apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Pick colors that make people of all ages cheerful. You don't want to choose colors that are somber and depressing and inspire dreary thoughts of mortality. There are colors that invoke happy memories and freshness. I say go for a yellow wall (in a soft shade) and a grass-green color for the doors. Sun and grass? That would make me happy.

I don't have any suggestions for colors. But, I would suggest large-ish apartment numbers and directional signs.

Depending on the layout of the complex, I'd consider different signature colours for different areas as a means of wayfinding. This would be very useful if there were multiple levels and/or separate wings of the complex. Integrate bold numbering and signage into the colour scheme so that you've got something appealing without appearing condescending.

I agree with heatherleaf's suggestion of a soft yellow wall. Perhaps something like Behr's Pale Daffodil shade - it reflects light beautifully and looks good with a number of combinations.

I love this question!

I know from my nana's experience with senior housing that paint colors and lighting were very important to her. She had significant issues with her vision as she got older and so did many of her neighbors.

I would pick three colors that are not too bright, not too dull (light yellow, light blue, etc. - white doors?). I'd paint three doorways (door and surrounding wall) and let the residents vote after living with it for a week or so. I'd also consider a different paint color for each hallway, so the residents can know immediately from the wall color if they're on the right floor. Good luck!

I'd like to second different colorways for each floor, and larger sinage. Maybe white for doors and trim, is the carpet staying?

I would try for elegant neutrals. Nothing that looks like it would belong on a hospital wall, no greens, no stark whites, no flesh tones. Get a fanbook from Restoration Hardware -- their paint selection is small enough and foolproof so it will be easy to make good choices (and you can get the color mixed to match elsewhere if budget is an issue).

I have heard this discussed before... and the point that usually comes up is the fact that as we age, the eyes yellow. I don't know how extreme it is, but if you are looking through a yellow-tinted filter, that effects the colors you see.
I'm not a doctor, but I've herd this brought up as a fact in discussions multiple times. Hope this helps some!

speaking as a nurse who works with the elderly often, I am with msunreliable's suggestions-colored coded wings, floors, and larger door numbers-in a plain font; I'd also recommend, as someone else did, giving the seniors some kind of voice in the selection-it's psychologically important to have some choice, especially when your independance may be limited. that's my 0.02...

I love the idea of picking a few colors you could live with and letting the residents vote on their favorites.

Since the hallway is dark, I'd go with lighter, happy colors.

IS the carpet navy? If so, I'd paint the doors and trim white, paint a warm gold on the bottom part of the wall and a pale creamy gold on the top.

In my experience older people like vibrant purples and turquoise. I had trouble talking my grandma into repainting her purple bedroom when it was time to sell her house and an even harder time not having her paint her new apartment in colors drawn from her favorite jacket.Our landlord just painted our century old building. Pale yellow walls with a soft pewter grey wainscotting and the elderly people in our building hated it. I would also suggest picking a few color schemes that you like and posting them in the common area for the residents to vote on.

High contrast between the floor and wall, and the door and wall -- it should be easy to spot where a door is.

White or pale as background, with dark trim and a different, occupant-select medium color for each door.

Working in an "institutional" environment myself I find that any effort to go for cheerful usually ends up harsh and cool. Light blues, greens and yellows tend to be the go-to colours and they never work for what is intended (come off as harsh and uncomfortable). Do you have flourescent lighting?

I think warm tones are the way to go...

I really like a white and yellow combination. Can't seem to find a good picture of what I have in mind right away, but perhaps something in these tones
or these would give some idea.
To me it looks like a peaceful, yet cheerful combination.

If you believe in color therapy, yellow is supposed to prevent depression and inspire optimism and sociability. And if you believe in color symbolism, yellow is supposed to be associated with wisdom and clarity. That's valuable for any age, but perhaps even more so for the elderly, wouldn't you say?

I'd choose Lime Green below the chair rail, Candy Pink doors and trim and big bold banana-leaf wallpaper above the chair rail.

Who could be depressed in a place like that?

Yellow in a sun filled room may be cheerful, but in the wrong lighting (like a hallway with no natural light) it always looks gross and institutional to me. I think the intent is to look neutral and cheerful and it just looks dated and like it needs to be repainted.

"Cheerful" to me is bold, bright and crisp. Just because they are old, doesn't mean they like dowdy. I'd go for crisp color- white on the door and chair rails / molding, and a dark peacock or purple below the chair rail and a soft silver gray above the chair rail with a light reflective finish. (maybe- as suggested above, different colors for different floors.)
I also like the idea of a vote.

It may not be in your budget or schedule at the moment, but I would suggest sconce lighting down the hallway. It would be much brighter and softer than the current overhead light, which casts shadows. I think it would also make the hallway feel more spacious. Changing the lighting makes a world of difference.

I like the thought of giving the residents a choice among limited options -- what a great idea!

Just for what it's worth, my grandfather is in an assisted living facility that has a really lovely color scheme (that reminds me of food ...). The walls are a soft taupe -- about the color of a cafe latte -- with very pale cream trim; I think the doors are deep burgundy. (Not the 90s tacky maroon, but a pretty, rich cranberry color.) I think the public areas like the dining room are the latte color with a darker coffee colorwashing (or some kind of finish anyway) to snazz it up a little.

Put an emphasis on proper lighting that doesn't make up a lot of shadows. I am not elderly or in special housing, but just for example, my landlord/mgmt. co. painted the hallways a yucky caramel brown, and just the change from a previous light color (very pale blue almost white) to a relatively soft light-to-medium color makes the halls seem a lot darker and difficult to see, not to mention it's a depressing, what I believe is called "tenement brown" now. Whatever they call caramel or coffee or toffee on the paint chip is kind of gross in reality, so think of it that way.

I also recall when I turned 16 and I got my own room when my brother moved out, I wanted a light blue painted on the walls, and my parents went to the hardware store and picked out something that I was never happy with. Out of a hundred technical definitions of that word, they went with the one in the basic brochure, instead of offering to me an opportunity to decide amongst all the paint chips properly.

Anything medium or bright is likely to seem darker and duller, especially without proper lighting. Anything cheerful is likely to seem heinous to someone, heinous in a juvenile way, heinous in a "this color scheme doesn't match" kind of way, but if you steer away from colors that can be construed as juvenile in an effort to be sophisticated, they can be too dusky and muted and depressing. Look at some of the color contest entrants and along the comments of "who could be depressed in these colors," actually people can be agitated if you are painting nursery colors and spumoni combinations. It's just not what everyone likes. Anyone's pale yellow suggestion could be the difference between a very lovely color of a flower, a neutral-gender baby's room happy ducky yellow, and that pancake batter color everyone says they hate.

I'm sorry I don't know more about color "psychology", but it's hard to offer something tasteful and lively to people with certainly their advanced age and residence situations in common, and nothing else you could define as a group preference.

Sandra-

Can you open it up to discussion with the seniors that are going to be occupying the space? I don't think that you have to have a multiple of colors but maybe a couple of color schemes that work well and let the residents vote on it, that way you know that your choice aren't done in vein or to the detriment to the people that are seeing it every day.

That being said I know that often when people start loosing their sight that nice bright colors are helpful -- although they can also overwhelm -- so a palette that contains a few brings mixed in with neutrals is always a good way to go.

Maybe something like this
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/look/look-colorful-new-england-trim-colors-068471

I second (fifth?) the different colors for different areas, and the high-contrast suggestions. And cataracts do make things yellower.

Take the hallway lighting into consideration!!

They just redid my building's hallways, and while the wall and trim colours go together, they look like hell under the fluorescent lighting, and like double-hell against the carpet.

As Anna (Atlanta) stated, the eyes do yellow quite a bit as you age. This is why institution homes often seem "cool" or "cold" to younger people (at least, if they are designed with the elderly in mind). Cool fluorescent lighting is horrible at a 40 year old's home, but in a nursing home, it helps counteract their aging eyes. Because of this, I would strongly suggest moving towards the "cool" colors-and, as others have stated, involve your residents.

Definitely poll the residents and see what they would like the most.

Don't underestimate seniors' taste in colors. So many people associate colors like dusty rose or periwinkle blue with older people, but I have an aunt who is well over 70 and loves bright colors (if she were allowed to paint her apartment it would probably resemble Betty Suarez' pad).

I agree with the bright colors comments...my grandma and her friends never picked out neutrals or pastels. They usually chose medium to bright colors with contrast or light and med/dark value combinations. I also like the comments about the sconce lighting. Not only would it improve the lighting situation, it is very elegant and decreases glare. Comments about painting each floor with a different color combo are great too!

just ask them.

my grandmother's place was pink, but my grandpa's is neon green & dark gray. you never know.

As a professional designer and Certified Aging in Place Specialist, I second the suggestion made above about a clear contrast between the wall and door colors. Seniors often have vision issues and low-contrast is hard for them to navigate.

When your budget allows, I would also recommend changing the door knobs to door levers. These are much easier to open for folks with arthritis, Parkinsons, or just a handful of packages to operate.

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