E xtended couch legs that make it easier to get off the sofa. An oversize switch for turning lamps on and off. A handle to attach to the side of a shower curtain.

These simple hacks don’t drastically change Ikea furniture – but they can transform a product for people with disabilities. To make some of their most popular products more accessible, Ikea’s branch in Israel partnered with Israeli disability rights groups to design low-tech add-ons – such as special zippers and handles. The project, called ThisAbles, also reviewed hundreds of items and drew up a list of dozens of products that can already accommodate people with a range of disabilities, including tables that work for wheelchairs.

So far, only Ikea Israel is involved in the project. But experts say the retailer stands apart as one of the only mainstream furniture sellers working to design products with special needs in mind.

Accessibility can mean many things for companies, says Yuval Wagner, president and founder of Access Israel, one of the non-profits that partnered with Ikea. That can include designing websites that are navigable for people who can’t see or phone lines for those who can’t hear. For a furniture retailer like Ikea, that means designing products that work for all shoppers, Wagner says.

“Usually if you want special clothes, you have to go to a special website,” he says. “If you want special furniture or equipment, you go to special stores.”

Ikea: ThisAbles range Show all 12 1 /12 Ikea: ThisAbles range Ikea: ThisAbles range Curtain gripper ThisAbles project is designed to increase awareness and expose people with special needs to unique products developed specifically to enable them to use furniture and household utensils, alongside existing Ikea products that were examined and found suitable for use by people with various disabilities Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Finger brush Unique solutions were developed as part of the project, including a line of smart products and additions suitable for a variety of Ikea furniture and products, making them accessible for people with special needs Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Friendly zipper The project, was established in collaboration with Milbat and Access Israel Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Snap cup The venture brought together three organisations in order to find and advance solutions that will offer an appropriate and dignified response to the household needs of quite a large population in Israel Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Stuff reader Solutions include furniture that is customised to these needs, and the development of products that will help people with disabilities to use furniture and household utensils that have till now not been accessible to them Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Spot-on shelf At the first stage, Ikea's leading and most functional products for the home were selected Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Popup handle Milbat, an organization dedicated to helping improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, developed a line of 13 smart, convenient and easy-to-connect add-ons that make products more accessible and usable for people with special needs Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Insider The line of smart add-ons will be on display in all 4 Ikea stores, in the relevant departments, and attached to each product will a label with explanations of its functionality, how it can be used and for which product it is suitable Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Couch lift These add-ons can only be purchased through the Milbat website Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Cane by me Charlotte Hodges Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Mega switch Charlotte Hodges Ikea Ikea: ThisAbles range Easy handle Charlotte Hodges Ikea

The idea came from an Israeli employee at the ad agency McCann who worked on the creative team designing projects for Ikea, says Ikea Israel chief executive Shuki Koblenz. The employee, Eldar Yusupov, has cerebral palsy and says he wanted to be able to buy furniture from mainstream stores, without having to find specially-made sofas or chairs elsewhere.

“In my own home of all places, I’m surrounded by furniture calling out ‘cripple’,” Yusupov says in a video. “I’d like to sit on a regular sofa without being afraid I won’t be able to get up, to open a regular closet, or even to turn on a regular lamp.”

In the video, a sofa gets a boost from four leg attachments, helping Yusupov stand up more easily. A large switch helps him turn a lamp on and off without having to manipulate his fingers around a smaller button.

Koblenz says Ikea needed to join forces with advocacy and design groups to launch the project. Along with Access Israel, Ikea teamed up with Milbat, an Israeli nonprofit that designs and provides devices and technology for people with disabilities.

The team reviewed Ikea’s inventory and pinpointed more than 130 pieces of furniture and household items that are already suited for people with varying needs. Milbat also developed 13 add-ons that latch onto Ikea beds, shelves, shower curtains, pillows and more. They include hooks that attach to the side of a bed to hold a cane and a handle for opening drawers with a forearm instead of just a few fingers.

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The 13 hacks are on display in Israeli Ikea stores and customers can order the devices online from Milbat. But for shoppers elsewhere, the group also published the blueprints for 3D printouts that can be downloaded for free. Koblenz says customers can also request tweaks to the devices in case the models made for Ikea products don’t fit with their own furniture. Koblenz would not say how much the project is costing Ikea.

Aside from speciality furniture designers, Ikea stands out as a mainstream retailer making designs for its furniture, says Marty Exline, an expert on disability services and director of the National Assistive Technology Act Technical Assistance and Training Centre. Other retailers could stand to not only create add-ons of their own, he says, but keep accessibility in mind through the whole design process.

“It’s not only about speciality devices,” Exline says, “but also thinking about accessibility as they’re designing their furniture, and thinking about it from the start.”