Flooring design plays an essential role in creating a safe, home-like environment for individuals living with dementia. The right flooring solutions in both public and private care facilities can help reduce anxiety, minimize the risk of slips and falls, and encourage residents to stay active for longer periods.
In dementia care facilities, the choice of flooring is vital for both safety and comfort. The right combination of texture, pattern, and colour can significantly impact the well-being of residents, influencing their overall comfort and ease of navigation.
When specifying flooring for dementia care, a unique approach is needed. In addition to balancing practicality, budgets and aesthetics, specifiers must prioritise the perceptual and visual needs of those with dementia to create environments that are both functional and supportive of residents' cognitive and emotional needs.
Tonal contrast for easy navigation
One of the most significant flooring considerations for dementia care is tonal contrast. Studies have shown that high-contrast patterns can cause confusion, distress and even falls because colours, patterns and shapes may be misinterpreted as obstacles that need to be avoided.
To prevent these challenges, it's essential to choose calming, neutral flooring colours that promote a safe and easily navigable environment. Avoiding abrupt colour transitions, especially between rooms or at doorways, is key to reducing confusion. For instance, sudden changes in flooring colour can give the illusion of a step, causing individuals to trip as they high-step unnecessarily. Dark colours might be misinterpreted as holes, prompting those with dementia to avoid them or try to navigate around them.
Advance Flooring’s vinyl and carpet ranges offer a variety of solid colours that allow for soft, tonal continuity throughout a space. For entrance mats, a bronze anodized frame with brown inserts, for example, can help blend in with the overall décor, creating a smooth, safe transition. Extending the matting from wall to wall, as well as ensuring contrast between walls and floors, provides clear visual cues to guide residents safely.
Low-profile polyamide matting for safety and compliance
Minimising changes in flooring heights is especially important in entranceways and other high-traffic areas, as sudden height variations can cause confusion or become tripping hazards. Dementia sufferers are often frail and prone to falls, so eliminating these risks is crucial.
Raised mats can be particularly dangerous, which is why it's essential to specify low-profile matting systems. Advance Flooring offers a range of low-profile 10mm matting solutions that are designed to reduce trip hazards and make entranceways more accessible for people using walkers or wheelchairs.
For added safety, our polyamide insert mats can absorb up to 5.6 litres of moisture per square metre and trap solid particles, ensuring floors stay clean and dry. These mats also meet the required 2.2 kW/m² critical radiant flux (CRF) for fire safety compliance.
Beyond mats: Complete flooring solutions
In addition to entrance matting, Advance Flooring offers a variety of other flooring solutions that are ideal for dementia care environments. Our vinyl and carpet options come in a range of finishes that are easy to clean, durable and designed to reduce risks for residents. For example:
- Vinyl flooring: Our high-quality vinyl flooring options are slip-resistant, fire-rated and easy to maintain, making them ideal for corridors, dining rooms and common areas.
- Carpet flooring: Soft and homelike, our carpets provide warmth and comfort for living areas while offering durability and easy cleaning.
- Rubber flooring: In high-traffic areas such as activity rooms or hallways, our eco-friendly rubber flooring offers excellent noise reduction, slip-resistance and ease of maintenance.
These solutions, combined with proper matting and tonal contrast, contribute to a safe, inviting and functional environment for individuals with dementia.
Improving Quality of Life
Spaces that feel like home are proven to help people with dementia stay active and engaged for longer. With the right combination of flooring solutions, you can create dementia-friendly environments that are both safe and aesthetically pleasing. The right flooring enhances both functionality and the overall quality of life for residents, making it easier for them to navigate spaces and feel comfortable in their surroundings.
At Advance Flooring, we understand the importance of designing spaces that promote well-being while also meeting all safety standards. From entrance matting to complete floor systems, we provide tailored solutions that improve safety, enhance the care environment, and, most importantly, support residents’ quality of life.