Karndean Commercial gains DSDC dementia-friendly accreditation for 19 Opus flooring designs

Karndean Commercial has secured accreditation from the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) at the University of Stirling for 19 designs in its Opus luxury vinyl tile collection, according to an announcement published by the Society of British & International Interior Design (SBID).

The release said the selected Opus wood and stone designs had been assessed against recognised dementia-friendly design principles, covering colour contrast, visual clarity and pattern complexity. It positioned the accredited products as independently assessed options for care homes, retirement living and healthcare interiors.

Richard Allen, VP of sales for commercial at Karndean Commercial, said: "Flooring is one of the largest visual surfaces within a space, so it plays a crucial role in helping occupants interpret and navigate their surroundings."

He said the accreditation of selected Opus designs gave designers and specifiers additional reassurance that the products had been independently assessed against recognised dementia-friendly criteria.

The accredited designs

According to the release, the accredited wood designs include Columba, Avena and Barolo Oak, which Karndean Commercial said have subtle grain variation, consistent colour tones and minimal visual interruption.

The stone-effect designs include Mico, Fumo and Urbus. Karndean Commercial said these can be used to distinguish circulation routes, communal areas and private spaces without introducing sudden visual changes.

The accreditation also extends to patterned designs Dalmata, Pleta and Dolce, which the release described as understated and non-directional. Image captions in the release show two Opus designs with their formats: Pamplona at 610mm x 610mm and Magna Oak at 1219mm x 228mm.

Karndean Commercial's UK product page describes Opus as a collection of contemporary wood and stone designs in a gluedown format, with a 36+ slip resistance rating tested using the pendulum wet test. The release said the accredited products achieve a 36+ Pendulum Test Value, which it said gives low slip potential.

Warranty and take-back

The SBID release said the accredited Opus collection is backed by a 20-year commercial warranty. Karndean Commercial's own UK warranty table, however, lists Opus gluedown with a 15-year commercial warranty. The company's UK site says its flooring carries 10 to 20 year warranties for commercial projects.

Opus is included in the Karndean Evolve take-back scheme for clean installation offcuts, the release said. Karndean Commercial says the scheme collects clean offcuts from home development and commercial project sites for recycling into items such as traffic cones and street furniture, and that the backing layer of its flooring contains up to 50% recycled PVC from production waste.

How the DSDC scheme works

The DSDC says it works with manufacturers and designers to review and assess whether products are suitable for a dementia-friendly environment, and that each product assessment is completed by a range of its multidisciplinary team. Products it finds suitable are awarded the DSDC Accredited Product logo.

The centre says it has worked with manufacturers and the design industry for decades and uses the latest research to assess products. It says a product accreditation helps specifiers and designers by streamlining product selection for a dementia and ageing population.

Dominic Chu, architect and product accreditation lead at the DSDC, University of Stirling, said: "The physical environment plays an important role in supporting people living with dementia, and flooring is one of the most influential elements within a space."

Karndean Commercial joins a number of flooring manufacturers already listed on the DSDC's accreditation page, including Altro, Amtico, Danfloor and Forbo. Forbo's testimonial on that page says it has more than 1,000 floor finishes accredited.

The release said many dementia-friendly design principles also align with wider inclusive design objectives, with visually clear flooring benefiting people with visual impairments, neurodiversity and changing mobility needs.

Karndean was established in 1973, according to the company's UK website.