Our Concept
Longhouse Assisted Living and Memory Care Households provide "Human Scale" Household Options for Seniors
"Human-Scale" Communities
Longhouse creates smaller, “human scale” communities for seniors that combine the comforts of a real home with comprehensive Alzheimer's, dementia memory care, and chronic care services. It is the antidote to both the too-big hotel-style senior living communities and the too-small Adult Family Homes. We believe that in senior living, smaller is better.
What is a Longhouse?
The word “Longhouse” is derived from the communal dwellings that represent the earliest form of human habitation in a permanent structure. The name underscores that living in small, communal dwellings is the natural inclination of human beings and should be honored. Matthew Long, the founder of Longhouse, grew up in the jungles of Borneo and witnessed the Dyaks using the Longhouse firsthand. He has adopted the name as a clarion call for smaller “human scale” communities for seniors.
Serving the Greater Seattle Area since 2009
Longhouse is sponsored by Husky Senior Care, a Seattle-based in-home care company that was founded to serve the Alumni of all colleges and universities. Longhouse caregivers, communication model, and operation appeal to discerning seniors and their families who demand superior service and outcomes.
Smaller is Better
Families often move a parent into assisted living because Mom is isolated in her home. They desire socialization. But that is not what they get with assisted living.
"We estimate that 80% of seniors who move into assisted living spend most of their day alone in their apartments."
Despite the best intention of activity programs, there is just no way to overcome a lifetime of associations that connect safety with home, or social ease with a small group of familiar faces. After all, most of us did not grow up in a hotel. We don’t have the social capacity to face 150 people at meal times. And how familiar can things be when you have to walk 75 yards and go around 10 corners to visit the library or the living room? It is impossible to replicate a home-like feeling of safety, comfort, and control in a community that houses 150 people.
This reality is that the sheer size of today’s assisted living communities present an implacable problem: most seniors don’t want to live in them because they’re too big and complicated. And those with cognitive and physical limitations are incapacitated by them.
Longhouse is Different
The small size of a Longhouse allows for a different social model. The Longhouse emphasizes the home model in which most of a person’s time is spent in the familiar settings of a living room, dining room, library, porch, or garden (and this is what we call them). Bedrooms are for sleeping, personal hygiene, napping, dressing, and quiet moments.
The Things That Make All Our Lives Pleasant
In our experience, many senior housing facilities do not include the basic things that make life pleasant for us all, such as fresh air, natural light, trees and greenery, tranquility, the sound of birds, the sound of flowing water, and access to earth and gardens.
In many ways, this oversight has resulted from the rush to exaggerate the differences between the elderly and everyone else. Longhouse goes to great lengths to normalize the approach to design and generously supply the “common” things that make our lives pleasant.
We invite you to take a tour and see the Longhouse difference for yourself!
Our Locations
Longhouse has communities in the Seattle-area, with a focus on the Eastside. We're pleased to serve families throughout Bothell, Bellevue, Woodinville, Redmond, and the greater Puget Sound area.
Call us at (206) 366-1771 to learn more.
Open Now - Accepting Applications
Longhouse Bothell Queensgate
Longhouse Bothell Queensgate is a small, “human scale” community for seniors. Our 15-room assisted living household combines the comforts of a real home with comprehensive Alzheimer's, dementia memory care, Parkinson's, stroke, & chronic care services.
View Bothell Queensgate
Opening September 2026 - Accepting Reservations
Longhouse Bothell Canyon Park
Longhouse Bothell - Canyon Park is scheduled to open in September 2026. It is a 15-room household with a sun porch, a beautiful garden and gazebo, an open kitchen and many other wonderful features. It is located in a peaceful residential neighborhood. We are taking reservations now!
View Bothell Canyon Park
Opening Spring 2028
Longhouse Redmond
Located in a peaceful residential neighborhood, right next to the First Baptist Church of Rose Hill. We are in the early stages of development and expect to open Spring 2028. Longhouse Redmond is a 15-room household with a sun porch, a beautiful garden and gazebo, an open kitchen and many other wonderful features.
View Redmond