A crowd gathers around the bar in the library during happy hour. In the cozy lobby, a fire glows in the stone fireplace, and small groups of friends can be found chatting or playing a game while enjoying music from a baby grand piano.
Country Meadows and Ecumenical Retirement Community work hard to create welcoming environments like this—places where people feel very much at home. That feeling is part of the experiential interior design orchestrated by the organizations’ own design team comprised of three interior designers.
Renovations and new construction such as this dining room at Country Meadows of Allentown, utilize modern design techniques and elegant touches in concert with ergonomic features, to capture a warm environment while providing function for residents to move about the community.
“Everything is planned with our residents in mind and how they will use and experience the spaces. It’s design that encourages a lifestyle that supports our residents’ wellness and well-being,” explains Susan Seiple, senior design coordinator.
Experiential interior design goes beyond style and function to influence the way a person feels about and interacts with a space. The design team uses color, fabric, textures, furniture, accessories and finishes to create a look and feel that inspires warmth, activity, friendship and community.
The team is charged with interior design from concept to completion for renovations as well as new buildings, selecting attractive carpeting, draperies, furniture, plants and décor; nearly every item in each building was selected by a team member.
“We really work well as a team. We set a vision, divide the work and plan different areas separately,” says Seiple. “It’s really so well integrated that you can’t tell who did what.”
Furniture and accessories are just like those found in people’s homes. Dining rooms feature tables dressed for dinner with linens, upholstered chairs with casters and elegant place settings.
“We work hard to find furniture that has the proper dimensions to be comfortable and usable for seniors but doesn’t look institutional. Our fabrics are very durable and the chair seats are firm with arms to help our residents get in and out easily,” says Seiple. “We also include a few options of chair seat heights so everyone from short to tall can be comfortable.”
Campus libraries invite residents to select a book from the well-stocked shelves or serve as places for quiet reflection. Many feature fireplaces and comfortable chairs for those who want to sit and read and tables for game playing. Movie rooms, chapels and other gathering areas feature attractive elements intentionally selected for functionality.
Special touches are continued through every level of care at each campus. Connections Neighborhoods—secured areas for residents with serious dementia—continue with similar color themes and cheerful environments.
“The differences are really for safety, so we use beautiful centerpieces that won’t shatter if accidentally dropped and a patterned luxury vinyl floor in the dining room rather than carpet for quicker and easier cleaning,” says Seiple.
Artwork placed throughout buildings includes everything from contemporary pieces to landscapes. Many residents use décor as a “map,” to assist with finding their way around campus. This is why each area has a theme such as trees or florals.
Seiple says that first impressions are very important to help visitors immediately get a sense about the comfortable lifestyle and great care they’ll experience at Country Meadows and Ecumenical Retirement Community. “We want our buildings to feel like home, and we feel like we’ve achieved that from the comments we hear when people walk through the door,” says Seiple, sharing a resident compliment that made her day. “A gentleman said, ‘I can’t believe I’m here, I feel like I’m in a dream.’”