Choosing a Senior Living Floor Plan That Fits Your Life
Moving into senior living usually means deciding what you want your apartment to do for you now, rather than recreating every room you had before. Maybe you still want a kitchen because you enjoy cooking, but you don't need a dining room when you can meet friends in the building for dinner. Or you may be wondering whether you need space for a hobby when there's an art and ceramics studio elsewhere in the community. For that reason, choosing a senior living floor plan is about how you want to spend your days.
Questions like these are worth asking when comparing floor plans at Silverfern. Our newly renovated apartments come in three layouts: Oakley, Madisonville, and Clifton, and each one is arranged a little differently. Here's how to start deciding which option is best for you.
Start with What You're Bringing with You
Downsizing doesn't have to mean getting rid of everything you care about. Begin with the belongings you already know you're going to keep.
If there's a favorite chair you've had for years, measure it. Think about which pieces of furniture you use and which ones have mostly just been filling a room. The same goes for books, clothes, artwork, family photos, and everything else you've collected over the years.
A list of belongings also gives you something concrete to look for when touring. Instead of deciding whether an apartment simply feels big enough, you can plan out where your furniture and keepsakes would go. It's one of the simplest ways to figure out what to look for in a senior living apartment.
Compare Senior Living Apartment Amenities Beyond Your Front Door
One of the biggest differences between choosing a traditional apartment and choosing one at Silverfern is how much of your day can happen outside your front door.
You don't necessarily need to make room for exercise equipment when the building includes an exercise center, a heated indoor pool, and a dance studio, along with an in-house trainer and yoga classes. If you enjoy painting or ceramics, there's a studio for that. You can play cards and games with neighbors, attend events, or head to the Garden Haus Bistro for a meal instead of cooking every night.
Amenities like these change the way you think about square footage. Your apartment is your private space, but it doesn't have to accommodate every activity you enjoy. When comparing senior living apartment amenities, look at what the whole building offers, not just what's inside your unit.
Decide How Much Kitchen You Need
Every Silverfern apartment comes with kitchen appliances, handcrafted cabinets, and granite countertops, so you can cook whenever you like. Consider how often you expect to cook, since that determines how much weight the kitchen deserves when comparing layouts.
Some residents enjoy breakfast or dinner at Garden Haus Bistro and cooking for themselves when they're in the mood. Others may prefer to keep their existing cooking routine. Think about where you see yourself eating most often and how much time you want to spend on meal preparation after your move. The kitchen stays, and the bistro lets you skip cooking whenever you like.
Imagine Yourself in the Space
Rather than choosing based on the name or square footage alone, notice how you respond to the space. Walk through each apartment with your own belongings in mind. Picture where your favorite chair would go, what you'd want beside the bed, and which pieces you'd miss if you left them behind. A walkthrough can tell you more than the square footage on a floor plan. You might love having some extra room, or you may realize you don't need as much private space when the rest of Silverfern is there to enjoy.
Sometimes the floor plan you expected to prefer on paper isn't the one that feels right once you're standing inside the space.
One Bedroom vs Two Bedroom Senior Apartment: How Often Do You Host?
If family visits often, think about what you usually do together. You may want enough room to sit and talk over coffee, watch a movie, or spend an afternoon with the grandkids. These everyday visits are worth considering when deciding how much space you'd like in your apartment.
Remember that visits don't have to stay inside your apartment either. Silverfern has spaces throughout the community for residents to enjoy, including a Grandkids Room designed specifically for younger visitors.
A larger apartment may still be important to you, but you don't need to plan your entire floor plan around the occasional larger family gathering. When weighing whether you need a one-bedroom vs. a two-bedroom senior apartment, keep in mind that Silverfern offers studio and one-bedroom apartments with extensive community areas that may replace the need for a second bedroom. Ask yourself how often you would host overnight guests before making it a requirement.
Tour the Floor Plans at Silverfern in Sharonville, Ohio
You can study a floor plan online, but walking through an apartment yourself reveals details a floor plan can't. Bring measurements for any furniture you know you want to keep, take your time with each layout, and imagine what an ordinary day would look like there.
Contact us with your questions or visit Silverfern Senior Living in Sharonville, just off I-275, to see the Oakley, Madisonville, and Clifton in person. You may already know us as the big blue building. Once you're inside, our team can show you around, share more about daily life, and help you compare the three layouts based on how you want to live at Silverfern. We serve the Cincinnati metro area and welcome your visit.
