5 Tips To Make Your Care Home Comfortable and Welcoming

Care homes are a lifeline to many people and their families up and down the country, providing care for people who can no longer manage their own personal needs due to age or where a debilitating illness has reduced their capacity to care for themselves. 

However, this cornerstone of society often gets a bad reputation when it comes to the style and comfort that the buildings themselves can offer. Making it a welcoming and relaxing space is vitally important for residents, creating a calming atmosphere in a home that they’re happy to be in, but it can also help to lift the spirits of the staff and teams of carers who work there if they can have a sense of pride in their facility.

With this in mind, we’re going to be taking a look at five top tips for care homes that could help them feel more homely for any facility looking to spruce things up this year.

1. Soften windows with blinds throughout

Often an overlooked aspect of a care home, the windows play an important part, bringing in both natural light and warmth. Because of this, it should go without saying that your choice of blinds is equally important. By softening the windows and adding a little colour with the use of blinds, you can make any room in your facility feel more like a comforting home – all without taking up lots of space or dominating the room.

No one wants to feel like they’re cooped up inside a medical facility, so why not try some colourful pleated blinds or roller blinds for an easy-to-operate option? Alternatively, you can make individual rooms feel more stylish with the addition of Venetian blinds.

2. Freshen the air with homely scents

There are likely to be a multitude of smells within any care home due to how many different residents there are and the day-to-day aromas that drift from any kitchen or bathroom areas. One thing you definitely don’t want is to let things get stale or to let nasty smells linger. That’s why we recommend adding different diffusers and air-freshening devices where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Of course, nothing keeps the air fresh like a little ventilation, so during warmer months, you can throw open the blinds and windows to bring fresh air inside. For this reason, it’s important to think about practical blinds that allow residents and staff to easily access the windows, hence the popularity of vertical blinds for larger windows in communal spaces.

3. Think about textures

Textures within your care home can be easy to overlook from a design perspective, but when you think about home comforts, you’ll often appreciate how soft your carpets are and the way you sink into your sofa. You should apply this same type of thinking throughout a care home to make residents feel at home. 

Consider your wallpaper and blind choices within rooms as well as items like rugs, carpets, chairs and sofas; these are all things residents will come into contact with on a daily basis, so add some variety and think about what feels nice to the touch.

4. Let residents bring items from home

What could be more comforting and homely than items that residents are familiar with from their own homes? This isn’t always possible or practical, but it doesn’t have to be an entire room’s worth of objects. Suggest adding their favourite armchair, cabinet or bedside table to a room to help make things feel more familiar.

Photographs of family and friends are also a great way to let residents personalise a room and keep their most memorable possessions nearby. 

5. Give residents some space

While it’s easy to try and look at what you can add, something you might be forgetting is the space most residents require. Clutter and little-used objects can present obstacles and trip hazards in any care home, something you absolutely want to avoid for your already vulnerable residents. Plenty of room in living spaces and even corridors can make things feel less cramped and more inviting, not to mention giving room to manoeuvre any wheelchairs or other mobility equipment for those who need it.

At Solo Blinds, we’re experts in providing blinds for a wide variety of commercial buildings. From offices to care homes, we cover the North East – including Cramlington, Ashington, Morpeth and Blyth – to help you find blinds that combine style and functionality for your space. 

As one of the largest manufacturers of blinds in the region, you can count on us to deliver both quality and efficiency, and because we’re family-run, you can trust that we’ll put your experience with us at the heart of everything we do.

Arrange a visit with us today and a professional member of our team will be able to assess your care home for however many blinds you require.