Senior Living Design | Memory Care
Senior living design has become a primary focus for the work we do at Studio 1-2-1. So much intentionality and thoughtfulness goes into designing interiors for senior residents and our team is passionate about it. One of our resident designers, Morgan Ridgley, gives us an inside look at the details involved when designing for our senior living clients — especially as it relates to memory care.
Deep Dive
Memory Care is specialized care for those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. It is a type of care that is featured in many of the senior living communities that our team has the opportunity to design for. Memory Care is a thoughtful approach that utilizes interior design elements to nurture residents who may have memory loss or cognitive decline.
Redstone Village (2015)
Wayfinding
Morgan iterates that the most important part of interior design in these environments is wayfinding and safety. Wayfinding “refers to information systems that guide people through a physical environment and enhance their understanding and experience of the space.” Designing wayfinding paths for residents may look like incorporating familiar symbology to direct them to their room or a common area.
Dark patterns or too much contrast in the flooring can often trick the eye and become disorienting for the residents. Certain types of busy patterns that are used in various design elements can be disruptive to memory-impaired residents.
“A successfully designed memory care space is one where a resident can navigate their environment safely, maintain dignity, and interact with their surroundings in a positive way.”
In Color
Similar to designing with certain patterns in mind, we’ve discovered a trend in color palettes that are used in these spaces…
The Preserve (2020)
We’ve found success using cooler tones of blue and green in designing for common areas. They are a subtle reminder for subconscious serenity.
It’s All in the Details
Our team is thoughtful in our approach in order to make sure that memory care designs are functional, thoughtful, and have a strong point of view.
Often in memory care, we will provide life skill stations for the residents. These are spaces which are often themed around tasks or hobbies that the residents would have done in the past. These spaces include items for the residents to interact with that help to create meaningful activities for engagement and to support long-term memory.
The Preserve (2020): a dressing station, complete with sun hats, sunglasses, scarves and bags
Redstone Village (2015)
These can be simple household tasks such as cooking or laundry, or as involved as career-focused stations. At The Preserve in Fort Myers, we utilized the wall space in the corridors to create vignettes which read like artwork, but are designed to be engaged with.
The Preserve (2020): a fishing station which features rods and reels, tackle, and books about local waterways
The Preserve (2020)
We utilized built-in shelving in this great room to house items which appear at first glance as decorative accessories, but are actually designed for interactions. Residents can interact with thoughtfully curated items on the shelves that are themed around cooking, laundry, sewing, and gardening. We designed this space with room to grow. Baskets are ready to be filled with additional items that can be tailored to the specific interests of the residents once the staff has had time to learn their individual stories.