Newbury care home has designs on international award

Home news

Oct 15, 2014

Care UK’s Winchcombe Place care home is in the running to scoop a prestigious award after being named as a finalist in the ‘New Build’ category of The SBID International Design Awards 2014.

Winchcombe Place is a purpose-built care home designed to accommodate up to 80 residents.  The home provides a full range of care services, from residential and nursing care, to short term respite and sensitive end of life care.

Warwickshire-based interior designers, Drawing Room Interiors, and West Yorkshire-based contractor furniture manufacturer YTM Group, jointly submitted Winchcombe Place into the SBID International Design Awards 2014 – an annual initiative which recognises and celebrates design excellence.

The award entry for Winchcombe Place described how the design scheme was inspired by a brief from Care UK to create a home from home for residents. The interior also had to support residents with a range of care needs, while reflecting the local history of the site – previously a school playing field.

The interior of Winchcombe Place was therefore thought through to provide choice and personalization for future residents. Bedrooms feature a variety of schemes and each lounge has been individually themed to provide stimulation as well as a destination point within the home. For example, a racing-themed games room not only provides an activity area, it also references the nearby Newbury Racecourse.

Among the other stand-out features which make the interior so distinctive are a vintage sports display, an old fashioned scullery, and aged photography memorabilia along with black and white photographs relating to the local area and the personal histories of residents.

Michelle Sides, home manager at Winchcombe Place, said: “The team is absolutely thrilled to be named as a finalist in such a prestigious award scheme. We are all very proud of Winchcombe Place, and not only does the design and layout of the home reflect our person-centred approach to care, we have also had some wonderful feedback from residents and their families. To have now received this recognition is the ultimate accolade, and we are all very excited about the possibility of winning an award later in the year.”

Diana Celella from The Drawing Room Interiors Ltd, said: “We are delighted Winchcombe Place has been recognised in a highly competitive category which was not limited to care entries. This success is proof outstanding and inspirational care home design, which makes a real difference to the lives of residents, is achievable.”

The SBID International Design Awards 2014 are voted for by experts from organisations including Google, Eurostar and YouTube. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at London’s Dorchester Hotel on Friday 14 November.