YiXiang Furniture

With the intensifying trend of population aging in society, elderly people spend most of their day indoors. Therefore, the home environment and age-friendly furniture are very important carriers for the elderly. This has led to the emergence of many specialized age-friendly furniture and integrated solutions and services for age-friendly product configurations.

Some age-friendly products on the market tend to be too deliberate and rigid. They only consider the safety of the elderly but ignore their dignity. As people age, they differ from other age groups in psychological, physiological, and behavioral characteristics, showing certain differences and special needs.

The main physiological and psychological changes are as follows:

Therefore, “age-friendly furniture” should not only ensure the safety of elderly people but also provide convenience in daily life and assist them in completing routine activities. On the journey of aging, age-friendly furniture can offer more protection and care to seniors.

When designing for the elderly, we should not only explore how to prevent falls, ensure safety, and provide care, but also consider how to make the design beautiful, age-concealing, and create a home that the elderly like and that allows them to maintain a dignified life for longer.

Thus, the concealment of aging should not only be on the body or environment but should focus on protecting the elderly’s inner spirit of “refusing to age.”

There are many things we can do. Designs can be more aesthetic and creative. Even handrails can be designed with beautiful forms to present to the elderly.

Age-Friendly Residential Space Layout and Furniture Design Key Points

01 Living Room Age-Friendly Furniture Design Points

Considering the weakening of the musculoskeletal system in middle-aged and elderly people, bone atrophy, and reduced body flexibility, age-friendly designs need to be considered for the living room.

Space Design:

The living room adopts a three-seat sofa format to avoid large sectional sofas that overly enclose the seating area, facilitating easier access and reducing detours for the elderly.

The sofa’s position should allow elderly people to observe the entrance/exit of the home while seated. They don’t have to get up to see who is coming or whether the door is locked, providing a sense of security.

Sofa Age-Friendly Details:

Age-friendly sofas have a slightly firmer seat surface than conventional sofas, which helps the elderly exert force when standing up or sitting down; the seat slopes slightly higher at the front and lower at the back to better support the thighs.
The sofa should be flexible, with a higher backrest providing good support for the neck and head; armrests should assist elderly people when standing up or sitting down, and serve as a pillow during naps.
Fixed positions for cane placement on both sides, easy to pick up naturally.

With weakening muscle control and reduced height in elderly people, the design of the coffee table in the living room also needs attention.

Coffee Table and Side Table Age-Friendly Details:

The coffee table should be sturdy and flexible for the elderly to place items according to their needs.
The coffee table surface height should be level with the sofa seat, allowing the elderly to reach items without bending too far forward; space under the table should be reserved for leg placement.
It is recommended to provide a sofa side table with a larger tabletop, roughly the same height as the sofa armrest, allowing the elderly to reach items sideways instead of bending forward, which is easier.
Side tables should have partitions for categorized storage, making it easier for elderly people to store and find small items.

02 Dining Room Age-Friendly Furniture Design Points

With the passage of time, elderly people experience memory decline, slower reaction speed, and reduced flexibility. The dining room design has been optimized accordingly.

Dining Table Age-Friendly Details:

The dining table height should accommodate wheelchair access

Rounded edges on the dining table to avoid sharp corners and prevent bumps, ensuring safety and convenience.

Supportive handrails to assist elderly people in standing up, bending down, and other basic movements.

03 Bedroom Age-Friendly Furniture Design Points

Besides providing basic functions for sleeping and resting, bedroom furniture incorporates some age-friendly features.

Double Bed Age-Friendly Details:

Bedside handrails are added considering the daily needs of elderly people at home, such as turning over and standing up, providing support and assistance.

Wardrobe Age-Friendly Details:

Carefully designed cabinet and wardrobe heights avoid high storage, enabling the elderly to reach items at suitable heights. All furniture doors replace sharp metal handles with rounded solid wood handles to prevent scratches or tripping.

Wardrobe doors and drawers are installed with soft-close magnetic switches to avoid hand injuries from slamming.

YiXiang Furniture is a professional manufacturer integrating furniture research, product development, production, and sales services for age-friendly furniture. The company has invested heavily in developing high-end medical and elderly care furniture, employing more than 30 dedicated R&D and marketing technical personnel, over 80 professional marketing staff, and operating a 2,000+ square meter professional experiential showroom. Upholding the social responsibility philosophy of “Caring for Society, Contributing Love,” YiXiang Furniture’s entry into the senior furniture industry is a significant decision to fulfill social responsibility and provide strong support for the healthy development of the industry. Our mission is to help the parents who have worked hard most of their lives enjoy a happy, joyful, and wise retirement.