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Residential homes for the elderly are often stereotyped as having very traditional design and standardized living. However, modern options have evolved and with luxury care homes becoming more popular, residents are seeking sleek, contemporary interiors to enjoy their senior years.
Searching for the most suitable care home for your parents can feel like an impossible task, with your mother’s love of sea views and your father’s wishes to continue golfing. Correct selection will depend on many elements, but great design shouldn’t be a factor.
Use the following tips to bring your parents’ comfort to their new home.
Non-institutionalized design throughout
Mobility and wellness equipment can often disrupt design but is very necessary for resident care and safety. This disrupts the continuity of design can make living in a care facility feel staged and unhomely, as well as confusing and confining for some dementia sufferers.
A great example of this is spa-like wet rooms and bathrooms that conceal all the handy and necessary equipment and help the resident to feel truly at home and ultimately relaxed. This has been done to an exceptional standard at a care home in Hertford, UK.
The luxurious atmosphere created by non-institutionalized design will allow your parents to feel at ease and comfortable in their new home.
Choosing a room
There are many styles of room available, from studio rooms with small kitchenettes to large two-bedroom apartments with balcony views.
In their room…
Bring photos
Adding lots of photos to your parents’ room that can trigger fond memories will help them to feel more settled and at home. Familiar faces are handy for triggering memories in dementia sufferers and can remind them of their younger years, allowing them to discuss with staff and other residents if they wish to.
Ask them what they’d like
If they have a preference for the style of their new living space – go with it! You want them to be as comfortable and happy as possible, after all.
Use new bedding, matching with their old one
Using brand new bedding will add a touch of luxury whilst retaining the style of their usual home comfort. This will be a familiar focal point of their bedroom area and help them to feel more at ease.
Take a small piece of furniture
Although it’s not practical to imagine moving all of your parents’ furniture into an already-furnished space, ask them to select what makes them feel most at home and place that prominently in their new room. This could be a bedside lamp, a small desk, or anything appropriately sized that feels familiar and comforting.
Add soft furnishings
Moving into a new home with no personal items to snuggle can feel a bit cold and clinical. Add some soft furnishings to their new room and help make the evenings cozy for your parents in their new place.
Familiar smells
Bring a diffuser or air freshener that they would ordinarily use, this will create a fresh and clean smell in their room and trigger memories of living in their old home.
In conclusion
To make your parents feel at home in their new residential arrangement, add lots of photos, use a new bedspread with the same design, select a piece of furniture to take, add some soft furnishings and create familiar smells in their new space.