Have you ever thought that, for who lives with a given disability, even his own home can turn into a hostile place, full of hidden dangers? Sometimes, little tricks could be enough to make furniture or rooms fully usable also by those who have physical limitations. This is the starting point of ThisAbles, the project developed by Ikea Israel and by the non-profit organization Milbat that enables who has a disability to pick, through the website dedicated to the initiative,  adjustmensts for commonly used furniture (obviously, made by Ikea) such as chairs, beds, couches that make it easier to use them also for those who have special needs.

Some products can also be printed in 3D directly from the website users, simply downloading the appropriate file from the website. ThisAbles currently includes 13 hacks for various home rooms: the living room, the study, the bedroom and the bathroom. Special handles that help opening and closing the closets, switches that are easier to reach, supports for canes and extensions for the couches legs, for instance.

Cane by me, a bed support for cane

But there’s much more that can be done! In fact, the website invites its users to  collaborate to expand the upgrades catalogue, sending ideas and proposals adapted to single needs, in addition to signal what objects, among those already included in the catalogue, are more suitable for helping people with disabilities in their everyday activities.

Couch lift

The ThisAbles project is perfectly aligned with the Swedish company’s vision: “create a better everyday life for as many people as possible”. We hope it can be soon extended to the other countries Ikea operates in and, hopefully, other brands follow its example. Since, as we always say, a more accessible world is an advantage for everyone, not only for those with “special needs”.