Lounging About At Avery!
Everyone likes to lounge about in their own home, and for our residents and their visitors, it’s no different. We make sure that we provide such spaces for our residents to enjoy, so they truly feel at home. An important part of supporting our residents’ well-being involves creating space for informal socialising and offering the opportunity to take part in a varied programme of organised and planned activities. We think we’ve designed lounges that do exactly that.
All of our lounges are carefully designed to feel homely, welcoming and sociable, offering residents the ideal environment to meet with fellow residents and visiting friends and family members. Smaller lounges offer a cosy area to sit with friends or family, whilst the larger lounges and living spaces provide a livelier social hub, which can be used for larger gatherings and social activities.
As people age whilst living at home, there is an increased risk of social isolation and mobility restriction that cause a gradual loss of independence. Some residents moving from their own home into a care environment can feel this sense of isolation still as they adjust to living in their new home. Providing the right spaces where residents are able to maintain existing and develop new social relationships can re-energise and combat the risks of low mood, depression and general physical decline.
Where possible, many of our lounges have direct access to outdoor spaces and fresh air via large French doors, which lead onto garden areas, patios or upper roof terraces. This is an important part of our Well-being and ReConnect strategies, as we wish to ensure that residents have the ability to enjoy outdoor spaces, whatever the weather.
Thoughtful interior design at Avery reflects the most up-to-date evidence-based research. A neutral colour palette provides the base for a variety of warm, themed accents and high-quality fabrics to provide texture, warmth and interest. Seating is varied and complements the room offering residents ample choice of where to sit and relax. The right lighting ensures a balance between the level of brightness required by ageing eyes and a relaxing and inviting atmosphere.
Creating an object rich environment is vital too and at Avery we ensure that all of our lounges and living areas include a wide variety of objects of interest for residents to interact with, either independently or with others. The artwork on our walls is carefully selected to reflect the local areas as well as key images and people from the past.
Our memory care suites also enjoy the same attention to detail, to ensure that those living with dementia have equal opportunities to engage with memorabilia in our lounges. Additional care is taken so that textures, fabrics and wall colours are as supportive and calming as possible for residents with cognitive impairment.
This means whatever the time of day, residents can choose one of these welcoming areas, be they large or small, to meet with friends, enjoy a quiet read and play games. Or just lounge about!
Article by Angela Bailey, Marketing Executive, for Welcome Home Issue 8.
