A sensory haven
Respite home greenhouse transformed for residents
A SUPPORT worker at a Newbury respite home has transformed its unused greenhouse into a sensory space for colleagues and the people they support.
Once full of little more than dead spiders, the greenhouse at Baily Thomas House is now decorated with butterflies, suncatchers and even a fake aquarium, thanks to Bartosz Bycynski, known as Bart.
When you enter Baily Thomas House, which enables parents and carers to have respite, providing a safe and enabling environment for their family members, the first thing you notice are trails of flowers and bright colours decorating the walls.
They are the efforts of Mr
Bycynski, one of the support workers, who said: “My manager said if I wanted to decorate the main house, then he was happy for me to do that.”
Mr Bycynski then asked if he could do something with an abandoned and dilapidated greenhouse that stood in the garden.
His hard work and imagination has resulted in a space that provides aromatherapy, crenotherapy and calming music, giving the residents a place to relax together.
Mr Bycynski carried out the transformation in his own time and the greenhouse has been called ‘Logan’ – in honour of one of the members of staff who recently had a baby of the same name.
As you walk into the sensory haven, you are surrounded by colour and sound – bird sound effects create a calming environment and reed diffusers provide a pleasant scent.
There is a small fridge for soft drinks and a bowl of sweets, and photographs of family members hang among the shiny ornaments.
“It is wonderful to see the smiles on the faces of our clients when we bring them in here,” Mr Bycynski added.
“They love to come in and just sit on the sofa and enjoy the surroundings.”
Mr Bycynski has also created a ‘beach’ area close by. “During the warm weather it
is nice for our clients to be able to sit outside in a comfortable environment and absorb the sights and sounds,” he said.
“I wanted them to feel like this is a real home and create an atmosphere which offers them more than just the basic personal care.”
Mr Bycynski, who moved to the UK from Poland three years ago, said the space is particularly popular in the evening when everything is all lit up.
”This project has been so satisfying, seeing the difference it has made to people’s lives,” he added.