Interior design


after all, that is what you are selling - but environment matters to residents, to their families, and to your increasingly hard to find members of staff.


Defining a theme To define interior branding goals, it makes sense to begin with budget. Use of colour is an easy win with almost no cost implication. Park Grove designed an assisted living facility that was literally located in the middle of a roundabout off the A406 in London. There was no real budget to speak of, but there are colour ‘pops’ apparent throughout the building in terms of furniture and paintwork. Upholstering chair backs in a strong colour combination, linking to a feature wall paint, creates an instant scheme that can look both smart and unique. There is an oversized wallpaper on one wall - not an expensive option but one with major impact. Hotel projects have been going this route for a while, but it is critical in making such choices that the idea of ‘home’ is always in mind. Options must also be site appropriate. We would not use this example in a dementia area, for instance, but it undoubtedly has impact and a unique sense of place. An artwork theme can be another


cost-effective option for developing your brand. The Queensbury hotel in Bath has built its entire brand on Victorian cartoons, which look fun and fresh when mixed into its Georgian surroundings. Instead of ‘standard’ care home images of swans and flowers, you might look into fun, uplifting, and even irreverent artwork options.


Differentiation, differentiation, differentiation Interior branding is about market differentiation, so you must also look at what your competition is doing. In the world


Elmbridge corridor


according to Google, in Hull the summers are ‘short, comfortable, and partly cloudy and the winters are long, very cold, windy, and mostly cloudy’. There is a care project in Hull in which


architects and designers have created a unique covered indoor/outdoor area that can be used year-round. Creating an interior brand with this as a starting place would be relatively easy with real and excellent fake plants used throughout along with biophilic design principles.


You could be the home of oversized


electric fireplaces, or if you are working on a new build, will you be the super contemporary option? Park Grove developed a project where each resident bedroom was designed based on a famous clothing designer; Ralph Lauren, Coco Chanel and so on. If you have a fantastic activities director, why not highlight music and the arts?


Open door policy?


Your home could be the one that brings the outside community in. A cafe/bistro can add an additional revenue stream, but only if people really want to go there. Let’s face it, not many people are anxious to go out for the day to get a cup of coffee at a care home or integrated retirement community. If you are going to compete with the


High Street, you really need to compete with an interior and menu that are up to the task. Simply because it is trendy does not automatically make it unsuitable for residents - it simply means they may get more visitors and more community interaction.


A dog’s life As part of brainstorming themes, I will use an example of one which would be quite challenging. I am not suggesting you necessarily invite dogs into your home, but let us consider the type of considerations you would have to review if you did. The model is the same regardless of the interior branding theme you choose. If dogs were to be part of your brand,


you would begin by reviewing where in the home you would be putting, or in this case allowing, the intervention. For this example, we will imagine dogs to be allowed in ground floor private resident rooms with direct exterior access, and perhaps one communal area so all residents can benefit. If the interior brand concept was plants, you would begin by looking at where you have natural daylight in the building. What surface finishes are appropriate


John Dower lounge at John Dower House, Cheltenham 18


for your concept? Using our dog example research would need to take place into vinyl


www.thecarehomeenvironment.com February 2022


©Park Grove Design


©Park Grove Design


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