Lesson 27 : Functional Interior Options - Independent Living / Retirement Homes
Colour in retirement homes
Through motion pictures and photographs give some idea of what it might be like to live in a world that is colored in shades of gray. However, it would be much more difficult to imagine a world where there were colors, but they were indistinguishable in many cases and shades of certain colors were nonexistent. It would be similar to wearing glasses with yellow lenses. This is the type of colored world that many people progressively experience after the age of forty caused by a condition called presbyopia. Presbyopia is an age-related illness caused by the hardening of the variable lens, which decreases the eyes' ability to accommodate. These dead cells cause visual images to be seen as if through a yellow lens. The process occurs so gradually that most people do not notice the colors and lights getting dimmer. This could be an explanation of why nursing homes are thought to be so drab by the elderly yet so pleasant to others. Rooms decorated in pastels or blues may seem to be just shades of dirty gray to the aging. It has been shown in several studies that the colors in our surroundings affect our moods. Therefore, it would be safe to assume that the drab colors seen by the aging in nursing homes might negatively affect their mental state. An effort should be made to decorate the interior in colors more suitable to the presbyopic eye, even though the combinations may not be as pleasing to the younger eye. Using colors that the residents actually see might increase positive feelings towards the atmosphere and the home altogether. Colours has to be of pastel shades and refreshing like light blue, light green etc.
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