With another display home at the Strathearn Villas almost ready to open, it’s clear future residents have been offered a little bit of TLC, or tender loving care. 

Strathearn chief executive Matthew Downie said the retirement village had closely followed a care model, which could be seen through its subtle design.

“We’ve put elements in the home to facilitate better living as people age for both the person living here and their carer,” he said.

“It’s been done in such a way that people won’t really notice; there are power points and drawers at a certain height so people don’t have to bend down, and there are no steps anywhere.”

Mr Downie said fully-networked wi-fi and a 100/100Mbps fibre connection would help residents take advantage of emerging technologies. 

“As far as I’m aware, we’re the only people in Scone who have that sort of [internet] speed access,” he said.

“It’ll allow people to not only Skype friends, but also doctors from the comfort of their own home.

“There is a lot of emerging technology coming out now to provide assistance, including being able to monitor movements within houses to determine if a person is still alright.”

Mr Downie added residents could also go online and check live security feeds to determine what was happening outside without potentially putting themselves in danger.

He claimed Strathearn had gone beyond what most other villages provided in an effort to ensure its residents were comfortable.

“We spent quite a bit of time talking to residents and providers to find out what they liked and didn’t like and then tried to incorporate that into our design,” he said.