I just returned from a wonderful Christmas spent with my husband’s family in Pittsburgh. During our time there, I visited the assisted living community where his grandmother resides. It is a gorgeous facility, lavishly decorated, yet still quite cozy. I almost felt as if I were walking around in someone’s home. My in-laws shared that the facility administrator had done all of the decorating on her own, and I was impressed by what a personal touch her work had left on the building.

A few years ago, while attending a conference sponsored by ASA and GSA (American Society on Aging and the Gerontological Society of America), I participated in a fascinating workshop on interior design and the important though often unseen role it plays in a senior living facility. It’s not just about making a place look good in order to impress prospective residents and their family members. While that is important, the workshop’s presenters stated that there are certain aspects of design of which more developers of senior living facilities should be aware.

While the gorgeous patterns in an elaborate carpet might make for an impressive entryway or hallway, it could be a hazard for cognitively or vision-impaired residents.  For those with dementia and related disorders, depth perception is often an issue, and a busy pattern makes walking all the more confusing. The same principle applies to those with vision impairments.

Another component of design that would make life easier for residents traveling the hallways of senior living facilities across the country is both the color of the handrails and the color of the walls. Think of it this way – wouldn’t those with vision impairments find it much easier to grab a white handrail against the backdrop of a dark-colored wall, or vice versa? The importance of contrast is often overlooked as many designers seek out a soft, neutral, relaxing palette of taupes, beiges, and creams. But imagine a person with vision impairments trying to locate an ivory-colored handrail against a light beige wall – not so easy!

These two examples have always stuck with me. It makes so much sense, and yet how many facilities actually take these and other design basics into consideration?  How many of these professionals actually go into a senior living community with the purpose of designing the building as if they were the seniors who would be living there, trying to maneuver its hallways with any number of the physical challenges that aging folks are faced with daily?  Many nursing and medical school programs now require that students spend time experiencing what it might be like to live as an older person with disabilities (perhaps wearing glasses covered in Vaseline to simulate the effects of macular degeneration, for example). I think it would behoove senior living designers to do the same. Save the neutral tones for your home resale – let’s bring some contrast and senior-friendly features to these buildings!

- Michelle Seitzer