W e are very pleased to announce that Pine Martin Grange has been shortlisted as one of three finalists in the ‘Best New Home’ category for the Pinders Awards. The Pinders Healthcare Design Awards are an important part of the care industry as they seek to recognise and reward quality of care through the quality of design. Although innovation and architecture play a fundamental role in being shortlisted for a Pinders Award, it is more important that the design of the home reflects and meets the needs and desires of our residents. We are proud that through working to our vision of creating happy yet luxurious care homes, Pinders have recognised our ambitions.

Award categories such as the ‘Best New Home’, recognise the contributions of the people who have helped to make Pine Martin Grange a place that promotes well-being and the very best quality of life for our residents. The architects who planned and designed our home, Harris Irwin Architects, allowed our home to feel open and spacious yet connected. Peaceful terraces on the first floor to enjoy on a warm summer’s evening are balanced with indoor communal social areas and facilities, including our on-site beauty salon and HUR gym. As well as creating a community atmosphere throughout our home, we also wanted to recognise the benefit of sometimes spending time alone. So with our relaxing jacuzzi baths and beautifully landscaped gardens, a moment of repose is never far away.

Even in the early design stages, we wanted Pine Martin Grange to be a place for residents and their families to enjoy spending time in. For this reason, the inner workings of our home, such as the kitchen, laundry room and staff rooms are all in our building’s roof space. This allows for limited restrictions for residents in all communal areas across both floors. Furthermore, we understand that many of our residents have supporting families around them. We believe that moving into a care home like ours should be a positive experience that allows our residents to enjoy their life to the full. We have used our building’s design to be flexible and let families visit as often as they wish, from our cinema room that can play game consoles for children, to the private dining room where residents can invite friends or family to dinner. The private dining room also allows for guests to stay as it contains a fold out double bed and has a private guest bathroom next door. Also, eight bedrooms on each floor have connectable doors to create double suites if required. We believe this is a prime example of a way in which our architectural design has reflected and met the needs of our residents. If a married resident moves into Pine Martin Grange, for example, it can be a naturally challenging and ultimately upsetting thought to consider living somewhere without their spouse. For this reason at Pine Martin Grange, we are pleased to be able to support people in cases where they would like to share rooms with their loved ones or even best friends in twin style rooms.

We also made use of excellent Interior Designers in creating Pine Martin Grange. Kelly Wilson Interiors (KWI) helped tremendously to make our care home feel sophisticated, homely and comfortable. One way in particular that KWI elevated standards in our care is through the design of our dementia care areas in the home. The ‘Forget Me Not Community’ on its dedicated floor has been structured and meticulously decorated to create a safe environment that promotes the well-being of our residents. From spacing out social areas to encourage and support gentle exercise, to personalised memory boxes and different ‘destinations’ at the end of each corridor, in providing the right stimulus that does not overwhelm people living with dementia or Alzheimer’s, we hope to have made a place that can be enjoyed.

Ultimately we believe that the happiness of our residents in all areas of Pine Martin Grange is the result of architectural innovation, specialist interior design and the person-centred care provided by committed care staff. Once again we feel very privileged to have been shortlisted for this year’s Pinders Award and hope that through continued hard work and support from the friends and relatives of our residents, we can keep progressing and promoting the best care possible.