rebuild the door frame and the outside wall of the bathroom, you can install as wide a pocket door as you choose. This option is the most expensive and requires the most skill to complete, but it is aesthetically the most pleasing, especially if you are keeping later re-sale of the house in mind.

Tab Curtain

4. Remove the door altogether and hang a tab curtain over the doorway. Tabbed because these curtains slide easily, and lined because you want to block "see through." Store the door safely so you can put it back up some day.