Senior-living community FF&E

A senior-living community is part home, part hospitality and part care setting, and its furniture shows all three. Apartments, dining rooms, activity spaces, lobbies and treatment areas each need pieces chosen for comfort and safety. When a community opens, residents are often moving in the same week, so the furniture has to be finished first and the install has to leave the rooms clean and quiet.

At a glance

• Apartments, dining rooms and common areas
• Storage ahead of opening
• Installation room by room
• A family company that moves older adults every year

One company for both ends of the job

O'Brien's also handles senior moves and downsizing for individual families, as described on the senior moving page. Many communities work with both: the operator furnishes the building through the FF&E service, and families moving in call about their own belongings. One reviewer, writing about a move of their own, said: “As Seniors moving is less than fun , everything was done for us.” (Tonie C.)

What a community project includes

Furniture for residents' apartments or suites, dining-room tables and chairs, lounge seating, activity-room tables, library and game pieces, and the front-desk and office furniture for staff. Some communities add memory-care or assisted-living wings with their own specifications, and those usually open on a later date than the independent-living section.

The warehouse can hold the whole order until the building is released, then deliver in the order the opening plan calls for.

How crews work in a care setting

Crews work evenings, weekends and holidays by arrangement, so installations can wait for quiet hours or follow an inspection. Tell the estimator about residents already in the building, hallway widths, elevator size and the times when dining and activities are happening, and the plan will work around them.

Estimate and next steps

Phone the office between 8 am and 5 pm on a weekday and an estimator will review the project with you. Bring the furniture schedule, the floor plans, the vendor ship dates and the date the first residents arrive. Compare the approach with healthcare FF&E or read the overall FF&E service page.