Darnton House is owned and run by L&M Healthcare, whose Managing Director, Jeanne Davies, has personal involvement in the product selection for the company’s care homes. For the interior scheme at Darnton House, Red Apple Design focused on creating a stylish, contemporary finish that would echo a 5-star residence and, in doing so, moving away from the clinical and sterile environment often associated with UK care homes. Building contractor, DBS, which has worked on previous projects for this client, was commissioned for the development, which has an overall size of 5850m2. DBS was focused on creating a stylish and contemporary finish that would echo a 5-star residence.

The flooring solution

With Darnton House seeking a high-quality flooring solution, offering the realism of its existing floor, as well as meeting the required practical benefits, Amtico’s Cirrus Mist and Script Maple Silver flooring was used throughout Darnton House’s reception area, library, internal corridors, dining room and meeting rooms.

The flooring chosen for Darnton House needed to help create a luxurious and contemporary interior, one that would enable the residents to feel that they were living somewhere truly special. This feeling of style and individuality was achieved by using two wood products from Amtico’s LVT collection, Signature – Cirrus Mist and Script Maple Silver.

For the light and welcoming entrance and reception area, Cirrus Mist was specified in a stripwood laying pattern with a border. This design combines soft sandy greys with a pearl shimmer that adds a touch of luxury to the nursing home and complements the light blue accents and subtle tones used throughout the ground floor.

This choice of flooring provided Darnton House with an upmarket, hotel-like luxury feel. The Cirrus design in particular, with its reflectiveness, creates a welcoming space that almost shimmers when approached and acts as an eye-catching alternative to flooring options on offer at many other nursing homes or healthcare establishments.

Durability

There was a durability requirement that Amtico had to consider for Darnton House’s flooring solution, particularly within the eating areas within the care home. Considerations had to be paid to the dining equipment – tables and chairs – that would be dragged across the new flooring. The product needed to be easy to clean, as with any busy high traffic area – and especially in health and nursing facilities there can be a number of fluids spilt or leaked. Having a wipe clean surface is a bonus for the eradication of smells and bacteria.

Both products, Cirrus Mist and Script Maple Silver, offer the care home a 20 year commercial wear warranty and both wood products offer a generous 1mm wear layer, providing the care home with a good looking flooring solution that performs to the highest standards of durability and maintenance.

Aesthetics

With both Cirrus Mist and Script Maple Silver tiles and planks holding the ability to be placed in a pattern of Darnton House’s choice, a Stripwood laying pattern was selected for the flooring solution. This is a classic laying pattern which echoes traditional floors, with the direction of the pattern highlighting the detail within the grain.

Contrasting with the white linen of the dining room and enhancing the bold feature wall within the dining area, sits the Script Maple Silver wood design with its silver contour lines that glimmer and add definition. Furthermore, it has complemented the chair backs and banquette seating, which have been upholstered in a leather with the same rich chocolatey tones.

Careful considerations

Darnton House’s entrance hall is now a space that captivates its audience immediately and makes the existing, and future residents, feel at ease and at home – alongside the residents’ families. The interior needed to not only be of a high-quality and showcase a wow factor, but also needed to induce a feeling of calmness and serenity. Visitors to Darnton House are either potentially parting with a loved one, or moving in themselves and this first impression needed to be of the highest quality.

Amtico’s flooring solution offers a clean, fresh feel to the space, while rejecting the limitations that a traditional care home aesthetic conjures. Amtico has contributed to Darnton House being a place residents can enjoy.