Creative Care Design And How It Can Impact On The Mood Of A Carehome

With the topical debate gathering pace in advance of the General Election on the care industry, funding cuts but people living longer alongside the growing noise about Dementia and the demand for more research , Carehomes are not only required to care for our loved ones but to think how they can provide therapeutic areas. This in turn can ease the frustrations for residents by just considering simple design aesthetics. 20150211_122812 How bringing the outdoors inside as a garden wall could be therapeutic for care home residents- By implementing a feature wall with a wall vinyl displaying colours and flowers with blue skies will lift the mood of anyone and as residents mobility becomes difficult going outdoors is not as easy as it sounds. Consider ideas like this where residents can enjoy beautiful scenes and the atmosphere can change dynamically. An indoor feature garden wall may sound like high maintenance but consider an artificial plant feature wall and there is no maintenance at all. But the joy any loved one will get from the touch and feel experience could be invaluable. Music is a great therapy too and Carehomes should ensure they have speaker systems throughout the home, even in the hallways and lounges. Earlier planning for a refurbishment project should allow for an easily operated music system played through ceiling recessed speakers. Peace is great for some residents but when their only means of communication becomes limited, the effect of music playing can relax any environment and get the room swaying with happy faces. carehome cafe Creating a coffee shop area , potentially near the Entrance to any care-home can provide the ambience that a visitor can take their loved one to the coffee shop. This almost mimics the experience of having a trip out. Clever design of this area can make all the difference and break from the regular normal surroundings of the carehome without having to change out of your slippers. lounge area The lounge areas in any residential home should mimic those of residents own homes. A fire surround, imitation fire, bookshelves and safe ornaments with wall art and wall lamps will help residents settle easier. Bringing the comforts of our own home into our loved ones new safe environments will help the carers as their duties could become less demanding. funky-recycled-tyre-flooring-great-for-carehomes Outdoor decking and garden areas should be made safe but reflect a nice pretty garden. Those able and well enough to enjoy these outdoor areas deserve to enjoy what they have once had a feeling of freedom. Safe flooring can be low maintenance, soft on the foot if residents have begun to no longer wear shoes etc, but also have good drainage in the type of flooring chosen. Check out the latest flooring made from recycled tyres with raised lego like drainage, laid in tiles so any damaged areas can be easily and cost effectively replaced. lighting Good lighting is an absolute must. Poor lighting lowers the mood and depression escalates. As dementia patients often experience a deterioration in eyesight, making sure the lighting is a cool white LED avoids shadowing and will help residents feel confident in moving about and aid sight perception, reduce hallucination and misperceptions . Improved behavior will also be notable. air sterl Reducing odours will be assisted by using air-sterile units. Different sizes of units will cope with eliminating odours . These can be continuously in operation or even be on a timer if required. Contact us to see our guide for size of unit per square metre of room. The air sterile unit is also known to reduce viruses escalating. modern-and-efficient-ceiling-mounted-acoustic-solutions Noise – echo can be reduced with residents often shouting out by the use of creative and colourful acoustic solutions and can be a source of pleasing distraction by different shapes suspended from the ceiling. Good seating will help reduce aches and pains and the latest fabric technologies are water resilient. With modern patterns and a great range of colours, care home seating no longer needs to look dated or plastic. Check out our video demonstrating the resilience to fluids. RAP Interiors are over 20 years experienced in sympathetically creating amazing carehome design and build services and are recognised on www.carehome.co.uk, providing a turnkey service for solutions for the care sector.

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