The Study On Furniture Design For The Elderly Under The Mode For Home Care Of The Aged

Population aging is becoming a major concern in China, as its population getting older. There are three forms of old age care, namely, home-base care, institution care, and mixed care. Affected by the traditional culture, home-base care is the most common old age support in China. Furniture plays an important role in home-base care, and thus it is designed to make elderly’s life safe, comfortable and convenient.This paper first analyzes the senile fitness design inside and outside China, and the old age furniture market situation. Second, we study the elderly’s physical and psychological characteristics through questionnaire surveys. After comparing the demands under different old age cares, we find out the problems in furniture usage. The study of furniture senile fitness design in Foyer, living room, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and balcony summarizes design points on the size, function and layouts of the furniture. We also commend on the usages of different materials in old age furniture designs. Next, we introduce the concept of smart furniture, and point out the benefits and problems that smart furniture would bring to the elderly, from the angles of smart adjustment and security. Lastly, we summarize the difficulties in practice and look into the future of furniture senile fitness.The Elderly under home-base care has different life behaviors and thus and different demands on furniture. This paper focuses on the former group people and analyzes the principles of old age furniture design and methods.