Often, retirement community apartments are furnished with neutral-colored walls and generic furniture. If the facility allows it, painting can help make a space feel more like home.
Keep walkways clear by running electronic power cables behind furniture instead of on the floor. This reduces tripping hazards for seniors.
Brighten a room with color, using soft greens and yellows to soothe and relax.
Choose the Right Furniture
Choosing furniture suited to senior living communities can make a huge difference in your residents’ comfort and safety. For example, chairs should be sturdily built and have rounded corners to prevent your loved ones from banging into them or hurting themselves on sharp edges when they sit or stand up.
It’s also essential to provide seating that is easy to get in and out of. You may consider chair and sofa options with wider armrests for support when getting up and down from the seat.
Another crucial aspect of designing a senior living community is ensuring the rooms are light and bright. This can help maintain a healthy circadian rhythm and support positive mental health.
Create Cozy Nooks
The perfect reading nook can be carved out of a corner, an alcove, an empty bedroom, or even an unused closet. Grass-cloth wallpaper helps define this cozy space as a place to escape into an adventure. The finishing touches include a modern lounge chair, a small area rug, and a floor lamp.
This cozy nook features a day bed with plenty of pillows, making it the ultimate spot to curl up, read a book, or take a quick nap. A large window allows natural light to flow, adding a warm, welcoming feel.
To help create a calming atmosphere, intersperse the nook with houseplants, which are linked to lower stress levels and elevated moods. They’re also a great decorative touch that adds color and life to the room!
Make Sure You Have Adequate Lighting
A well-lit environment like The Villas Wichita is crucial for seniors, as their eyes tend to degrade with age. Having adequate lighting in every room of their apartment is essential so that they can easily navigate the space.
Having natural light is also important for senior health and well-being, so adding windows where possible and using skylights can help them feel connected to nature and improve their quality of life. Additionally, it is a good idea to use intelligent, responsive lighting.
For example, having a sensor that can adjust the brightness of a light is a great way to reduce energy consumption and prevent accidents by making it easier to walk around at night. Another option is having a dimmer switch that can be turned on and off with a simple touch to make it more convenient.
Create a Cozy Reading Nook
A cozy reading nook can be anything from a comfy chair or sofa to a hammock or bean bag. It may even include a daybed, like this one, draped in vintage embroidered pillows for an expensive look. Whatever you choose should be comfortable enough to sit in for hours.
Use natural materials like rattan and wicker furniture, beeswax candles, and wool rugs for a bohemian design-inspired book nook. Or, for a more straightforward aesthetic, mount a vintage cabinet to your wall and fill it with books. Add a wicker chair, storage planters, and a few textured throw pillows to complete the look.
You don’t need a dedicated room to fashion a reading nook. Even an unused closet can feel like a private hideaway when equipped with shelves, a chair, and cozy blankets.
Add a Focal Point
Focal points draw the eye in and are a great way to make a room more attractive. They can be natural, like a big window or a fireplace, or they can be created with the help of design elements, like art or even cool wallpaper.
One easy way to create a focal point is to add a bold paint color to one wall and then accessorize it with a gallery of art or a fantastic piece of furniture. This will make the other walls in your living space look more neutral, helping to keep the focus on the main focal point.
Another way to add a focal point is to use mirrored pieces to open up a room. This can be a great way to make smaller senior apartments feel more extensive and dynamic.
