Interior design
for ideology and religion. Blue for calm – as well as health, melancholy, security, spirituality, and oh so many football teams... Layered on top of these cultural learnings, every individual too will have their own preferences, as well as a lifetime of experience and connotations. The picture is complex.
There is some science that is relevant. The lenses in our eyes begin to yellow as we age, which can make it harder to distinguish between yellow and green, and blue from purple.3 dull and grey.4
Lilac may begin to appear While this can be relevant
for signposting, when it comes to soft furnishings, the nuances of colour sight loss may be less important. In this context, the key thing with colour is to achieve contrast. A darker version of the same colour is ideal for providing contrast, rather than an extreme opposite. This helps to draw attention as well as making edges more visibly perceptible.
What sort of curtain is best for a care home? Once you have chosen an appropriate colour and pattern and, identified where leading edges can help to make items more distinguishable, you will need to choose the type of window dressing. Generally, eyelet curtains on a pole are the best choice for care home bedrooms. The eyelet heading type uses a robust metal ring that is punched into the heading and fully secured. This makes the curtain tough, long lasting, and resistant to heavy-handed opening and closing, with a timeless, neat design.
By contrast, pencil pleat and pinch pleat
headed curtains use curtain hooks, and they can pop out if the person pulling the curtains is over-zealous in their opening and closing. In a more relaxed environment,
Eyelet curtains on a pole are a good, hardwearing choice for care home bedrooms
A contrasting coloured border helps make the edge of a bedspread more perceptible
pencil pleat is a common and aesthetic heading type that is suitable in almost any interior.
A pencil pleat heading on a track or
an eyelet heading on a pole underneath a pelmet can be a stylistic choice that fits well in a care home that has adopted a more traditional décor. In high end establishments, a pinch pleat heading may be chosen for its more formal look. Once you have reached a decision on heading type, you can then consider curtain length, i.e. the drop. There are four usual styles for curtain drop: just above the windowsill, just below the windowsill, just touching the floor, and pooling on the floor. In a care home, usually just below the windowsill is suitable for most windows, although a floor-length curtain would be required for any full length-windows or French doors. In some instances, floor length curtains for a window may be chosen to help keep warmth in.
In a care home environment, floor length curtains should finish around 20-30mm above the floor – this makes it easier to clean around, reduces the chance of trips, and ensures that any liquid that has reached the floor is not wicked up by the curtain. Pooling curtains are not appropriate in this environment because of the wicking factor, and they can cause a trip hazard.
Maximising light Considered use of colour can have a positive effect April 2025
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
When it comes to the width of a curtain, being able to fully retract them is essential. Maximising light is important in care homes, and ideally, natural light. Anyone with reduced visual acuity will benefit from greater light, so being able to fully retract
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