Guide for Senior Living Furniture, Function are Reshaping the Business
In recent years, as the ageing population continues to grow, the elderly care industry has been widely recognised as a market with great potential. However, when delving into the senior living chair sector, many wholesalers and brands have found that this market is far from as promising as initially imagined.
Firstly, the entry barriers are high, and collaborations often rely on personal connections. Secondly, product homogenisation is severe, with a lack of brand awareness and competitive pricing power, leading to a race to the bottom on prices and repeatedly compressed profit margins. Facing a market with rapidly growing demand, many feel powerless. Furniture manufacturers mostly simply rebrand ordinary residential furniture with an ‘elderly care’ label, lacking products truly designed for the elderly; meanwhile, high-end elderly care institutions are constantly raising their standards for quality, comfort, and safety, yet struggle to find suitable partners. This is the contradiction in the elderly care furniture market: high demand, but the industry remains in a state of chaos.
Product supply cannot keep up with demand
Many manufacturers simply thicken ordinary civilian chairs and call them ‘senior living dining chairs,’ but they fail to consider key requirements such as antibacterial properties, ease of cleaning, stability, durability, and flame resistance. As a result, these products often fail inspections and encounter issues during actual use. Additionally, since the industry lacks clear standards, products tend to look similar, leading customers to focus solely on price comparisons. There are also many decision-makers involved in procurement: departments such as nursing, facility management, finance, and brand planning all need to participate, and each has different priorities—safety, cost-effectiveness, and a sense of home. Without a professional solution, it is difficult to convince them. Moreover, many products focus solely on sales without considering post-sale maintenance, leading to issues like sagging, peeling, and loosening after one or two years of use, which increases cleaning and repair costs, ultimately resulting in greater losses.
Low-price competition is difficult to break through
The market will eventually saturate, and the elderly care furniture business is not easy to sustain. Many projects rely on connections to secure contracts, but this approach cannot be replicated. Moving to a different city or working with a different parent company requires starting over from scratch. Without product differentiation or brand endorsement, companies can only compete on price, resulting in increasingly thin margins while also bearing additional costs for samples, order tracking, installation, and after-sales service. Elderly care projects have long cycles and often require showrooms and follow-ups. Without standardised documentation and verification data, delivery schedules may be delayed. When quality disputes arise,furniture dealers often become the first to take the blame, while unprofessional healthcare furniture manufacturers lack unified after-sales and training support, leading to repeated disputes.
Shifting from selling products to providing solutions
The breakthrough in the elder care marketing lies in truly addressing customers' needs. For example, products must ensure quality while being fire-resistant, wear-resistant, and easy to clean and disinfect. They should also be designed from the perspective of care staff, prioritising portability, ease of movement, and quick setup. Additionally, they should incorporate warm, inviting wood grain patterns and colours that blend seamlessly into elderly care environments, enhancing comfort and peace of mind for the elderly. If dealers can package these elements into a comprehensive solution, it will be more persuasive than simply quoting a price. Secondly, provide third-party testing reports, cleaning guidelines, maintenance manuals, warranty terms, and real-world case studies to give clients confidence. Finally, focus not just on one-time sales but on helping clients calculate the total cost: longer product lifespan, easier maintenance, and reduced wear and tear mean it is more cost-effective in the long run.
How to provide suitable furniture solutions
The usability of chairs determines whether the elderly can sit steadily, sit for extended periods, stand up independently, or experience fatigue, slippage, and require repeated assistance from caregivers. From the elderly's perspective, what they truly need is not an ordinary dining chair or leisure chair, but one that reduces physical strain, lowers the risk of falls, is easy to clean and disinfect, and provides a familiar ‘home-like atmosphere’ feeling.
• Leave space in corridors
Nursing homes see frequent traffic, and many residents use wheelchairs or walkers, so assisted living furniture must be arranged in such a way that it does not block passageways. It is recommended that corridors be at least 36 inches (approximately 90 cm) wide so that wheelchairs and walkers can pass easily. Avoid using carpets or uneven flooring that could cause tripping hazards to reduce the risk of falls. Generally, a gap of 1–1.2 metres should be left between wheelchairs and along corridors to ensure safe movement. Providing adequate space for wheelchair and walker users is key to enabling all residents to actively participate in communal activities.
• Maintain cleanliness
A cluttered environment can cause confusion and anxiety for elderly with cognitive impairments or dementia. When socialising in public spaces, avoid overcrowding with furniture and keep decorations to a minimum. Space Saving Furniture is practical, helping to maintain a clean space while facilitating smoother movement for the elderly.
• Pattern design selection
In elderly care furniture design, fabric patterns are not only decorative but also influence the emotions and behaviour of the elderly. For those with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, overly complex or realistic patterns may cause confusion and restlessness. Choosing clear, easily recognisable, and warm patterns helps the elderly better identify their surroundings and creates a safe and comfortable living environment.
• Enhancing cleaning efficiency
Nursing homes are high-frequency use environments, so furniture must be easy to clean. Using stain-resistant and waterproof materials not only allows for quick removal of food residues or bodily fluid contamination, reducing bacterial growth and infection risks, but also alleviates the cleaning burden on care staff, maintaining the furniture's long-term aesthetic appeal and durability. For care facilities, this means a dual improvement in safety and management efficiency. Especially fabrics that can withstand UV disinfection better meet the high-standard daily care needs of nursing homes.
• Ensure stability for safe use
Elderly residents require high stability when sitting down, standing up, or leaning on furniture. Compared to traditional wooden structures, fully welded aluminium alloy frames offer superior load-bearing capacity and durability, maintaining stability even with long-term, high-frequency use. Sturdy and durable furniture effectively reduces the risk of falls or tip-overs, creating a safe and reliable living environment for elderly residents.
• Clearly defined functional zones through furniture
In nursing homes, different areas serve different functions—the dining room for meals, the lounge area for socialising and relaxation, and the activity room for rehabilitation and entertainment. By using furniture to delineate zones, it not only helps the elderly quickly identify the purpose of each space, protecting their self-esteem, but also enhances overall efficiency: care staff can more easily organise activities, furniture is arranged more reasonably, the elderly move more safely, and the entire nursing home environment becomes more orderly and comfortable.
1. Layout of the nursing home lounge
Purchasing furniture for a nursing home is not just about choosing the furniture itself; it also involves considering the types of activities that take place in the room, the number of residents staying there at the same time, and the atmosphere you wish to create. These factors directly influence the layout of the furniture. A study shows that nursing home residents spend an average of 19% of their time idle and 50% of their time lacking social interaction. Therefore, creating a space that encourages participation and stimulates vitality is crucial. While chairs are typically placed along the perimeter of rooms in elderly care facility, a well-planned layout can enhance interaction between residents and care staff, thereby increasing social engagement.
2. Group or Cluster Care Home Lounge Furniture Layout
Combining different types of chairs within a space not only helps divide functional zones but also facilitates face-to-face communication and interaction among people. By arranging chairs facing each other, residents can choose to watch TV, read by the window, or chat with others.
3. Types of Senior Living Chairs
- Dining chairs for the elderly
In nursing home dining rooms, dining chair for elderly with armrests are crucial. Many elderly individuals have insufficient leg strength or balance issues and require support when sitting down and standing up. Armrests not only help the elderly transition safely and reduce the risk of falls, but also support their elbows during meals, enhancing their independence and dining experience. This not only improves the overall atmosphere but also makes the environment more welcoming, thereby increasing the elderly's satisfaction with the dining and social spaces.
- Lounge chair for public space
Public areas are important places for the elderly to chat, read, hold meetings, or simply relax. A two seat sofa is a common choice, as it offers both comfort and safety. Sofas designed specifically for the elderly feature ergonomic backrests that provide lumbar support and maintain the natural curvature of the spine; a higher seat height for easier standing; and thicker cushions and wider bases for stability. Such designs help the elderly maintain independence and comfort, making daily life more enjoyable.
- Single sofa for elderly theatre
Many elderly people are unable to go to the cinema due to mobility issues, so many nursing homes create cinema-style activity rooms within their facilities. Such spaces have higher requirements for seating: they must provide adequate lumbar and head support while offering a comfortable viewing experience. High back sofas are an ideal choice, as they provide excellent support for the elderly during prolonged sitting. For care facilities, such seating not only enhances the living experience but also allows the elderly to maintain greater autonomy and participation.
Selecting the right products and partners
• The endorsement effect from top-tier client validation
Purchasers of high-quality assisted living furniture are often chain elderly care groups and medical and wellness institutions, who are extremely cautious in selecting suppliers and typically require proven success cases and experience in high-end projects. Yumeya's furniture has entered international top-tier elderly care groups such as Vacenti in Australia. Products recognised by these stringent standards naturally possess strong endorsement value. For distributors, this is not merely about selling a product but converting ‘international top-tier project cases’ into trust credentials for market expansion, helping to secure domestic high-end elderly care project more quickly.
• Transitioning from one-time transactions to long-term revenue
The procurement logic for elderly care furniture is very different from ordinary furniture. Instead of a one-off deal, it requires continuous additions as occupancy rates, bed capacity, and facility upgrades grow. At the same time, elderly care facilities have shorter replacement cycles and stricter maintenance needs, giving dealers the chance to build long-term, stable supply relationships. Compared to traditional furniture dealers stuck in price wars, this model of “repeat demand + long-term partnership” not only increases profit margins but also ensures steady cash flow.
• Assisted living furniture is the next certain growth sector
Most dealers are engaged in homogeneous competition, while senior friendly furniture is emerging as a niche market with certain growth potential. Those who enter this market can build customer relationships, project experience, and brand reputation in advance, securing a leading position when the market truly takes off in the future. In other words, entering the senior friendly furniture market now is not just about expanding into a new category but about securing a growth trajectory with the highest certainty over the next decade.
Yumeya makes it easier for dealers to focus on specialised markets
With over 27 years of market experience, we deeply understand the elderly's demand for furniture convenience. Through a robust sales team and professional expertise, we have earned customer trust. Our technology continues to evolve, and we collaborate with multiple renowned elderly care groups.
While the market remains in disarray, we introduced the unique Elder Ease concept based on metal wood grain furniture — focusing not only on the comfort and safety of the furniture itself but also emphasising a ‘stress-free’ living experience for the elderly while reducing the workload of care staff. To this end, we have continuously refined our designs, materials, and craftsmanship, and built a strong partnership with the internationally renowned elderly care fabric brand, Spradling. This marks Yumeya's further enhancement of its competitiveness in the medical and elderly care furniture sector, ensuring that our products meet the stringent requirements of high-end elderly care institutions for comfort, safety, and usability. We believe that only those who truly understand elderly care furniture can become the most trustworthy partners in this rapidly developing market.
Featured Styles:
180° swivel chair with ergonomic support, memory foam, and long-lasting comfort. Ideal for senior living.
A nursing home chair with a backrest handle, optional castors, and a hidden crutch holder, combining convenience with aesthetics for elderly users.
Additionally, to simplify the workload of nursing home staff, we introduce the Pure Lift concept, incorporating special features into senior living dining chairs to make cleaning simpler and more efficient.
Lift-up cushions and removable covers for easy cleaning and hygiene. Designed for seamless maintenance in retirement furniture.
Yumeya has a long-term partnership with care home furniture suppliers and furniture brands, serving hundreds of projects, which allows us to better understand the needs of our dealer customers. For nursing homes, which often face challenges in selecting styles, dealers must maintain large inventories to meet customer demands. Insufficient styles can lead to lost orders, while too many styles can result in increased inventory and storage costs. To address this, we introduce the M+ concept, which allows a single chair to adopt different styles by adding or replacing components within existing product designs.
- M+ Mars 1687 Seating
Effortlessly transform a single chair into a 2 seat sofa or 3 seat sofa with modular cushions. KD design ensures flexibility, cost efficiency, and style consistency.
Additionally, due to the operational characteristics of nursing home projects, senior living chairs are often the final element of interior design. The upholstery style and colour scheme of chairs must align with clients' semi-customised requirements. To address this, we have introduced the Quick Fit concept, which enables quick replacement of chair backrest and seat fabrics through a simpler and faster installation process, meeting the diverse interior style needs of different nursing homes.
- Poral 1607 Seating
The backrest and seat can be installed with just 7 screws, minimising the need for skilled labour and helping to reduce labour costs, while also enabling quick replacement of backrest and seat cushion fabrics.
Products