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A UK first and Global Win for Care Home Design

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

Elizabeth Gardens Care Home has been named Global Winner for Healthcare & Wellness Design at the 2026 SBID International Design Awards the first UK residential care home in SBID’s published winners’ records to win the global award.

The project brings together contemporary interiors, thoughtful planning and the familiar comforts of home. From intimate lounges to spaces for family celebrations, every room was designed around the people who would live there and the experiences that make everyday life enjoyable. For our team, this award is a wonderful recognition of that approach and our collaboration with Porthaven.

The brief for Elizabeth Gardens was ambitious: to challenge conventional perceptions of care home design and create a distinctive, aspirational environment that feels genuinely residential. Our response began with a simple consideration: people enjoy different surroundings, and those preferences should continue to matter when they move into a care home.

Some people love a lively gathering. Others prefer music, quiet conversation or a peaceful corner with a view. Elizabeth Gardens offers a variety of spaces where residents can spend time in ways that suit them, including smaller lounges, a garden room, café-style spaces, activity rooms, a cinema, salon and private dining suite. Each has its own atmosphere, giving residents opportunities to explore, socialise and find a favourite place.

One of the project’s most distinctive features is The Nook, an intimate retreat within a larger lounge. Inspired by the comfort of a boutique cocktail lounge, it features bespoke seating that wraps around the perimeter, coordinated wallpaper, feature mirrors and ceiling detailing. Fringed wall lamps and layered lighting create a welcoming, cocooning atmosphere. It is a space that feels special while remaining comfortable and reassuring somewhere to settle into a conversation or simply enjoy a quieter moment.

The smaller lounges reflect the same attention to individual preferences. Different colour palettes, furniture arrangements and entertainment options give each room its own identity. Some intentionally feature stereos instead of televisions, offering an alternative for residents who enjoy music or calmer surroundings.

In the Garden Room, traditional furniture details sit alongside fresh, contemporary styling. Patterned fabrics, fringing and barley twist tables introduce familiar references, while views across landscaped greenery connect the room with the outdoors and the changing seasons.

Throughout the home, warm colours, tactile materials and domestic furniture styling help make the interiors welcoming. The design draws inspiration from hospitality settings while retaining the familiarity and emotional comfort of a home.

The private dining suite provides a setting for birthdays, family meals and other celebrations. Elegant furniture, bronze accents, architectural detailing and carefully considered lighting give the room a sense of occasion. Sideboards and console tables introduce domestic touches that keep it feeling personal and inviting. These spaces recognise that moving into a care home should include opportunities to continue enjoying the occasions and relationships that matter.

Sustainability also informed the development, with UK manufacturers prioritised wherever possible and furniture and fittings selected from FSC-certified sources. The wider project incorporated LED lighting, automatic lighting controls in bathrooms and store rooms, photovoltaic panels and electric vehicle charging provision, alongside recycling initiatives to support everyday operations.

Winning the SBID Healthcare and Wellness Design UK Award is a proud moment for everyone involved in Elizabeth Gardens. Thank you to Porthaven Care Homes for the opportunity to help realise this vision, and to our team, manufacturing partners and suppliers for the skill and care they brought to the project.

Above all, Elizabeth Gardens demonstrates what thoughtful care home interiors can offer: welcoming places where people have choice, feel a sense of belonging and can continue enjoying everyday life.

Care Home Interiors Win at the SBID Awards

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

We’ve won! Care Home Interiors has received the SBID Healthcare and Wellness Design UK Award for Elizabeth Gardens Care Home, created with Porthaven Care Homes.

It’s a wonderful moment for our team. There was so much excitement wrapped up in this project, from imagining how the rooms would come together to seeing the furniture installed and making those final adjustments.

But when we think about what this recognition means, we also think about a conversation Kerry had with a resident in one of the lounges.

“Do you like this lounge?” she asked.

“Well, I’m in here every day.”

Fair point!

Finding a favourite place

The lounge was a deep red room, quite different from anything we had done before. Kerry had been wondering about the colour and whether the space might feel too dark.

The resident had a rather different perspective.

“No, dear. I love it. I’ve got problems with my hearing, not my eyesight, dear.”

She explained that she didn’t enjoy big, noisy spaces. She preferred the quieter little rooms, thought this one was beautiful and loved spending time there.

Kerry had been thinking about a design decision. The lady was telling her she had found somewhere she wanted to be.

That conversation stayed with us because it brought the purpose of the project into focus. These rooms would become part of someone’s everyday life. People would have favourite places, preferences and their own reasons for choosing where to spend time.

Together with Porthaven Care Homes our job was to give them that choice.

The brief for Elizabeth Gardens was to create an uplifting environment that celebrates comfort, choice and individuality, while retaining the warmth and familiarity of home. It gave us the opportunity to explore ideas we were excited to bring to life.

Kerry remembers nights when she couldn’t sleep with anticipation, counting down the days until installation. Alongside that excitement came questions: was something too much? Would people understand it? What would families think?

Those questions mattered. We were creating a home, and every choice needed careful thought about the people who would use it.

Different lounges offered different atmospheres. There were places for conversation, quieter corners, spaces for family occasions and terraces connecting life indoors with the outdoors.

We wanted residents to be able to find surroundings that suited them. The Nook was one of the spaces we were particularly looking forward to seeing finished.

An intimate retreat within a larger lounge, it brings together bespoke seating, patterned upholstery, feature mirrors and carefully layered lighting. It has its own character and a sense of being somewhere a little special.

It was also a real collaboration, with ideas developed together over the course of the project.

After installation, Kerry went back before presenting it to the client. Something still felt missing. Some of the artwork was changed. Only then did she feel it had come together as she had hoped.

That final adjustment was a small part of a much larger scheme, but it reflects how our team approaches a project. We keep looking, discussing and considering how the details work together.

Winning the SBID Healthcare and Wellness Design UK Award is a proud recognition of the work that went into Elizabeth Gardens.

We know how much care sits behind the finished photographs: the conversations, planning, manufacturing, installation and decisions that continued right through to the finishing touches.

Thank you to Porthaven Care Homes for trusting us with this project, and to our colleagues, manufacturing partners and suppliers for everything they brought to it.

We’re delighted to have an award to celebrate. And we’ll keep remembering the resident who had already given her favourite lounge a very clear endorsement.

Celebrating talent and individuality with Championing Social Care

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

An evening of talent, courage and community provided a memorable finish to the Care Show in Birmingham, as Care Home Interiors Group CEO Kerry Southern volunteered at the Care Sector’s Got Talent Grand Final.

Held at the NEC, the event marked Kerry’s first volunteering experience as an ambassador supporting Championing Social Care. With eight finalists taking to the stage and a £5,000 prize to be won, there was plenty of excitement—and a few backstage nerves.

For Kerry, it was an opportunity to support the people stepping into the spotlight and celebrate the personalities at the heart of social care.

Before the performances began, Kerry helped support contestants backstage as they prepared for their moment on stage.

As the results approached, Kerry found herself feeling just as nervous as the performers. Every finalist had given so much, and each had reason to feel proud. One exchange with a 97-year-old finalist stayed with Kerry. “I’m quite tired. Do you think I can have a lie-in tomorrow?” the contestant asked.

It was a warm, wonderfully human moment amid the excitement of the competition. It also captured something important about care: recognising the whole person, including their humour, interests, wishes and ambitions.

At Care Home Interiors Group, understanding the people who use a space is central to creating somewhere that feels like home.

Comfort and practicality matter, alongside opportunities for connection, enjoyment and self-expression. A care home is a place where people should be able to continue exploring their interests, sharing their personalities and taking part in experiences that matter to them.

The Care Sector’s Got Talent Grand Final brought that individuality into the spotlight. It was a joyful reminder of the confidence and connection that can come from being encouraged and supported.

Kerry’s involvement as an ambassador for Championing Social Care reflects her commitment to celebrating the people within the sector and contributing beyond her work in care home interiors.

We congratulate all eight finalists for their performances and the courage it took to step onto the stage.

Named Finalist in The Social Care Premier Supplier Awards 2026

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

Care Home Interiors Group is delighted to have been selected as a finalist in The Social Care Premier Supplier Awards 2026.

The Group has been shortlisted in the Manufacturers & Suppliers of Products and Services category, recognising its work supporting care providers through thoughtful interior design, specialist products, UK manufacturing and the creation of environments shaped around the needs of those who live and work within them.

Celebrating excellence across social care

The Social Care Premier Supplier Awards recognise and celebrate the organisations, products and services making a positive difference across the social care sector.

This recognition feels particularly significant in today’s challenging economic and political climate. Care providers are balancing increasing costs, workforce pressures, changing regulation and the need to continue delivering safe, compassionate and high-quality care.

The businesses that supply the sector have an important role to play in helping providers meet those challenges.

Good design and manufacturing should never be separated from the realities of care delivery. Every decision, from the layout of a room and the selection of furniture to the durability of fabrics and the management of capital expenditure, can affect residents, colleagues, families and the long-term performance of a care service.

Design that makes a genuine difference

At Care Home Interiors Group, the purpose of a care environment extends far beyond its appearance.

Beautiful surroundings matter, but they must also be practical, enabling and appropriate for the people who use them every day. They should support dignity, independence and wellbeing while helping care teams to work effectively and providers to achieve lasting value from their investment.

This approach brings together specialist interior design knowledge, an understanding of care delivery and a commitment to producing high-quality solutions that respond to the needs of each individual project.

The Group is also proud of its continued emphasis on UK manufacturing, local employment and long-term supplier relationships. These partnerships provide greater oversight of quality while supporting a more resilient and responsible supply chain.

A shared achievement

Kerry Southern-Reason, founder of Care Home Interiors Group, said: “Being named a finalist is wonderful recognition for everyone involved in our work. The social care sector is facing enormous challenges, and suppliers have a responsibility to provide more than attractive products or interiors. We need to understand how care environments operate, listen carefully to the people using them and create solutions that make a genuine difference.

“I am incredibly proud of our team and the relationships we have built with care providers across the UK. This finalist recognition belongs to all of them.”

Care Home Interiors Group looks forward to celebrating with the other finalists and recognising the organisations helping to drive innovation and excellence throughout social care.

To learn more about Care Home Interiors Group and its work across the UK care sector, please contact our team.

Named Finalist in the SBID International Design Awards 2026

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

Care Home Interiors is delighted to have been shortlisted as a finalist in the Healthcare & Wellness Design – UK category of the SBID International Design Awards 2026.

The international awards celebrate outstanding design talent from across the world, recognising projects that demonstrate exceptional creativity, innovation, functionality and technical execution.

Each shortlisted entry has been evaluated by a panel of distinguished, industry-leading experts. Reaching the finals is therefore a significant achievement and reflects the design skill, care and expertise that went into creating environments intended to make a meaningful difference to the people who experience them every day.

Designing Care Environments with Purpose

At Care Home Interiors, we believe successful care home design must achieve far more than creating a beautiful finished space.

Every detail should support comfort, wellbeing, independence and connection, while helping each care home feel familiar, welcoming and individual to the people who call it home.

Our work is shaped by close collaboration, thoughtful planning and a shared commitment to creating exceptional environments for residents, families and care teams. From the early design concepts through to manufacturing, installation and the final finishing touches, each project brought together the different areas of expertise within the Care Home Interiors team.

The resulting interiors combine creativity and character with the practical requirements of modern care, creating spaces that are attractive, functional and designed around everyday life.

Recognised for Design Excellence

An SBID Award is considered one of the most coveted accolades within the global interior design profession.

The GOLD-rated awards programme recognises the highest levels of professional mastery, with finalists assessed against a rigorous set of criteria that includes:

  • Functionality
  • Innovation
  • Creativity
  • Technical execution
  • Overall design excellence

Being named among this year’s finalists is a proud moment for our entire team and a wonderful acknowledgement of the vision and trust of our clients.

Named a Top 500 UK SME for Design Excellence

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

The Care Home Interiors Company has been recognised in the SME500 UK Awards as a Top 500 SME in the “Best Design Business” category.

The SME500 UK Awards are widely regarded as a benchmark of excellence in the business world, celebrating the achievements and contributions of small and medium-sized enterprises across the UK.

Being included in this list is an important moment for the team because it reflects not just creativity, but consistent delivery, operational strength and innovation with real-world impact.

The past year has been a defining one for The Care Home Interiors Company, particularly the growth of the care home refurbishment service which accelerated throughout 2025, supporting more providers to upgrade, reimagine and elevate their environments.

Kerry Southern-Reason said: “In social care, environments have a profound impact. The way a space feels can influence everything from anxiety levels and engagement to staff wellbeing and family confidence. Being recognised as a Top 500 SME in the Best Design Business category reinforces our mission to lead with innovation and to keep pushing standards higher across the care home sector.”

As the company moves forward, we’ll continue building on the momentum of 2025 and 2026 delivering refurbishments and interior transformations that are thoughtful, compliant, design-led, and deeply human.

If you’re planning a refurbishment, refreshing key spaces, or exploring how design can better support your residents and team, we’d love to talk. Get in touch to discuss your care home interiors project and discover what’s possible when design is done properly.

Design Insider Featured in Healthcare Property

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

The Care Home Interiors Company has been featured in Healthcare Property Magazine with an article by Kerry Southern-Reason titled “Make Your Home a Home.”

The feature explores a subject Kerry is passionate about and one that sits at the heart of every project delivered by The Care Home Interiors Company: the importance of creating care home environments that feel reassuring, dignified, welcoming and truly homely.

In a competitive care home market, first impressions matter more than ever. Families are no longer simply choosing a care home based on location, availability or care provision alone. They are looking online, comparing photographs, reading reviews and arriving for visits with a sharper eye. That is why the condition, atmosphere and presentation of a care home can have such a powerful impact.

In the article, Kerry explains that families naturally notice whether a home feels fresh, clean, loved and well cared for. They look at entrances, lounges, bedrooms, dining rooms and corridors. They notice clutter, tired furniture, poor lighting, dated décor or spaces that feel clinical and impersonal. Fairly or unfairly, those details can influence how people perceive the care behind the doors.

A care home interior should feel like a home. It should support dignity, comfort, independence and belonging. It should help residents feel settled and families feel reassured. It should allow staff to take pride in the place they work. It should feel considered, maintained and loved.

The feature in Healthcare Property Magazine reflects Kerry’s long-standing belief that environment is not a background detail in care. It is part of the care experience itself.

For care providers, this also has a clear commercial impact. In a private-paying and increasingly competitive market, the homes that stand out are not only those that are well-run. They are the homes that understand the relationship between care, environment and expectation.

Kerry’s article, “Make Your Home a Home,” is a timely reminder that care home interiors should never be treated as an afterthought. They are part of how a home tells its story. They reflect pride, standards, investment and care.

At The Care Home Interiors Company, this thinking guides every project. The aim is not simply to create beautiful spaces, but to create care environments that feel human, homely and fit for modern expectations. Because a care home should be more than well-designed. It should feel like somewhere people can belong.

You can read the full feature here page 32.

A Refurbishment with Meaning to Encourage Connection

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

When The Care Home Interiors Company was invited to support the refurbishment of Fordingbridge Care Home by Allegra Care, the brief was never simply to “make it look nice.”

This was a high-functioning dementia care environment, and the design needed to work hard. It needed to support daily life, encourage movement, create moments of interest, aid orientation and help residents feel more confident, more connected and more at ease within their surroundings.

Working alongside Fed3, The Care Home Interiors Company approached the project with one clear objective to turn underused spaces into meaningful places. Before the refurbishment, the corridors were dark, bare and uninviting. Like many care home corridors, they served a practical purpose but offered little in the way of warmth, recognition or engagement.

For people living with dementia, this can make an environment feel confusing or even disorientating. Long, featureless corridors can become spaces to pass through, rather than places to pause, understand and enjoy. The solution was to introduce a series of purposeful, themed destinations throughout the home. Each space was carefully designed to provide strong visual cues, familiar references and opportunities for interaction.

Rather than relying on flat artwork alone, the design included layered, 3D elements and recognisable objects that could be touched, explored and discussed. These small details are powerful. They can prompt memories, encourage conversation and help residents make sense of where they are.

One end-of-corridor space became The Workshop, a tactile, familiar feature designed to spark recognition and reminiscence. With authentic, real-world cues, it created a strong orientation point while also offering a hands-on moment of interest.

Another destination was designed around the theme of a train carriage. More than a decorative idea, it created a purposeful place to pause and reminisce, using familiar travel cues to support both wayfinding and conversation. It transformed what could have been “just the end of a corridor” into a place with meaning, character and emotional connection.

A retro music wall was also introduced, using recognisable album art to create both an orientation point and a natural conversation starter. Music is often deeply connected to memory, identity and emotion, and familiar visual references can unlock stories, comments and shared moments. A corridor that once had little to say now had the potential to invite memories of dancing, favourite songs, concerts and moments from the past.

The refurbishment also included a garden and activity-inspired area, designed to feel calm, familiar and inviting. Shelving, objects and styling were used not simply as decoration, but as prompts for participation and gentle engagement. In dementia-friendly design, these touchpoints matter. They quietly invite people to explore, browse, remember and belong.

The biggest change was not just visual. It was atmospheric. On the final visit, the difference could already be seen. Individuals were moving more naturally through the spaces, stopping, looking, chatting and engaging with their surroundings. Corridors had become destinations. Empty walls had become prompts. The environment had become easier to understand and more enjoyable to live within.

For The Care Home Interiors Company, this is exactly what good design in care should do. It should support the people who live there. It should make daily life feel calmer, safer and more meaningful.

In a care home supporting people living with dementia, design has a vital role to play. It can help with wayfinding, reduce uncertainty, encourage independence and create natural opportunities for interaction. It can make a building feel less institutional and more like a home filled with familiar, recognisable and comforting cues.

The Fordingbridge refurbishment is a powerful example of how thoughtful interior design can transform not only how a care home looks, but how it feels and functions.

Featured in Knight Frank Luxury Care Home Guide 2026

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

The Care Home Interiors Company is proud to announce that three of its flagship projects; Cotswold Gate, Lea Grange and Barley Manor Care Homes have been featured in the Knight Frank Luxury Care Home Guide 2026.

The prestigious guide showcases the UK’s most exceptional care homes, recognising those that set a higher benchmark for later-life living through outstanding design, innovation and resident experience. This recognition reflects the company’s commitment to delivering environments where interior design is not simply aesthetic, but integral to how people live, feel and experience care.

Kerry Southern-Reason, Founder of The Care Home Interiors Company, said: “For me, luxury in care isn’t about creating something that looks impressive. It’s about designing environments that genuinely support people to live well, every single day. When design is done properly, it quietly enhances confidence, independence and overall wellbeing.”

Each home has been designed to support a holistic model of care, offering a choice of environments to suit different moods and needs. From light-filled lounges and cosy TV rooms to cafés, private dining areas, cinemas and gyms, residents are able to shape their day around their preferences.

A key feature across all three homes is the use of intuitive wayfinding, particularly beneficial for residents living with perception difficulties and dementia. Rather than relying on excessive signage, each environment incorporates recognisable visual cues such as furniture and familiar design elements to support navigation and independence.

Sustainability is embedded within the design and delivery of each project. By prioritising UK manufacturing, long-lasting materials and energy-conscious design choices. This approach ensures that sustainability is not an add-on, but a core principle that enhances both operational efficiency and resident experience.

The inclusion of Cotswold Gate, Lea Grange and Barley Manor in the Knight Frank Luxury Care Home Guide 2026 highlights a growing recognition that design plays a fundamental role in modern care delivery.

Kerry Southern-Reason added: “These homes demonstrate what’s possible when interior design is treated as part of the care model, not just the finishing touch. It’s about creating places where people feel comfortable, confident and truly at home enabling care to be delivered at its very best.”

Named Finalist in Care Home Awards for Best Interior Design

Written by Colette Lowe on . Posted in Blog.

The Care Home Interiors Company has been named a finalist in the Care Home Awards in the category Best Interior Design.

The recognition celebrates design excellence in care settings where interiors go beyond aesthetics to actively support resident wellbeing, independence and day-to-day activity, including environments that facilitate active retirement living.

Kerry Southern-Reason, CEO of the Care Home Interiors Group, said: “Being named a finalist in this category matters because care home design shouldn’t be ‘nice to look at’ it should help people live better. When a space supports confidence, movement and connection, it can transform daily making it easier for care teams to deliver outstanding support. We’re proud of this recognition because it reflects the purpose behind what we do.”

The Care Home Interiors Company’s approach is rooted in the belief that great interiors should quietly enable life to continue with dignity and enjoyment. The company focuses on design elements that help residents feel safe, capable and at home.

As care models continue to evolve, the company believes the physical environment plays a vital role in supporting later life living. Design can remove barriers and help everyday life feel more natural.

The Care Home Awards bring together care providers and sector partners to celebrate excellence across the industry, with finalists recognised for outstanding contributions to care and resident experience.