Furnishing a studio in assisted living

[Anonymous]

If you’ve furnished a studio before, do folks typically have a small couch in addition to the obligatory recliner? The space seems large enough to include a dorm-size couch at the foot of the bed (facing the wall with the tv).

[Anonymous]

My mother wanted a place for visitors to sit...a sitting area that was homelike and less geriatric that the recliner and a couple of chairs. A sturdy slipcover, waterproof is handy.

[Anonymous]

Studios generally have room for the bed and a recliner, not an additional couch. If it’s a large studio maybe a small couch instead. But I’ve never seen a recliner and couch in a studio before. I work in the space so I’ve seen a lot of apartments across the country.

You should be able to host visitors around the community like in the living rooms, dens, courtyards or other amenity spaces.

[Anonymous]

Talk with OT and make sure that your furnishings will not interfere with mobility. Elders may need more open space, for example. The OTs usually have great advice for making spaces homier without inadvertently making them more difficult to navigate and function in.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the PP.

Also, my mom has a small couch and a second chair would have been a much better choice, but she's sure she needed two extra seats for visitors.

Instead she just piles stuff on it and there's no convenient place for her photo albums

[Anonymous]

Can you peak in to some other rooms and see what they have done?

[Anonymous]

My mom has a bed, dresser that acts as a nightstand, a recliner, a TV stand and a small round table with two chairs for extra seating.

[Anonymous]

Look into a couple of good-quality, padded folding chairs that visitors can use while there.

When visitors leave, they can fold them up and put them in closet or in a corner out of the way.

[Anonymous]

^ this. focus on making visitors comfortable

[Anonymous]

A table, again for visitors. A place to put their drink. It could be very small and folding.

[Anonymous]

Outdoors, lots of residents like a bird house (on a shepherds hook put into the ground) outside their window

[Anonymous]

Get a love seat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Studios generally have room for the bed and a recliner, not an additional couch. If it’s a large studio maybe a small couch instead. But I’ve never seen a recliner and couch in a studio before. I work in the space so I’ve seen a lot of apartments across the country.

You should be able to host visitors around the community like in the living rooms, dens, courtyards or other amenity spaces.

This is what we did with my mother. She loved that recliner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Outdoors, lots of residents like a bird house (on a shepherds hook put into the ground) outside their window

Agree. We did this and it was really nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look into a couple of good-quality, padded folding chairs that visitors can use while there.

When visitors leave, they can fold them up and put them in closet or in a corner out of the way.

This is a good idea. Visitors might not be staying long. Can also move to community spaces if they are and/or get them meal tickets if the food is halfway decent.