A dementia friendly mural is artwork applied directly to a wall, usually in care homes and hospitals. However, not all murals are dementia-friendly, and care is required when considering the benefits of the artwork versus the potential negative impact they could cause.

Principles to dementia friendly murals 

If something does not add value, do not put it on a wall. Inappropriate artwork is clutter and can cause too many distractions. A typical example of poor design would be a corridor full of framed pictures that are too high and behind reflective glass. These will not work as an orientation aid, nor will they work for reminiscence reasons. That is when a dementia friendly mural is more appropriate.

Avoid false realities when using dementia friendly murals

Avoiding false realities that can cause distress is important and a feature of our murals is that we do not include images of doors. We would also never include a 3D step as this would be a trip hazard and we always include a low wall or railings to function as a barrier on scenic murals.

Murals printed on light enabling vinyl work well on lower-level windows and exit doors. The designs are created to encourage people to walk down all corridors and wherever possible not hide the view. However, the print of shrubbery changes the door to look like a window and can significantly reduce agitation and escape attempts.

Why would you use a dementia friendly mural?

• Orientation purposes/feature walls
• To create choices of defined areas where a person can spend time and enjoy activities

Without orientation aids, corridors all look the same and can be very confusing.  If there are no focal points or independent support strategies in place ultimately people will lose their confidence and can  become agitated and distressed. 

Most dementia care environments are secure and therefore movement is restricted.

By creating pathways of interest around the building, we aim to replicate community life without creating false realities.  For example,

• When going into a café, you would expect to get a drink and the choice of a snack
• When going to the pub, you would expect your favourite tipple, or  a pub game 
• When going to a shop, you would expect goods to be available

Find’s dementia friendly murals are so much more than just the artwork. We encourage the use of furniture for optimum benefit and most importantly give you a range of great activity ideas.

Find’s Dementia Friendly Murals

Our murals are usually bespoke and designed to fit spaces exactly, in colour schemes to suit the environment.

We are happy to arrange an environmental visit if you are looking to make best use of your environment and we will help you to create meaningful journeys to be enjoyed by everyone. Alternatively for small areas, send us photographs and measurements and we will design something for you.

Environmental Visit

Do you want to create a dementia-friendly facility and improve your CQC and PLACE ratings?

Find Memory Care can help! click here to find out more about our environmental visits.

An independent report on the effect of murals in a dementia unit can be found here for further information