Background and Aim: The aim was to explore how residents and next of kin perceive and experience key aspects of person-centered care (PCC), as a foundation for co-creating a sustainable PCC model. PCC emphasizes dignity, respect, self-determination, choice, individualized care, and purposeful living. Despite its central role in care policy, residents in residential care facilities report dissatisfaction with everyday life and the care they receive. There is a need for robust, sustainable models to implement PCC in residential care for older adults. This study is part of the ProFoUND PCC project—Program for User-Based Nursing Development in Person-Centered Care— and explores everyday care experiences, providing baseline insights that will inform the development of a co-created model grounded in real-life care contexts. The study is conducted within two academic residential care facilities (ARCF); facilities that collaborate with universities to integrate research, education and development into daily care practices. Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents (n=10) and next of kin (n=20). The interview data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Preliminary findings indicate that residents frequently experience a lack of inclusion in decisions pertaining to their care. Rather than active participation, residents often convey a sense of passive acceptance concerning both their circumstances and the care provided to them. Next of kin report a general sense of reassurance regarding the safety and well-being of their relatives residing in the ARCFs. Nevertheless, they also express concerns about insufficient involvement in care-related decisions and indicate that their perspectives are not adequately recognized or addressed. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the PCC model should include structures that embed essential components of PCC, such as relational and participatory principles, into everyday practice. These structures should involve both residents and next of kin to have potential to strengthen transparency and trust throughout the care.