Guide to Selecting Furniture for the Elderly: Creating a Safe and Comfortable Environment

In nursing homes, care hospitals, and other facilities, the selection of furniture for the elderly is not only about comfort, but also about safety. For furniture dealers, the selection criteria for furniture for the elderly are much higher than those for traditional furniture. If you are struggling with your elderly care project, take a look at this article, which may help you come up with new ideas when selecting furniture.

Design in the Unseen Areas

Have you noticed that many pieces of senior friendly furniture, especially chairs or sofas, are designed with the bottom suspended off the ground? Unlike tatami-style designs that are flush with the floor, this is a thoughtful design choice—to make it safer and easier for the elderly to stand up.

When standing up, the feet naturally move backward, and the legs need to bend. If the furniture is too low or there are obstacles underneath, it's easy to bump the heels. For young people, it might just be a minor bump, but for the elderly with impaired balance, even a slight bump could lead to a fall.

This may seem like a minor design detail, but elevating the furniture slightly off the ground not only facilitates daily cleaning but also, from a ergonomic perspective, provides the elderly with a more natural and smooth movement space when standing up, reducing the risk of falls and truly demonstrating thoughtful care for the user.

Quality Advantage Experience

A chair is not merely for sitting; for the elderly, it often serves as a reliable support. In the absence of assistance, the strength and stability of the chair back directly affect whether the elderly can safely grip the chair, adjust their posture, and stand up smoothly. Chairs with unstable designs or weak structures may tip over during use, increasing the risk of falls.

Therefore, high-quality elderly care chairs feature reinforced structures on the backrest and are designed with handholds or grip points to provide support when standing up, effectively reducing pressure on the knees and waist. Side armrests not only enhance usability but also give the elderly greater confidence in their movements. The specially designed grip points on the backrest not only facilitate moving the chair but also provide a reliable point of leverage when sitting down or standing up. In essence, a chair truly designed with the elderly in mind can serve as their walking stick in critical moments.

Therefore, when selecting an elderly care chair, it is essential to focus on the material and structural strength of the backrest frame.

Other details to consider

Elderly care furniture must prioritise ergonomics and safety design. When choosing elderly care furniture, consider the following points.

Rounded edges on the armrests: The armrests of an elderly care chair are not only key components for support and assistance but also details that reflect safety and comfort. Rounded edges reduce the risk of scratches or cuts when the elderly stand up, sit down, or move their hands, and also prevent collisions with the lower legs when approaching the chair. Additionally, this design facilitates daily cleaning and reduces hygiene dead zones.

Seat depth and angle: If the seat is too deep, it can compress the knee area and impair blood circulation; if it is too shallow, it may cause the elderly to sit unsteadily and lack proper lumbar support. The angle between the seat and backrest is also critical—too vertical can lead to fatigue from prolonged sitting, while too reclined can affect stability when standing up. Therefore, a scientifically reasonable ergonomic design can effectively distribute body pressure, reduce discomfort caused by prolonged sitting, and help the elderly stand up more naturally, thereby reducing the risk of falls. The optimal design features a backrest angle of 101 degrees and a back curvature of 170 degrees, which helps distribute lumbar pressure.

Metal structure stability: Using a high-strength metal frame combined with seamless welding technology not only significantly enhances load-bearing capacity and seismic resistance, effectively preventing safety hazards such as shaking or tipping during use, but also offers better durability and antibacterial properties. Compared to wooden structures, metal is less prone to mould and bacterial growth, making it suitable for elderly care environments with higher hygiene requirements.

High-density foam seat cushion: Elderly individuals spend most of their day sitting, and prolonged use can lead to issues such as seat cushion sagging and insufficient support. High-density foam offers superior resilience and support, maintaining its shape and elasticity even after prolonged use. This helps prevent discomfort or pressure buildup from prolonged sitting, effectively reducing strain on the lower back and buttocks.

Odourless eco-friendly fabric: The elderly have more sensitive senses of smell and physical constitutions. If furniture has an odour, prolonged exposure may cause discomfort or even affect health. High-quality eco-friendly fabric eliminates unpleasant odours from the source, creating a comfortable resting environment. Additionally, considering that the elderly may have mobility issues, furniture is more prone to stains from food or drinks. Water-resistant and stain-resistant designs make daily cleaning more convenient and prevent bacterial growth.

Mild colours and patterns: The sensory sensitivity of the elderly increases, and their moods are more easily influenced by the environment. The choice of colours and patterns for furniture is not only about visual aesthetics but also relates to psychological comfort. Using soft, low-saturation tones and simple, clear graphic designs can effectively reduce visual stimulation, creating a calm and warm spatial atmosphere to help the elderly relax their emotions and enhance their sense of well-being.

Currently, the demand for long-term care services is steadily increasing. While many families choose to care for elderly relatives with chronic illnesses at home, due to limited care resources, reduced social capabilities, and growing care needs, an increasing number of elderly individuals ultimately choose or are arranged to reside in nursing homes. However, some elderly individuals may resist medical environments, so how to improve the nursing home environment through interior design is a question nursing homes must now consider.

In this context, care staff and elderly care institutions play a crucial role in providing high-quality, holistic care for the elderly. The overall evaluation of elderly care facilities by the elderly is not only determined by the professionalism and humanisation of care services but also influenced by the modernisation level of facilities. These factors collectively determine the elderly's experience and satisfaction with life in elderly care facilities.

To actively address this trend, Yumeya launched an innovative concept in 2024 specifically designed for elderly care facilities—ElderEase. This concept emphasises providing the elderly with a ‘relaxed’ experience while reducing the workload of care staff. Around this concept, Umeya has also developed several flagship products tailored to elderly care scenarios, each designed with different usage details in mind.

• M+ Mars 1687 Seating

M+1687 series highlights modular innovation, offering flexible combinations from single chairs to two-seater and three-seater sofas to accommodate diverse spatial needs. Featuring a KD disassemblable structure, it facilitates transportation and installation, effectively reducing operational costs. Additionally, through a unified base frame and modular cushion design, it enhances overall spatial design consistency while providing efficient, coordinated furniture solutions for diverse settings such as dining areas, lounges, and guest rooms.

• Palace 5744 Seating

Equipped with an adjustable seat cushion design, it ensures thorough cleaning and easy maintenance; the removable chair cover allows for quick replacement, enabling seamless handling of food residues or unexpected urine stains. Every detail reflects thoughtful design, balancing functionality and aesthetics to help create an efficient and clean elderly care environment.

• Holly 5760 Seating

Not only does it consider the convenience of elderly users, but it also accommodates the operational needs of care staff. The chair back features specially designed handle holes for easy movement and quick setup; front casters make chair movement effortless, reducing the burden on caregivers.

The side features a designated space for storing walking sticks, allowing the elderly to store them conveniently upon returning home, ensuring safety and preventing tripping hazards. The overall design is sleek and elegant, combining functionality with aesthetics, making it suitable for various elderly care spaces.

• Madina 1708 Seating

This metal wood grain swivel chair is equipped with a rotating base, allowing for free movement when sitting down and standing up, reducing discomfort caused by twisting the body. It can also be rotated flexibly while sitting at the dining table, without being obstructed by table legs. The classic design combines practical functionality, offering the warmth of home while meeting the daily needs of the elderly, making it an ideal choice for enhancing the comfort and convenience of elderly care spaces.

All the featured products are crafted using Yumeya's core metal wood grain technology. Beyond meeting aesthetic and durability requirements, they are tailored to the real needs of elderly care scenarios. As dealers, we should understand that elderly care furniture is not merely a product transaction but a deep involvement in improving the quality of elderly care life.

Truly outstanding elderly care furniture should provide a sense of security and dignity to the elderly population with limited mobility, difficulty in sitting or standing, and fluctuating emotions through its materials, structure, design, and details. In the context of a care environment characterised by labour shortages and fluctuating demands, how to ensure that furniture remains stable, functional, and comfortable is an ongoing focus of Yumeya's research and optimisation efforts. Metal wood grain technology can provide elderly individuals with an excellent living experience. Understanding the needs of the elderly when selecting furniture is key to successfully securing elderly care projects.