If you are looking for lighting, you can jump to our Recommended Retirement Residence Lighting Catalogue.
Lighting plays a crucial role in the overall well-being of individuals, particularly in retirement residences where they may spend a significant amount of time indoors. Proper lighting can improve mood, visibility, and overall health, while inadequate lighting can lead to discomfort, disorientation, and even depression.
With proper lighting design, residences can experience the following benefits:
- Enhanced mood and well-being: Prioritizing daylighting and/or natural lighting(especially in common areas) has been shown to positively impact mood and overall well-being. Incorporating plenty of natural line in addition to strategically placed lighting fixtures can help create the ideal uplifting environment
- Improved Safety & Visibility: As individuals age, their eyesight may diminish, and so the need for well-lit spaces is incredibly important for their safety. Proper lighting in hallways, common areas, and individual rooms can help prevent accidents, falls, and any other safety concerns for residents. A higher CRI (80+) and slightly higher colour temperature (3500K+) can help mitigate loss of colour discrimination that can occur with age.
- Support for Circadian Rhythms: Aging adults can experience disruptions to their circadian rhythm more often, which can affect their sleep patterns and energy throughout the day. By incorporating lighting solutions that mimic the natural progression of daylight like colour tunable LED's and dimmable lighting, it can help regulate resident's circadian rhythms and help them feel more energized throughout the day, and relaxed in the evenings.
Lighting Fixtures By Location
It takes time and thoughtful consideration to determine which types of fixtures would be best suited in different areas of retirement residences.
Below we've included a list of our recommended fixtures based on area:
Common Areas
- Chandelier/Pendant Lighting: depending on the style of your retirement residence, you may want to include some pendant lighting to add a touch of elegance, especially in the main lobby and dining rooms.
- Recessed Lighting: this one is a given, but having recessed lighting appropriately spread throughout all common areas will provide an abundance of light without taking up too much space. One of our favourites is the NDR Razor CCT.
- A skilled Lighting Specialist will also know best how to position recessed lighting so that it provides even illumination throughout the space and avoids glare.
- Wall Sconces: interior wall sconces are often beautifully designed and add visual interest to hallways and corridors while providing additional ambient lighting. Dals Lighting has some beautiful indoor wall sconces that our team loves.
Kitchen
- Under-Cabinet Lighting: LED strips or puck lights installed beneath kitchen cabinets provide beautiful task lighting for countertop workspaces.
- Recessed Lighting: Much like in common areas, recessed lighting is ideal in kitchen settings. Look for fixtures with a high CRI to accurately render colours of foods and better illuminate the cooking environment.
Dining Areas
- Pendant Lighting: Pendant lighting suspended above dining tables not only improves the overall aesthetic of the space, but provides appropriate ambient lighting for mealtime gatherings. Dimmable is the way to go here to allow for lighting customization throughout the day.
- Dimmable Pot lights: Ideal for adding additional lighting, but ensuring that they are dimmable is key to allowing residents to adjust the lighting to suit different activities, whether it's enjoying a leisurely meal or hosting a social event.
Hallways
- Panels: depending on the style of your retirement residence, dimmable and colour temperature (CCT) selectable panels can provide uniform lighting throughout the main corridors. CCT selectable panels are ideal as you can change the temperature to reflect circadian rhythm fluctations throughout the day, i.e. a brighter Colour temperature in the mornings, and a warmer one in the evenings. Some of our favourite panels can be found here.
- Flush Mount Ceiling Fixtures: These are a fantastic addition to hallways as well as they can create a more "home-like" feel while providing unform lighting. Dimmable is ideal as well to create both bright daylight as well as being turned into "night lights" in the late evening.
Residents' Rooms
- Bedside/Floor Lamps: Ideally with adjustable arms or dimmer switches to provide task lighting. Choose lamps with shades that diffuse light to prevent glare.
- Ceiling-Mounted Fixtures: should provide a balance of ambient lighting and task lighting. The best type would be fixtures with adjustable CCT to accommodate different preferences.
- Closet Lighting: consider installing motion-activated LED lights inside closets to make it easier for residents to locate clothing and personal items.
Lastly, don't forget that smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and exit signs should be installed all throughout the building as well.
We have a handful of recommended lighting fixtures here that have been popular choices for our Care Home customers in the past, but many of these projects have custom ordered lighting.
Truly though, our skillset is helping you light up the space to your liking. We can provide the spec, source the lighting, and find the right contractors to help you bring your vision to life. If you're working with an interior designer or you just have a specific fixture in mind, we will source it for you.
