Alternative to sofa raising - REMAP - Custom made equipment for disabled people
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Alternative to sofa raising

Lynne has poor strength in her lower body and finds getting on and off her sofa almost impossible. She thought the answer might be to raise the sofa, as we have done so many times before. But the sofa was a huge corner affair that would have been almost impossible to do either safely or practically. So another solution was required. There are a variety of possible solutions on the market including booster cushions, cushions designed to work with body weight movement, and mechanical lifting devices.  None of these worked for her.  What she needed was not only to sit a little higher than the sofa, but also have a way in which she could help herself up using her upper body strength.  The sofa offered none of these requirements but there was also no room to have an alternative chair in the room.

The solution

What was designed was a rigid softwood frame that had four features.  It spread the load of a seated person so as not to damage the furniture; it provided a firm and stable platform on top of the existing sofa cushions; it was sized for a booster cushion for both comfort and increased height; and finally it had rails at the correct width, position and angle to allow Lynne to raise herself helped by her arms and hands.  In fact it also had another significant advantage in that it was light enough for her to move to any seat in the house or even to take it with her when visiting friends and family, providing the same benefits, on the move.

The benefit

Lynne could not use her sofa safely by herself.  Now she has the ability to sit anywhere she wants with the confidence she can stand up when she wants, unaided.

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4 responses to “Alternative to sofa raising”

  1. Sandy Holdom says:

    Hi Peter, we make loads of bespoke sofa risers here in Norfolk. They are always just for one person so raising the whole sofa is making it difficult for others to use (and sometimes very difficult to install). Your idea is much better. As you say making it easier to get up and take it with you. The base part would always be the same and the thickness of the foam could vary according to needs. I’m thinking of making one as a alternative to our next client. The only problem I can see is that it may not be quite as comfortable
    as siting on the sofa unless the base is deep enough. Cheers Sandy

  2. PeterCattermole says:

    Thanks Sandy. I think the seat is far too big to be 3D printed (certainly on most hobby printers) but it’s easy enough to make from timber and very cheap. The idea of posting it on MakeAbility was to share the design in case it met other clients’ needs. In this case the design was created because the corner sofa was just too big to raise but it turned out to have many more advantages in that it was a portable solution.

  3. Sandy Holdom says:

    Very good idea. Could it be 3d printed? In quantity it could be shared around Remap as a good and cheap alternative to some cases of sofa rises.

  4. MartinH says:

    A very interesting alternative answer to the many requests we receive to raise chairs and sofas! Nice thinking…..

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