practical living
damage, while offering a selection of easily
hung curtains allows new residents the
opportunity to make a room their own.
SOFT SURFACES
Designing for dementia
to residents, while taking measures to
mitigate the risk of undue harm.
Designing facilities to give them as much
of the look and feel of a private residence
as possible can help achieve these ends.
THE HEART OF THE HOME
How thoughtful interior
design can turn a dementia
facility into a home.
By Katrin Klinger
C
an an aged care facility, particularly
one designed for residents living
with dementia, feel anything but
institutional? With a thoughtful approach to
interior design, the answer is most certainly
yes, even for developers whose budgets
are modest.
Australia is experiencing growing
demand for specialist facilities as the
population continues to age. An estimated
425,416 Australians are living with dementia
in 2018, and in the absence of a medical
breakthrough, this figure is projected to rise
to around 536,000 by 2025 and more than
1.1 million by 2056.
The National Framework for Action
on Dementia 2015–2019 notes
that an enriching and meaningful
environment can enable people with
dementia living in residential aged care
facilities to remain socially engaged.
A safe, secure and homely environment
can reduce confusion and agitation,
improve wayfinding and encourage social
interaction.
For aged care providers, delivering
a high-quality care experience means
striving to provide physical comfort
28 agedcareinsite.com.au
Moving house has long been recognised
as one of life’s more stressful experiences,
and for those living with dementia, the
loss of familiar places and spaces can be
particularly distressing and disconcerting.
Ensuring their new dwellings feel warm
and homely can help reduce feelings of
insecurity and vulnerability and make the
settling-in process smoother.
A centrally located kitchen can do much
to make residents feel they’re living at
home, not in a home. Being able to smell
and see food cooking – and, for those who
are able, to lend a hand in its preparation
– makes for a less institutional experience
than the delivery of meals on trolleys
from a kitchen that’s out of sight and out
of bounds.
Similarly, short hallways and bedrooms
clustered college-style around a common
living area create a more intimate feel
than endless corridors and bedrooms
identified only by numbers. Illuminated
memory boxes that can hold photographs
and personal mementos can be an
excellent substitute for the latter – and
an effective aide-mémoire for individuals
with dementia, when installed outside
bedroom doors.
Bedrooms that enable residents’ choice
of decor to be easily ‘slotted in’ can make
customising personal spaces simple and
economical. If picture rails are installed
as standard, photographs and paintings
can be displayed without difficulty or
While tiled and vinyl floors are durable
and practical, they look and feel hard
and can reverberate sound in a way
that’s distressing to individuals with
dementia, particularly those experiencing
sensory disturbances. Soft surfaces are
preferable, and ideally carpet should be
laid throughout common areas, corridors
and bedrooms.
CARE WITH COLOUR
Selecting colour schemes for dementia
facilities is something of a science. There
are guidelines which limit the ability to mix
and match with impunity. Chief among
them is a requirement for a contrast of at
least 30 per cent between floors, walls
and sitting surfaces, to assist residents in
differentiating between the three.
The result is typically dark floors, light
walls and soft furnishings in shades
somewhere between the two. Loud prints
and flamboyant geometric patterns are off
limits, as it’s thought they may make some
individuals with dementia feel uneasy.
While a surfeit of institutional white,
grey or beige is to be avoided, so too are
excessively bright and primary colours,
which can give a facility a childcare
centre vibe.
A generous allocation of paintings
and prints in soothing shades can soften
the ‘sameness’ without creating sensory
overload.
SPEND WHERE IT COUNTS
Allocating additional budget to fit out
one or two high-traffic or communal
areas, such as lobbies and lounges, can
give a facility a luxurious feel, even if the
decor throughout the rest of the premises
is modest.
And while regular redecoration is
unremarkable in both institutional
environments and private homes, it should
be undertaken with caution in a dementia
facility. Making changes in any home slowly
and subtly gives residents the time they
need to get used to the new.
In conclusion, any well-designed space
will positively impact upon a resident’s
sense of belonging, general wellbeing,
health and safety. ■
Katrin Klinger is director at Collard
Maxwell Architects.