When we have to send a loved one into long-term nursing care, we want to make the room as inviting and homelike as we can. Our loved one is going to be spending a lot of time in that room, and we want to make it as comfortable as possible. It's not hard to make a nursing home room cheerful, but it's easy to get carried away and make decorating choices that make it hard to live in.

Avoid These Common Nursing Home Decorating Misadventures

Take Big, Comfy Furniture

Dad's recliner may not look so big in his own den, but when it goes into a small nursing home room it's dimensions are going to grow. Remember that recliners need space to recline, which means that they usually need to be away from the wall. Keep in mind too that the resident may have other equipment, like a wheelchair or a walker, that will have to be stored in the room. Unless your elder is in a private room with plenty of space, there probably won't be room for big furniture.

Buy Matching Curtains and Spreads

The window decor in many nursing homes is made from specially treated, non-flammable fabrics. These facilities will not allow you to change the curtains or draperies. You will be able to bring whatever you would like to cover the bed. Most older people have a favorite blanket or throw. Instead of buying a bedspread, use this as a coverlet. It will mean one less thing to store and will allow your loved one to have this favorite item handy to see and use.

Put Favorite Photos Close By

Cherished photographs are important. They remind nursing home patients of happy times and of loved ones who care. Photographs in nursing homes belong on the walls, not on the bed table or dresser. There is little enough space on the bed table for the tissue box, the telephone, the TV remote, the eyeglasses, and the other detritus of daily living. Photographs get knocked off and the glass breaks. Other residents of the nursing home with memory "issues" walk off with them. It's safer for both the nursing home resident and the picture to hang it safely on the wall. Make enlargements if favorite photos would be hard to see clearly from the bed.

Fill The Room With Flowers

Flowers and plants are cheerful. They bring the sunshine in on the gloomiest day. They also need care. Cut flowers need the water changed daily or they get rank, smell bad, and breed bacteria and fungus. Green plants need regular watering. You can't rely on the nursing home staff to do these things when they have so many people who need care. Bring a colorful silk plant or bouquet. You can rinse the dust off every few weeks or months, and you can change it out with the seasons for variety. The nursing home will bless you.

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