What is the right chair for my care home residents?

Should I get a chair with or without wings? Is a high back or a low back chair better? Does the seat height of the chair really matter?

Choosing the perfect chair for your care home can be very challenging, especially when you’re looking through the 100’s of different options that are available across the UK now. We have put together a brief guide to try and help you choose the best chair for your residents that will enable them to sit comfortably.

High back, medium back or low back?

The back height of the chair depends on where the chair is likely to go within your care home. If it is for a lounge, bedroom, or a cinema, a high back chair would typically be more suitable for these areas as it provides more support for the residents back as they would typically spend a lot of time seated in these areas.

Medium back chairs would typically be more suitable for areas such as activity rooms where residents are more alert and do not need to be supported in the same way as in a lounge.

Wings or no wings?

Whether you have wings on your chair or not is, again, down to where the chair will go to a certain extent. If it is likely to be in an area where a resident may fall asleep, in a lounge for example, then wings would be recommended as they provide support to the resident’s head.

However, wings can be a barrier to a conversation as residents may not be able to see each other clearly especially when the chairs are placed directly next to each other, so you may want to consider a mixture of wing and non-wing chairs in a lounge.

Armchairs or sofas?

Having a mixture of both armchairs and 2/ 3-seater sofas will promote more of a family atmosphere where residents and careers can sit next to each other and create a more relaxed atmosphere for the residents.

Vinyl or soft feel fabric?

This is really down to personal preference, faux leather vinyl is very easy to clean as it is a smooth surface and can be simply wiped clean with a cloth. Soft feel fabrics typically look more homely and can create a more relaxed atmosphere in your home but are slightly harder to clean when compared to vinyl however with regular cleaning, hoovering of the fabric and wiping down, soft feel fabrics are a good solution for care homes.

Unless otherwise specified chairs upholstered in either faux leather vinyl or a soft feel fabric will be waterproof and many also have anti-microbial properties.

Related Post: Faux leather vinyl chairs Vs Soft Feel fabric chairs; which is best for me?

Finding the perfect seat height

Finding the perfect seat height will differ from resident to resident due to their height but as standard most care home chairs would be around 460mm / 18 Inches.

Seat height is an important element of a chair as, if the chair is too low it will become more difficult for a resident to get out of the chair as it requires more energy and if a chair is too high then it will be difficult to get seated comfortably.

I trust this article has been helpful in helping you to find the perfect care for your care home but if you still have some questions, we are more than happy to help you, either view our chairs below or contact us and we will be more than happy to go through your questions with you.

Who is Edison & Day?

We are a UK manufacturer of care home furniture and have been supplying the market with high-quality furniture for 15 years, we create furniture and experiences that have the personal touch.

We have the largest care home furniture selection in the UK that is available to order online. With our industry-leading Dayex service, you can have your new furniture in as little as 5 working days.