Pottery Barn has partnered with Michael Graves Design, a leader in accessible design innovation, to create a collection of accessible furniture that doesn’t sacrifice beautiful design.
“Design has the power to enrich all of our lives. This pioneering collaboration with Pottery Barn allows us to make beautiful and purposeful furniture available to everyone,” says Rob Van Varick, chief design officer of Michael Graves Design.
Michael Graves Design was founded by Michael Graves, a prominent architect and designer who has been a wheelchair user since a 2003 spinal cord infection. His firm collaborated with Pottery Barn to research, test and design the new line of furniture, which features upholstered armchairs as well as items from Pottery Barn’s bestselling bedroom collections. A diverse group of users, including people with disabilities and older adults, had the opportunity to test the initial prototype designs. The design team used the research and insights collected from the consumer testing to make accessibility improvements to some of Pottery Barn’s most popular collections, as well as develop new designs.
Some of the functional enhancements of the Michael Graves Design collaboration include:
- Dressers and nightstands with easy-to-use larger pulls for one-handed drawer opening.
- Dressers with 9 inches of ground clearance, allowing wheelchair users better clearance for their feet.
- Dresser seats, providing convenient seating for dressing.
- Armchairs with optimized foam density, seat height, seat depth, armrest height and extension touchpoints that enable a more supported position to get in and out of a chair.
- Bedframes with integrated armrests and “pull-and-roll side grips” to support sitting, standing and repositioning in bed.
“Collaborating with Michael Graves Design has deepened our commitment to accessible designs with the goal of enhancing the lives of consumers living with disabilities, injuries or aging in place at home without sacrificing quality or style,” says Monica Bhargava, president of Pottery Barn.
The Michael Graves Design by Pottery Barn’s inaugural collection is available at select Pottery Barn stores and online at PotteryBarn.com/MichaelGravesDesign.
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