When residents come to live with us at Longlands, we encourage them to bring their own furnishings and decorate their room as they would in their own homes and Shirley Donachie has taken this to a whole new level!
If you didn’t know already know, you would be very hard pressed to know her room was in a care home at all.
In fact, it would not even look out of place at a high-end hotel!
That’s because Shirley really has made Longlands her home.
Walk in and in her room, you will see a comfy sofa, recliner, lovely wooden wardrobes, a flat-screen television, record player, mini-fridge, en-suite bathroom oh and of course a bed!
Shirley, 77, has lived at Longlands for just over two years, health issues having contributed to her requiring support.
She says: “I have the biggest room in the home so when I came here, I knew I wanted it to be just like my own house.
“So, I brought many of my favourite furnishings from my home and bought some new things as well, like the sofa.
“I also bought some wallpaper for one of the walls and on the others, I chose a paint to match, and the staff decorated it for me.
“I have always considered this as my home so why wouldn’t I want to make this as nice as possible?”
Shirley enjoys spending time in her room watching television, with soap operas and old westerns being her favourite, but she also enjoys playing bingo and reminiscence-based activities.
She adds: “I am very comfortable at Longlands. Everyone is so friendly, and it has a real homely feel to it.”
If that’s good enough for Shirley Donachie, it’s good enough for us too!