Decorating your senior living Apartment

Senior living communities are often built with specific interior design in mind for communal living spaces, but the individual apartments are often a little more plain. If you are decorating a senior living apartment, you’ll probably want to make it more homey and welcoming, as well as make sure that it’s easy to do all the things you need to do. Here are our tips and tricks to creating a beautiful and personal senior living apartment.

Remember functionality

It’s important that your home fits your tastes, but as you age it becomes more and more important to focus on the functionality of items rather than just style. Functionality should be your number one priority throughout the decorating process.

A good example to think about is glass tables. Glass furniture is pretty and fits with a lot of styles and themes, but the cons may outweigh the pros. They require frequent cleaning, and a fall onto a glass table or bump into a sharper edge can be much more devastating than a table made of other materials.

Choose a style

A good way to make your living space cohesive is to have a theme or specific style picked out. Apartments are much smaller than houses, and if you are moving to a senior living apartment from a house picking one general theme is going to be easier than finding a different style for every room. It will also help improve the overall flow of your apartment. Some themes can include:

Rustic: Think of a log cabin. With rustic decoration you want to bring in natural elements like woods and stone, and keep your colors within earth tones.
Cottage: A very popular style for seniors because of the warmth and coziness inherent to it. Colors like yellow, blue, white, and green are common and there are often antique or vintage furnishings and decorations.
Traditional: Traditional styles often incorporate floral and other patterns in furniture and decorations, and is another way to tastefully incorporate some of your favorite antiques.

Cozy and comfortable

Comfort is another big thing that you will want to keep in mind. Adding touches like warm blankets and softer furnishing can help you improve on functionality while keeping your comfort in mind.

Making sure that your couches and armchairs are cozy and your throw pillows aren’t stiff and scratchy is a good way to keep your home comfortable. Remember to keep thinking about function. A pillow may have a nice pattern on it, but if it isn’t comfortable to use then it becomes more of a annoyance in a small space.

Lighting and Storage

While not always the first thing on anyone’s mind, the practical parts of home decorating are just as important—if not more important—than the furnishings and wall hangings.

Lighting: Lighting is a big part of decorating. It’s important to include plenty of sources of light, especially if your apartment doesn’t have that much natural light. You need to see clearly for your safety, especially at night. Table and floor lamps are a great way to inject more light into your space, but make sure that any cords aren’t going to become a fall hazard.
Storage: Storage is another important thing to keep in mind. To avoid trips in clogged hallways and rooms, having adequate storage for all your belongings is vital. There are a lot of creative storage options like additional storage units for your living, different shelving options, and closet organizations that can help you with storing your belongings. Just remember to keep them all within reach. The last thing you want is to be unable to access your things.

Kitchen and bath

Most slips and falls happen in kitchens and bathrooms, so keep that in mind while decorating. Adding additional handholds is never a bad thing in these rooms. Another tip is to make sure your rugs or carpeting isn’t going to trip you up or slow you down if you are in a wheelchair. Things like soap and liquids should be stored in a way that they won’t spill onto the floor and make things a slippery mess.

Kitchens and bathrooms are also great places to add a pop of color. A brightly colored kitchen or bathroom can be a great way to bring in some fun in spaces that might not traditionally be thought of as fun spaces.

Bedroom

It’s important that your bedroom is the perfect blend of comfort and functionality. Your bed shouldn’t be difficult to climb into, and should have the right amount of blankets and pillows. Decorative throw pillows are great, but the daily task of removing them and then adding them back on can become more and more difficult as you age.

Instead, consider bringing color and style into the room with your bedding itself. There are an endless supply of bedding and duvets in any color or pattern that you can imagine. Wall hangings and decorations are another great way to include your personal style into your bedroom. Avoid hanging anything over the headboard though, as they can become dangerous if they fall.

Living room

The living room is the room that guests are likely to see most often, so decorating a living space in neutrals with a pop of bright color here and there is often very common.

A living room is a great place to put your personal items—family photographs, personal keepsakes, and collected artworks are all wonderful examples of things that can make an ordinary living space your living space

Moving to a senior living apartment can be a difficult task. It often involves downsizing and getting rid of a lot of items. But there is no reason that decorating your senior living apartment can’t be a fun and creative job. Keep functionality in mind and add your own personal touch, and your senior living apartment can live up to your highest expectations.

Reprinted with permission from Vista Springs Assisted Living.