Ikea just designed its new bathroom products to make life easier for everyone

Ikea’s new collection is all about accessibility.

The furniture maker’s new Bäsingen collection, which is available this month, includes six items for the bathroom that the company designed to be easy to use for people with disabilities: a shower chair, two kids of stools with rails, a towel rail, a shower shelf, and a toilet roll holder. The products range from about $12 to about $39.

The collection was designed to be sturdy and non-slippery, with tube handles on the stools and that are thick for an easy grip. The dark color for the products in the collections was also chosen so the items would be easily visible, but stylish enough so to be something you’d want to keep out in view, Ikea says.

Sarah Fager, Ikea’s senior designer, said she started working on the Bäsingen collection “by wanting to learn more about the needs and wishes of people with physical limitations.” She said it was one of her most challenging design projects “because it was about meeting needs that were new to me,” but it was also one of her most enlightening.

“The products were created to bring great functionality together with a beautiful design, as they have a minimalistic expression that is rooted in our Scandinavian design tradition,” she said. “Bäsingen is designed to help customers create a comfortable experience.”

At least 61 million U.S. adults have at least one disability, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows. Some may have more requirements than the average user for household products, like stools with handles they can hold onto for stability for safety in the bathroom or shower.

Global sales of assistive furniture reached an estimated $4.93 billion in 2024, according to data from Fact.MR, a market research firm. And Ikea isn’t the only furniture maker that’s designing for accessibility. Last year, Pottery Barn added optional, accessible features to three of its most popular furniture lines. Ikea released Omtänksam, a collection of ergonomic products for comfort and support in 2020.

“There are many people who experience impactful and common circumstantial changes that can make something as simple as taking a shower challenging,” Ikea product design developer Watts Zijlstra said in a statement. “Yet, we see that the home environment is often not equipped for change. The starting point for Bäsingen was a clear need for specific product functions.”