By Brandi Beckley, Director of Living Revolution
Refreshing the furniture in your senior living community’s common area is exciting! It’s an opportunity to create warm, inviting spaces for residents, families, and staff. When curating furniture refreshes, it’s important to balance aesthetics with functionality, and long-term value. All too often, I’ve seen community leaders approach this process with good intentions but without the right strategy, resulting in costly mistakes, safety risks, and unnecessary frustration.
These are the three common pitfalls to avoid when refreshing your space—and how your team can take a smarter, more strategic approach.
1. “We’ll order everything from Wayfair… It’s Easy!”
It sounds simple: add a few chairs, tables and sofa to an online cart and click “buy”. While it may seem like a quick win, it almost always creates more work in the long run.
Most retail furniture isn’t designed for commercial environments like senior living communities. It often:
- Wears Quickly: You’ll likely be replacing it within a year or two.
- Isn’t Cleanable: Making it difficult to properly sanitize and maintain.
- Fails Safety Standards: Posing potential risks to residents and increasing liability.
- Lacks Commercial Warranties: Professional-grade furniture manufacturers often offer a 10–12 year warranty whereas retail furniture may not come with a warranty at all.
- Requires Assembly: Retail furniture can be difficult to assemble and your staff may not have the time or the right tools to do so. Even worse, your staff will have to handle filing claims and returning large items if damaged and defective.
What starts as a “budget-friendly” solution can quickly turn into a time-consuming and costly mistake, with furniture that doesn’t hold up to the needs of your residents or the demands of daily use.
Learn more about the benefits of bringing in a furniture dealer for Senior Living communities.
2. “We’ll shop in person at a Residential Furniture Store”
It’s common for senior living communities to look to trusted home brands like Ethan Allen or Pottery Barn for inspiration. While their products look great in a home, they’re not built for the durability and compliance requirements of commercial spaces.
Residential furniture typically:
- Does not use the foam densities and frames meant for continuous, high-traffic use, meaning they can break down much easier.
- Features fabrics and finishes that aren’t tested for healthcare or senior living environments.
- Fails to meet state fire codes or sustainability regulations required in commercial applications. We discuss the importance of fire safe furniture in our case study, Maravilla Santa Barbara.
Simply put, what works in a family living room won’t perform—or last—in a senior living community’s common area.
3. "We'll Replace One Piece at a Time"
It’s understandable to want to spread out costs by replacing furniture gradually. However, this piecemeal approach often leads to a disjointed look and higher long-term expenses.
When furniture is replaced one item at a time:
- Styles, colors, and finishes no longer coordinate, making spaces feel outdated and inconsistent.
- Product lifecycles become staggered, complicating future refreshes.
- First impressions suffer—families touring your community notice mismatched, worn, or aging furniture.
A cohesive design and procurement plan helps ensure that every piece works together visually and functionally, maximizing your investment and creating a unified look that reflects your brand and values.
How to Get It Right
The good news is that all of these pitfalls are avoidable with the right approach and partner.
Here’s how your community can set itself up for success:
- Partner with an experienced FF&E provider. Work with a team that understands the specific needs of senior living environments, from durability and safety to cleanability and compliance. Incorporating a trusted-based team approach, your team will still be fully involved in every step of the process.
- Create a cohesive design plan. Even if you install in phases, a cohesive plan ensures that every element works together aesthetically and functionally.
- Let professionals handle logistics. Procurement specialists can manage delivery, installation, warranties, and damage claims—freeing your staff to focus on what they do best: resident care.
- Invest in quality. Commercial-grade furniture is built to last, saving money over time and maintaining your community’s image and comfort for years to come.
Refreshing the Right Way
A furniture refresh should enhance your residents’ daily lives while protecting your investment. With the right strategy and expert guidance, your community can achieve both.
At Living Revolution, we specialize in turnkey FF&E solutions designed specifically for senior living communities. From design support and procurement to installation and warranty management, we help our partners create cohesive, functional, and lasting environments.
We’d love to collaborate with you on your next project. Connect with us to begin the conversation.
