Excitement is still in the air in Wing 5 at Woodlands. This unique community within Woodlands is connected by a short hallway to the main building and is steps away from all of the amenities that Woodlands offers while also featuring its own entrance. This branch of the Woodlands main campus building underwent an interior makeover in the past few years and is looking fresher than ever. Residents were delighted by the wonderful new carpeting, furniture and artwork in all the common areas of the building.
Interior design was completed through a partnership between Impact Interiors and designer Joan Nicol-Hoium, who specializes in senior living spaces. Each floor has a new and distinguished appearance with accents inspired by the gorgeous natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. The improved spaces are sure to catch the attention of both current and prospective residents. We spent some time with the designer and a Wing 5 resident to find out about what all went into this project.
Behind the design
Creating interiors for senior housing spaces poses unique challenges. Specific needs must be considered such as ergonomic furniture. Joan is no stranger to Woodlands or designing for seniors. Woodlands welcomes her back to the community after she helped redesign the dining room and the front lobby a few years back. She also renovated the first level of the healthcare center and the chapel. Joan has made connections with the staff and residents, and she has a good idea of what they’re looking for when creating a warm, welcoming environment.
“I start each project from the ground up. I make my flooring decision and from there the furniture, artwork and window treatments. I take the architecture into consideration, as well as the people who live there. Designing for senior living is its own little niche within the design field,” Joan explained. “I went over everything with the staff and we talked about things like quality, aesthetics, and comfort for residents. The most important consideration for community spaces at Woodlands is comfort.”
“The intent was not to just freshen it up, but rather to bring it into the 21st century. We’ve used a lot of clean lines instead of curvy carved wood in the furniture. The fabrics are a little bit more contemporary in their patterns. We didn’t use a lot of big flowery types of things.”
On each floor of the building, there are two wings with a common sitting room. The half dozen or so lounges had all previously been color coordinated. Visually it was pleasing, but it was difficult not to notice when a piece of furniture had been moved to a different lounge. For this renovation, Joan tried to standardize the spaces so that furniture and accents could intermingle better.
Joan described her design approach. “I took inspiration from the natural surroundings when selecting artwork. As much as I could, I chose local imagery specific to Huntington or the West Virginia river gorge. The property sits on a hill. During the fall when the colors are changing, you just get this beautiful view of the river valley. I wanted to use that influence as much as possible. I worked with an art consultant, and they were able to source work from some local photographers and artists that we peppered in.
A major goal of the update was to declutter the common spaces. Joan’s design elements created a more comfortable atmosphere. All the spaces, while consistent, still manage to maintain their own distinct feel.
Happy campers
Longtime resident Charlotte Ingram shared her thoughts on the new renovations. “We love it. We got new carpeting and furniture in the common areas. It’s wonderful, it’s new, it’s clean, it’s modern and bright. Those are all big pluses.” Charlotte also remarked on how quickly and conveniently the project came together.
Charlotte and her husband, along with other residents, used the common areas frequently before the renovation but are using them even more so now. She meets with a knitting group in the main quad, but it’s also where the resident council meeting is given by the floor representative.
“They’re great areas to have get-togethers for holidays and share food. We also celebrate new neighbors that move in. The spaces are more comfortable now with the new furniture. And the common areas are more in the same family of color scheme, but the patterns are all different and they go nicely with the pictures on the wall,” she elaborated.
Something unique about Woodlands is residents may design their own spaces from pre-selected options. When new residents move in, they often make customized design changes to their residence. Charlotte and her husband took advantage of that option when they moved to Woodlands. They’re very comfortable in their home.
For those who tour the Wing 5 renovation, you might just see Charlotte and her husband on their wrap-around porch. They love to wave at friends and neighbors as they come and go from the building.
We encourage you to come see for yourself what Wing 5 at Woodlands has to offer. Contact us today at 304-697-1620 to schedule your tour.