It can be a challenge to find attractive-looking home adaptations.
Grab rails, adjustable beds, stair lifts… you name it. Most available adaptive equipment has been manufactured with efficiency in mind, leaving aesthetics to fall to the wayside.
But who says it has to be that way?
At the John Ford Group, we firmly believe home-based adaptations can be both pleasing to the eye and practical. Not only does overall appearance matter, but colour scheme can have a huge impact on an individual’s state of mind and ability to recuperate.
Let’s look at why.
Aesthetics Are Important
Most of us put time and effort into designing our homes if we are able. Not only can a great interior design job optimise light flow and room to manoeuvre, but we simply love to personalise our spaces.
Homes designed with attention to a client’s tastes and needs are far more likely to keep them in a positive mood than badly organised rooms and clutter in every direction. Living in a space that doesn’t work for you can be frustrating and stressful, making you feel overwhelmed and even leading to anxiety issues.
At the John Ford Group, we know that adaptations support customers and patients physically, emotionally and mentally. Enhancing the way home adaptations look, from clinical and boring to homely and stylish, can have further reaching influences than just a nice-looking room. It can really change a patient’s mood and behaviour.
Home, Not Hospital
These days it has become more common for end-of-life, elderly and disabled patients to decide to return home instead of stay within a care facility.
Being able to live at home once a patient or customer doesn’t need hospital care often provides many positives:
- Living at home is more dignifying and provides a sense of normality
- The patient’s sleep quality vastly improves; hospitals are full of chatter, interruptions and machine noises.
- There is far less risk of infection.
- Familiar surroundings go hand in hand with mental well-being, especially if paired with support from family and friends, which is much easier at home.
It makes sense then, that adaptations introduced to a patient or customer’s house will blend in and make the person feel more comfortable if they don’t look clinical and unattractive.
Adaptations and installed accessible equipment shouldn’t compromise on the look and feel of what makes a house a much-loved home.
Colours Are An Emotive Language
From an early age, we learn that specific colours come with close associations, and as we grow, we adopt the use of colour to convey thoughts, feelings and messages.
As adults, we tend to have a solid understanding of the psychology of colours, even if we’re unaware of it! It’s one of the reasons many of us love emojis. The bright and brilliant colours of the icons help to get across how we’re feeling without the use of words.
Though our understanding of colour psychology is only just scraping the tip of the iceberg, it’s clear that the colours around us can profoundly affect how we feel and behave. For example, individuals with increased sensory responses and other cognitive differences, such as people who are Autistic or who have ADHD, may be more sensitive to vibrant colours.
Not only can colour affect our psychology, but studies show that responses to colour can also cross over to the physiological realm. Studies on these effects found that blood pressure and heart rate were impacted by colour, to name a few of the physiological measures recorded.
The Importance Of Colour Schemes
To optimise a home space for a patient or customer with limited mobility, consider making colour choices – for both the interior setting and any adaptations included – that will promote feelings of relaxation and calm. A stressed body doesn’t operate as well as a restful one.
Red, orange and yellow are ‘warm’ colours and are considered to be stimulating colours. It has even been indicated that babies cry more in yellow rooms! Unless you want to create a super-stimulating environment deliberately, it’s best to keep these colours to a minimum.
Greens and blues are ‘cool’ colours and provide a more calming effect. Have you ever noticed how hospitals and other care settings often follow this scheme? Green has also been shown to reduce stress and relax the nervous system.
Home Aesthetics, Sight Loss And Dementia
As we age, the lens in our eye naturally thickens. For this reason, many older people find colours lose their vibrancy. Blues, greens and purples may become harder to differentiate, whereas the warmer colours such as red, yellow and orange remain easier to identify.
When considering colour schemes around the home of an older patient or customer, or someone with dementia, it is crucial to keep tonal contrast in mind. Using tonal contrast, or the difference in brightness between areas, to highlight critical surfaces and areas is a really helpful tool. that can help someone stay and feel safe in their home. For example, ensuring handrails, toilet seats and step edges stand out can help a user stay and feel safe in their home independently.
For patients with dementia, most experts agree that the use of colour can help improve quality of life. For one thing, colours offer patients with cognitive impairment an alternative method of communication, meaning caregivers can more easily get to grips with how their counterpart is feeling.
Home Adaptations Don’t Have To Stand Out
And it can help an individual feel more dignified and comfortable if they blend in. And since colours surrounding us can impact how we’re feeling, it’s worthwhile investing in adaptations that enhance a home’s feeling of comfort.
Taking individual needs into account when planning to install any sort of home adaptation makes all the difference for those living with limited mobility at home. And not just their physical needs but their emotional and mental needs too.
Are you looking to make some changes in a home setting and unsure what’s out there to choose? Let our friendly team help. Call us today and start making someone’s life easier and more fulfilling.
