Question on patterns and PWD

Ed1937

My wife finally moved to her MC room, and out of respite room yesterday. The window is bare now, like you might find in a hospital setting, but we can bring curtains or whatever we want. One of our daughters is shopping for window treatments, and she asked me if patterns would be upsetting for PWD. One she is considering is curtains with birds and tree leaves on it, which would seem to be settling for PWD, but it has somewhat of a pattern. Comments?

harshedbuzz

Mayor Ed-

That's an excellent question. 

My dad sometimes interpreted patterns as faces, but he also hallucinated a small door on a blank wall in his MC suite in which tiny people were getting in to use his bathroom.  

We were told we could decorate as we wished, too. But when we brought the curtains to hang, they refused to allow them as they didn't meet flammability standards for a congregate living situation. I would ask specifically about this before pulling the trigger.

Amazon.com : Fire Retardant Curtains

HB

Ed1937

Excellent info, HB. Thank you!

Joe C.

Ed, I have no input on patterns but you may want to have “light blocking” draperies. At DW’s MC I know they close the shades in late afternoon so the residents do no see it getting dark, supposedly helps with sundowning.

Ed1937

That's something to consider, Joe. Thanks for the input. We can all do without sundowning.

Jo C.

That is an interesting question.  My LO vacillated with tolerance of prints/patterns whether the print was on fabric such as on furniture, window coverings, or even on a bedspread.  Most times, all was well and no reaction whatsoever to anything of that nature.

Upon occasion my LO would get upset to the point of irritability or agitation at having the pattern within her line of vision.  Some days she processed things well; other days she did not and the pattern of print simply was not tolerated as she could not grasp and process what she was seeing; it seemed to overwhelm her sensory input.  My guess would be that this would not be a problem issue for most of our LOs.

Such an individual thing and different in possible affect.  I think my LOs problem was the inability to process the print/pattern and at times seemed it may have had a delusional component to it. I would think the smaller the room, the more impact a design may possibly have IF it did have an impact at all, which it may not.

The question of fabric that is flame resistant need is a good question and one I never would have thought of.  The print your daughter is choosing sounds lovely and as though it would be a pleasant decorative touch to the room.  There will be no way to know how those drapes will do in the here and now and in the future. If not too expensive, it may be worth a try and if at any point they become an issue, a change can be made.

Isn't it amazing the things large and small that can become an issue that we never would have thought of before the journey into the world of dementia started for each one of us.

J.

Ernie123

Ed: My DW is now in her third year in MC. We made a big effort when she moved to furnish it with familiar furniture and pictures etc.  But now she doesn’t recognize anything and spends very little time in her room anyway except for sleeping. She much prefers to be out in the common living area with the other residents. Even when I visit and we go to her room she usually starts asking when are we going back out. Black out curtains are important to help regulate sleep, especially now when it gets light so early. But the main point of my experience is what is in the room doesn’t matter too much. She finds comfort and familiarity sitting with her social group in the living area.

Ed1937

I very much appreciate the replies. I'm pretty sure my wife is not that far along for patterns to be an issue. At least not yet. 

There are no restrictions pertaining to fire safety, and those fire resistant fabrics seem to mostly all be solid colors, so that limits one's artistic talents from showing through while decorating a room. We have four daughters, and the two who always have a nicely decorated home will put wall paper on the wall behind the bed sometime hopefully next week. And they will make the decisions on decorating. When it comes to decorating, I'm a ditch digger. They take after their mother.

The room is spacious, with a full size bed, a chest of drawers, a large recliner, and a small refrigerator in there now. Two more chairs, possibly folding, will be added soon. When everything is done, I'll post a few pics.

Gig Harbor

I am not sure why a facility would insist that curtains meet flammability requirements when none of the other fabrics meet that code. I have chosen plain, light colored fabrics for towels and bed linens in my husband’s room just to keep it calm although at this time he does not notice any prints or colors.

Ed1937

Ernie, I hear you. We took our full size bed and our chest of drawers up there for her. The kids tell me that she really loved seeing the things that were familiar to her. But she still wants to go home. I think my wife, like yours, will actually spend most of her time out of her room after she transitions enough. Of course we'll have to wait and see on that.

jfkoc

I would not add pattern but a big plant would be a good addition and maybe some "flowers".