Activities rooms form a really important part of the daily life of a care home, bringing residents, staff and family together to enjoy engaging and creative pastimes.
When we are designing the interiors for care homes one of our most important considerations is to ask our clients how where resident activities will take place? Research shows that everyone living in a care home and particularly people affected by dementia can benefit positively from the social and creative aspects of person centred activities such as art, games, music and gardening as well as activities personal to residents such as a trip to the harbour for a passionate sailor.
Whilst many activities can take place in day spaces and integrated into corridors it’s a great to have a bright and welcoming designated activity space. When designing a space for activities we would recommend considering the following:
• Plenty of storage so that the focus of the room can be on the activity taking place
• A mixture of tables to allow for group and individual activities
• Pin boards for displaying art
• Enhanced lighting / lux levels
• Access to a sink
• Vinyl flooring
• An activity board clearly showing what’s going on when and where in the home
Although well designed spaces for activities are invaluable the only limit to the activities available in your homes is your imagination