An assisted living facility is somewhere where people who need more assistance within everyday life move into so that their needs are always met. This takes some of the pressure off of family members who might be too busy to keep up with their loved one’s needs.
If you know someone who is moving to an assisted living facility, you might be eager to decorate it to make it feel more at home for them. Decorating their room can make the move run more smoothly and make them feel more at home.
We have five tips that you can use to decorate an assisted living facility for your loved one.
1. Bring Things From Home
While they will now be living in a new space, that doesn’t mean that they can’t bring their belongings with them. This will also help you to save money by not having to go out and buy a lot of new pieces!
Think about what makes their home what it is – are there lots of ornaments dotted around, or stuffed animals? Are there posters or pictures hanging on the walls that you could bring with you?
You might even want to bring a piece of furniture, such as their favorite chair or footstool.
Take a look around their current living space and determine what they would miss the most about living there – then take it with them to the assisted living facility to make their room feel a little more like home.
2. Safety Should Be Your Top Priority
While decorating an assisted living facility can be fun and exciting, it’s important to remember that practicality should be the most important consideration to think of. As your loved one is likely a senior, they might have some safety issues to think of.
For example, they might find that hardwood floors are too slippery to walk on. In this case, opt for a rug that will cover most of the floor.
Another thing to consider is how easy it is for them to use their new room. Make sure that you are using furniture that can easily be sat on and pushed up from to avoid any dangerous situations occurring.
We would also recommend ensuring that there is plenty of lighting, and that these light sources can be turned on easily. Don’t use lamps that have a foot switch, as this could be dangerous for people with limited mobility.
3. What Are Their Hobbies?
It is incredibly important to ensure that your loved one has plenty to do while living in their new home. Just because they’re in a new facility, it doesn’t mean that they have to stop doing what they enjoy.
For example, do they like embroidery or knitting? Painting or reading? Make sure that they have plenty of storage for their hobby supplies. A cart for these would be helpful that they could wheel around the room to wherever they were using it.
If they enjoy completing puzzles or drawing, maybe adding a table to their room where they can complete their hobbies would be a good idea. Make sure to position this table near a light source so that they have plenty of light to see what they’re doing.
4. Consider Multiple-Use Furniture
If your loved one is moving from their own house to an assisted living facility, then the adjustment to the smaller space might be tricky.
To avoid this becoming an issue, you should decorate it with multi-purpose furniture in mind. This will make the most of the space and leave more room for their belongings.
If you’re stuck on what kind of multiple-use furniture to get, here are some of our recommendations to add into an assisted living space:
- Foldable chairs: These are great for visitors to use, but to then put away when they’re leaving. This will save lots of space instead of putting two or three bulkier chairs within the room. Foldable chairs can be stored away under the bed or against a wall, reducing the amount of floor space taken up.
- Shelves and cabinets: Shelves can be an excellent way to store things without taking up any floor space. The same can be said for cabinets. These both will give your loved one places to put things instead of it all cluttering up the room.
- Space-saving desks: Desks and tables can often be bulky, which is why finding a compact one can be very beneficial. Bonus points if you can find one including draws for added storage!
- Folding tables: Failing a space-saving desk, you could also get a foldable table which can be folded up or down depending on the situation. This would mean that your loved one would always have a table to hand should they need it, but it wouldn’t take up too much space everyday.
5. Arrangement Is Key
Bear in mind that people living in assisted living facilities might need more space to move around their room. This will not be helped if there is lots of furniture cluttering up the floor space that they have to maneuver around everyday.
Similarly, the facility workers might need to move around the room quickly. This is going to be much harder if all of the furniture is littered along the floor.
So, make sure that you are designing the room to be easily accessible for everyone. Maximize the floor space with shelves and foldable furniture.
Keep in mind that this point is even more important if your loved one uses a wheelchair or another form of mobility assistance.
Summary
We hope that our article has helped you create a plan of how you’re going to decorate your loved one’s assisted living facility.
Make sure you consider your loved one’s ability to move around their room, and that there is enough space for them to enjoy their hobbies.
When stuck for decoration ideas, always go back to their current home and see what inspiration you can get from there. Making their new room as similar to their current house as possible will make the transition easier.
