Top Tips For Making Your Residents' Bedrooms Feel Like Home

Moving from the comfort of a home you’ve spent many happy years in, into a care environment can be incredibly daunting. Especially as moving into a care home comes with many changes; there’s a new way of life to adjust to, there’s new people, and new routines and procedures - it’s a big change, which is why many people struggle to adapt to care home life.
 

Although moving into a care home can be daunting and can cause anxiety and stress, the good news is that there are simple ways that adapting to care home life can be made easier for new residents. Personalising each resident’s bedroom can help to create a sense of familiarity, making them feel calmer, relaxed, and more at home.
 

To help you to do that, here are some simple ideas.

 

Bedding from home
 

A simple yet effective way to help make new residents feel at home is to allow them to bring their bedding from home. If a duvet cover isn’t suitable due to the linen washing procedures in place, instead recommend that your residents bring a blanket or throw from home. Ideally, this should be something unique that helps to relax and calm them. If they’re not keen to bring something from home, suggest that they pick a new design instead. It’s incredible how adding a throw or blanket to the bed can make your residents’ rooms look and feel homier. Whether they have a patchwork quilt that they love or a knitted throw that makes them feel comfortable, it’s important to help them incorporate it into their room. Matching curtains and throw cushions can also help to personalise the space.

 

Framed photos and art prints
 

You may not allow your residents to place things on the walls of their rooms, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t personalise their rooms with family photos and pieces of art. Instead of hanging them on the walls, help your residents to display their photos and favourite pieces of art in a frame on their bedside table, shelving, or on top of their chest of drawers. Having photos dotted around will help to remind your residents that they are loved, and should also make settling into their new home a little easier.

 

Life treasures
 

As well as encouraging your residents to bring framed photos and prints with them, why not ask them if they have any life treasures that they would like to bring? Any items that they’ve collected over the course of their lives, from an engraved jewellery box to a postcard sent to them from a sibling who loved to travel, encourage them to display in their rooms. It’s amazing how having these types of trinkets and treasures on display can instantly make a space feel more homey and familiar.

 

Flowers
 

Another simple way to add a little personality to your residents’ bedrooms, and also to make them feel more welcoming, is to suggest that they add flowers to them. Fresh flowers probably aren’t the best idea as they can cause allergies in some people and can also spread bacteria. However, dried or silk flowers are perfect for brightening up the place. If they’re not a fan of dried or silk flowers, how about suggesting that they bring a non-flowering pot plant - something to add a little life to their room perhaps?

 

Hopefully, these ideas will help you to make your residents’ bedrooms feel more welcoming and homey, making the transition to care home life that little bit easier.