Furncare have launched a series of informative webinars featuring specially invited expert panelists. The webinars will share professional insight and industry best practice, helping delegates to deliver outstanding care frameworks for residents and carers.

On 2 May, the first panel will gather for the ‘Dementia Matters’ webinar to discuss dementia and dementia care. Academics and prominent care professionals will debate the factors to consider when creating ideal environments for residents with dementia.

Panelists confirmed for the 2 May webinar include Linsey Hutchinson and David Wilson-Wynne from the University of Stirling Dementia Services Development Centre, Ruth French of Stow Healthcare, Paul Gaskell from Runwood Homes, Claire Peart of Barchester Homes and Jade Eaglen from Furncare.

Mike Goldwater, Dementia Matters moderator, is confident delegates will find the webinar informative and inspirational.

“We’re packing a lot into the session so there’ll be something for everyone. I’m particularly interested in hearing the experts views on the impact of physical environments, and the science to consider when planning care home interiors.”

 

Care industry professionals, residential care home owners and mangers can register now for their free place on the Dementia Matters webinar.

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How do environments impact on life with dementia?

For those with dementia, ‘visuospatial difficulties’ are commonplace. Cluttered or brightly coloured interiors can trigger confusion and frustration. Conversely, a lack of definition or contrast can have the same effect. Getting the balance right is difficult, but optimum levels can be achieved.

Developed in partnership with leading academics and care professionals, The Remini Dementia Collection from Furncare is an exclusive new furniture collection specifically for those living with the condition. It includes a range of specially designed bedroom interiors with four distinct room schemes to accommodate individual tastes and styles.

Definition and contrast

An unreliable memory is a widely recognised symptom of dementia, as is confused spatial orientation. Some may forget what’s inside a drawer whilst others may be unable to open it. That’s why special cut-outs feature in Remini furniture soft-close doors and drawers. This enables residents to see what’s inside without having to open them.

Whilst cut-outs in the wardrobes, cabinets and dressing tables provide a simple way to open drawers and doors, users will be more familiar with conventional handles. They’ve been incorporated too, as a comfortingly familiar alternative way to access what’s inside.

Remini furniture features rounded edges and is finished in contrasting colours and textures. Drawer fronts and doors are matt grey, whilst cabinets are finished in natural oak. This distinction and the contrast it provides is invaluable. Similarly, contrasting fabrics are used in the upholstery of the seating. Even the cushions feature contrast piping to help users process the shapes and edges. All fabrics are fire retardant, water and stain resistant.

Seeing the light

With age, more light is needed to see, and glare can be a problem. When selecting colour schemes for those with dementia, ‘Light Reflective Values’ are important. Referred to as LRV, this measures how much light is reflected or absorbed by a surface. Black has an LRV of 000 whilst white has an LRV of 100.

For those with dementia, visuospatial processing can be helped by factoring sufficient contrast in to surfaces. If tonal values of furniture and the wall behind are too similar, the furniture itself can be difficult to see. An LRV difference of 30 points between adjacent objects will help residents to distinguish between them. Any less can have the opposite effect.

The Remini Dementia Collection from Furncare features coordinated interiors and quotes LRV ratings for each item. It recommends complementary wall and floor coverings for perfectly balanced LRV interiors for those with dementia.

Download the new Remini brochure here. The Collection can be viewed at our Showroom – click here to schedule a visit.

Alternatively, speak to a friendly Furncare consultant on 01603 664900 or email Email Us

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Having risen through the ranks at his previous firm during his twenty three years of service, Paul’s comprehensive front line and top level experience make him the perfect fit to manage the complex logistical demands at Furncare.

Carl Southall, Managing Director of Furncare, announced the appointment this week.

“Paul has worked in a demanding and pressured business for many years. He’s well equipped to shoulder the significant responsibility of his new role at Furncare, and we look forward to delivering the benefits of his extensive experience to Furncare customers as he develops and grows our logistics offering.”

Paul has spent the majority of his working life at a major transportation, storage and distribution company. Ultimately managing 400,000²ft of warehousing space across several sites and leading a team of senior managers responsible for 160 colleagues, Paul also oversaw the daily operations of 80 HGVs and 160 trailers whilst ensuring strict operator licensing conditions and EU regulations were complied with. Working with the existing Furncare team now, Paul is looking forward to rolling out new ways of working and implementing advanced new technical systems to make the highly-valued Furncare five day delivery promise available to even more customers right across the UK.

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Complex styling, practical details and compliance factors can make the planning and design of your bedrooms and communal areas stressful and time consuming. Of course you dream of providing truly stylish, safe and comfortable rooms. But even having chosen the furniture, you’d still need to source complementary wallcoverings, soft furnishings and finishing touches. Not easy.

100 Rooms for you from Furncare

We understand. The experts at Furncare have developed a hassle-free solution to give you the resources, the inspiration and the confidence to go for it.

“Working with care home owners, interior designers and specialist suppliers, we’ve developed an exclusive, tastefully coordinated and convenient portfolio of fully furnished room themes for care communities. All the planning, mixing and matching has been done so you can confidently specify stylish interiors for your care home.”

Jade Eaglen, Furncare Design Coordinator

 

With literally thousands of specialist furniture products, upholstered seating, curtains and cushions to choose from, Furncare have created ‘100 Rooms’ to make the whole process, quick, convenient and hassle-free for you.

Bedroom Schemes

Every bedroom features a hand picked selection from one of the popular Furncare furniture ranges. We’ve suggested the ideal bed, headboard and mattress combination, and paired that with a coordinated wardrobe, drawer unit and bedside cabinet. Decide which type of chairs you’ll need to suit your room layout and you’ll find the perfect option has already been selected for you. Maybe a comfortable lounge chair upholstered in a combination of beautiful yet practical fire retardant, water and stain resistant fabrics, or a stylish tub chair with a deep seat offering exceptional comfort and a supportive back.

Room for a side table? We’ve thought of that too and have selected the perfect model to suit the room. Coordinated curtains will set off the furnishings, and even come with poles. Add a coordinated bed runner and cushions, and we’re almost there. Our designers have even chosen the perfect pictures to adorn the wall, ceiling light shades and table lamps.

You don’t even need to worry about which paint to select for the walls. Every one of our schemes comes with a recommended main wall colour and a feature wall colour, meaning that every design feature has been considered so you can confidently specify everything you need.

And for each bedroom scheme, you’ll find a beautifully coordinated communal scheme for living rooms to help you create a seamless, calm flow through the home.

Download your 100 Rooms for you from Furncare brochure here and select the room themes that are just right for your care community.

Communal Schemes

The same principles apply to all the living room schemes in the ‘100 Rooms’ portfolio. Every one features a popular Furncare furniture range; a sideboard, console table, bookcase and TV unit, as well as occasional tables.

Comfortable lounge chairs and sofas upholstered in safe and durable fabrics have been selected, and coordinated curtains, pelmets, tiebacks and scatter cushions further enhance the style, comfort and feel of the room. As in the bedrooms, our designers have chosen ideal pictures for the walls, and table and floor lamps. Each living room scheme comes with its own recommended main and feature wall paint colour too.

“The service from Furncare was exceptional. The quality of the products is amazing, stylish and welcoming with everything matching including a bedside light, picture and cushions.”                    

Marina Glaves

The 100 Rooms Portfolio

Every one of these beautiful room schemes is featured in our new 100 Rooms brochure. Developed in consultation with care home owners and managers, interior designers and our specialist suppliers, it features a comprehensive ‘mood board’ for each scheme so you can see how all the design elements come together to create the precise look and feel you’re after.

Download your 100 Rooms for you from Furncare brochure here and select the room themes that are just right for your care community.

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Not everyone can just turn up at the office on a Monday morning, work five days without distraction then stand down for the weekend before the cycle repeats itself again. And again. We all have competing priorities, so something’s gotta give.

To attract and nurture the best talent, Furncare recognised the need for a more flexible approach a long time ago. The advantages are plain to see, and Jade Eaglen is one of many on the Furncare team to have benefitted in the past year. There are currently around 60 staff across three Furncare sites in the UK.

“Being able to develop my career has been wonderful, not only from a professional perspective. I really appreciate being able to balance work and my family life. I hope Furncare feel the same way!”

 

With a rich skillset and invaluable experience, Jade was a great fit for the Design Coordinator vacancy at Furncare last year. A qualified interior designer with commercial experience and a passion to create beautiful rooms for clients, there was only one ‘problem’. Jade is, amongst many other things, mum to young George. Despite the support of her husband and extended family, juggling the demands of work and family life threatened to undermine Jade’s professional aspirations.

Furncare’s more flexible approach to work and a healthy respect for work/life balance meant that Jade could take on this exciting new role. Working a hybrid week in the office and from home around her childcare responsibilities has worked well. Jade particularly values time with her colleagues in the office, and the opportunity to focus on live projects without distraction at home.

Jade joined Furncare in June 2023, and has become an integral part of a dynamic team. Since then, young George has flourished. He’s now settled into pre-school and has developed a keen interest in tractors and Peppa Pig. His mum still prefers Percy Pig!

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Whilst setting up the rooms, I can’t deny that for just a moment I completely forgot I was in a photographic studio. The rooms, the furniture, the soft furnishings and the general vibe looked and felt so homely.

The first set we built was the B001 bedroom. That classic Waylen furniture is very cool, and heavy! The cabinets and wardrobes are really substantial, and the solid wooden surfaces feel organic and natural. The Dove Grey painted finishes give it a modern feel and contrast well with the real wood. Whilst it looks nice and solid, it’s also safe. All the corners and edges are carefully rounded off which not only makes them safer, it’s also a really stylish feature too.

I’m quite tall, but the Everly bed was a perfect fit (don’t tell anyone I tried it for size). And the crisp bedlinen and duvet cover felt great. If it wasn’t for those bright studio lights I think I could have snatched a most welcome 40 winks. Wish I’d thought to draw the stylish Kaya Ochre curtains now!

The Waylen dressing table doubled as my temporary office for the day, and the Jansson chair – upholstered in Nevis Putty faux leather – was very comfortable. The Elm tub chair was far too comfortable though, that became my go-to resting place between shots as it really is great with that feelgood Aspen Light Charcoal upholstery.

Our design coordinator came up with such a great theme for the room – even the recommended wallcoverings and pictures were carefully considered and worked a treat. Great job Jade.

A quick wall swap and we were in a glorious green B002 bedroom. All the soft furnishings, cushions, curtains and pictures were swapped over, and the room took on a whole new character. Lush, rich, sophisticated. The studio crew liked the curtain fabric, which worked so well with the Annika Emerald cushions. Even the smart Kira bedside lamp looked great on the Waylen three-drawer bedside cabinet.

Unfortunately there wasn’t much time to dwell on this lovely bedroom as we moved on to the matching L002 Living Room. Just like its bedroom cousin, the living room feels lush and homely. They say it’s all in the detail, and Jade’s selection of Gazania Forest curtains, Loreto Forest and Imbali Emerald cushions and the Palm Canvas on the wall was a triumph again. Having said that, the stars of the show were definitely the magnificent Luxe Bottle Green Rita sofas. Hard to believe that the soft velvety upholstery is waterproof, fire retardant and stain resistant as it just feels so nice. Just to be clear though, it IS waterproof, fire retardant and stain resistant!

Having had to surrender my Waylen dressing table/desk, I parked my laptop on the matching Waylen dining table for a while. Easy to see how nice it would be to have the same theme and furniture range flowing seamlessly from bedroom to dining room and living room. It really makes for such a calm environment.

Another wall swap and we’re in the grey L001 Living Room above – cousin to the B001 bedroom. All sleek, smooth and sophisticated. The Vision Pewter curtains were a hit with the crew again (self-proclaimed curtain aficionados!), but yet again those Rita sofas stole the show. This time they were upholstered in Compass Pewter which, just like the Luxe Bottle Green version, is waterproof, fire retardant and stain resistant. I say that because I always thought that you could spot contract grade upholstery a mile off. This whole collection is contract grade furniture (in fact it exceeds contract grade standards) but it really doesn’t look like contract furniture. It looks and feels more like home. And you simply can’t get better than that!

Don’t take my word for it though. Visit the Furncare showroom and try The Liv Collection for yourself. Failing that, request a Liv Collection brochure and see the whole collection.

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Every now and then your appreciation extends to those friendly, helpful and knowledgeable Furncare heroes in other roles too. Take a bow Arnie, it’s your turn this time.

Dawn Halsey of Salutem Care & Education posted a great 5 star review earlier this year and namechecked our very own Arnie Goodenough for doing such a great job. Dawn is busy, busy, busy so really appreciated the ‘fantastic service and communication’ she received from Arnie and the Furncare team.

Responsible for multiple sites, Dawn also has to make sure she’s ‘buying smart’, so to publicly acknowledge the competitive rates provided by Furncare, and the quality of the management of her projects, is a fantastic testament.

Thank you so much Dawn. Maybe Arnie should consider rebranding himself as his surname really doesn’t do him justice.

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Furncare’s Liv Collection now provides a wider choice of contemporary interiors for supported living and challenging environments. Exciting new room themes for private bedrooms and homely living rooms have been added, and coordinate everything from furniture to fabrics, beds to bookcases and cabinets to curtains.

We’ve added four new interiors to our Liv Collection, making it bigger and more adaptable than ever before, and providing more stylish and homely themes. We’ve even coordinated soft furnishings and accessories to complete the look.

Carl Southall, Furncare MD

Aimed at younger users, everything was conceived to help care homes find fully coordinated, designer interiors quickly and conveniently. Precious time being of the essence, every item in the Liv Collection is available from stock within just five days.

Built to serve you well for many years

Jade Eaglen, Furncare’s design coordinator, describes the new themes as fresh and inviting without compromising comfort, safety or practicality. The extensive new Waylen furniture range for example features in all four new Liv Collection room themes. On the surface, Waylen cabinets look classic and stylish, but underneath the range can endure hard-wearing, robust use and has been built to serve you well for many years to come.

Highlights of the 2024 Liv Collection

Sofas & Armchairs

Rita, Freja and Milano sofas and armchairs – heavy enough to deter misuse but homely and supremely comfortable

Durable Fabrics

Fire retardant, stain and water repellent fabrics, curtains and upholstery

Safe Cabinets

Waylen, Marit and Anker table and cabinet edges rounded and smoothed for safety

Built to Last

Ultra-strong solid beech Jansson and Malin dining chairs with corner bracing and stretcher rails

Anti-ligature Features

Anti-ligature features and robust piano hinges built in to Anker wardrobes

The 2024 Liv Collection is on display at the Furncare Showroom, download your new 2024 brochure or view the full collection here>>.

All the room themes and products are in stock and can be with you in five days.

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Are you ready to order? Choose from our Kalmar stock dining chair range and have them delivered to your table in just five days, or would bespoke upholstery be more to your taste?

The Kalmar carver chair from Furncare gives you both. Delivered from stock, all our NEW fire retardant, stain resistant and waterproof faux leather options are built to exceed even the highest contract standards to cope with lively mealtimes.

This stylish dining chair can also be delivered with optional skis, all within a week.

Bespoke chairs to your own design

With a vast selection of fabrics to choose from and to combine, you can also create your own signature Kalmar chairs – both with and without arms. Now made to your specifications and available in as little as four weeks, you set the style from a selection of quality solid wood frames; beech, oak, walnut and wenge. You can then choose your own fabric from the Furncare studio for the seat pad and backrest – matching or contrasting, the choice is yours.

All our Kalmar chairs frames are made from exceptionally strong solid wood and are securely constructed with traditional mortise and tenon joints. The seat rails have additional corner bracing, whilst the steam-bent stretcher rail and twin back rails provide additional strength.

Design and order online, or speak to a friendly, knowledgeable Furncare advisor today. Call 01603 366900 or email Email Us.

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