IKEA Hacks Iconic Products to Make Them Accessible to Those with Disabilities

IKEA Israel, in collaboration with Milbat and Access Israel, two Israeli NGOs that specialise in helping to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, have launched a new campaign. This-Ables allows anyone to 3D print a range of add-ons that simply and easily convert IKEA furniture and accessories into disability-friendly products.

IKEA Israel, Milbat and Access Israel developed all of the add-ons after extensive research regarding disabled people’s real needs in their home environments. The blueprints of each add-on are available for download, for free, on the Thisables website, together with their respective instructions manual and demo videos. The website also features a feedback area for sharing and suggesting new add-on ideas that could further help improve the lives of the people with disabilities.

Each of the items can be 3D printed and installed on the IKEA furniture, as presented in the demo videos.

A TV campaign by McCann Tel Aviv features Eldar, who is seen to struggle with turning on an IKEA lamp and getting up from an IKEA sofa. The demo videos show the 3D-printed add-ons being easily attached to the IKEA products and offering immediate ease of use for those with disabilities. 

Shuki Koblenz, the CEO of IKEA Israel, said: "There is a substantial segment of the population that has special needs yet cannot use and enjoy a variety of products, furniture and household items that we and our retail partners offer to the general public. IKEA's motto is to create better everyday lives for as many people as possible, and we feel it is our duty to create ThisAbles so as to enable people with special needs to enjoy the benefits of a wide selection of products, furniture and household items and to be "equal among equals". Throughout all stages of the process – thinking, planning, designing and development of these unique products – we realized that there are many people who come to our stores and cannot find any solution to their needs, causing them to feel frustrated and unequal."

Yuval Wagner, president and founder of Access Israel, said: "Access Israel is leading the accessibility revolution in Israel, and works so that people with disabilities will live in in as normal, accessible, comfortable and egalitarian a manner as possible, despite the difficulties and limitations resulting from their disability. ThisAbles is an accessibility project focusing on improving the quality of life and access in both home and work spaces – the spaces where we spend most of our lives. This is an original and innovative project, the first of its kind in the world, which can only be advanced through collaborations between leaders – IKEA, Access Israel and Milbat. I am convinced that this initiative will improve the quality of life in practice of people with disabilities in Israel and around the world."