HOMES THAT CARE
danfloor looks at what inclusive design means from an elderly user’s perspective and advises on how to achieve this with carpets.
The term inclusive design isn't about making a place or experience accessible for those with a disability it's about making it usable for everyone.
Inclusive design is considered best practice and is reinforced by legislation under the Equality Act 2010 that states that service providers should avoid discriminating against people based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sex.
When it comes to designing interiors for the elderly care sector, there are many elements to consider to make interiors inclusive. People and their needs change all the time. Those using the space may include elderly residents, members of staff and people who come to visit, all of whom have various needs, so considering inclusive design at the earliest stage possible will ensure everyone's needs are being met within a comfortable and beautiful interior.
By using integrated design principles for an inclusive scheme, you're not having to segment people into places or areas your allowing people to utilise the whole environment and giving them access to the wider community.
As previously mentioned, there are many design considerations to take into account and an interior designer with extensive knowledge about inclusive design can guide you through the whole process. However, from danfloor's
42 | RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES
perspective, there are many features within our range of carpets that aid with inclusive design principles.
Let's take Sam, for example, they're 89 and living in a residential care home with dementia. This presents Sam with many challenges, one of which is their deteriorating eyesight. Their vision has become distorted and they no longer see colour and contrast as they used to. Plus, their hearing has been affected and they now find it hard to filter out unwanted noise like they used to. As with many older people, Sam also feels the cold and likes a warm and cosy environment.
Because of this Sam has become uneasy on their feet and uses a walking aid to navigate their bedroom, which has ensuite facilities, and the care home communal spaces where they like to join friends for social activities and mealtimes.
When considering flooring options, we need to tick many boxes here.
BREAKING DOWN ANY BARRIERS Firstly, Sam needs to navigate their room effectively so they can use the bathroom as and when nature calls without any visual barriers. This means there needs to be very little contrast in colour between the flooring finish in the bedroom carpet, the joining strip between the bedroom and the sheet vinyl finish within the ensuite. All three products need to have a light reflectance value (LRV) within 8 points of each other.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
