AS A WHEELCHAIR USER I AM CONSTANTLY THINKING ABOUT “CAN I TRANSFER THERE?”. WHEN IT COMES TO BEDS, SOFAS, CHAIRS, THE FLOOR YOU NAME IT I ASK MYSELF THAT QUESTION. THE HEIGHT OF SURFACES COMPLETELY DICTATE WHETER OR NOT A PERSON WITH PARALYSIS OR LIMITED MOBILITY WILL BE ABLE TO TRANSFER TO IT. IT IS WAY TOO OFTEN AN OVERLOOKED DETAIL IN DESIGN. WE WANT TO SHARE SOME WAYS TO USE THE LENS OF TRANSFER HEIGHTS TO DETERMINE THE PRODUCTS WE USE IN A SPACE.

LET’S BE CLEAR, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. LIKE EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER AND WITHIN THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY THAT HOLDS EVEN MORE TRUE. WHAT WORKS FOR ONE PERSON WONT WORK FOR THE PERSON NEXT TO THEM. SO THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IS TO FIGURE OUT YOUR PERFECT TRANSFER HEIGHT. MEASURE A SPACE YOU CAN COMFORTABLY TRANSFER TO AND BUILD A RANGE FROM THERE.

PERSONALLY I CAN SAFELY TRANSFER ONTO SURFACES 16″ – 19″ FROM THE GROUND.

THIS IS THE RANGE YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR WHEN BUYING FURNITURE. WE CAN ALSO GET CREATIVE HERE. LETS SAY WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE A CHAIR BUT THE SEAT HEIGHT IS AT 14″ FROM THE GROUND. THAT IS WAY TOO LOW FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK INTO OUR CHAIR SAFELY, BUT WE DONT WANT TO GIVE UP THE WHOLE CHAIR BECAUSE OF THAT. THIS MAY BE THE PERFECT SITUATION TO SEE IF THE LEGS CAN BE REPLACED WITH TALLER ONES. NOW THIS MAY NOT ALWAYS WORK, SOME CHAIRS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FUNCTION WITH DIFFERENT LEGS BUT IT MAY BE AN OPTION FOR SOME.

THE NEXT THING TO THINK ABOUT IS THE ANGLE IN WHICH YOU LIKE TO TRANSFER. PERSONALLY I LIKE TO TRANSFER AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE TO THE SURFACE. THIS TELLS ME THAT I KNOW TO HAVE SOME EXTRA SPACE IN MY TRANSFER AREA SO I HAVE THE ROOM TO POSITION MY CHAIR IN THE WAY I NEED IT. THIS WILL DETERMINE HOW CLOSE I CAN PLACE THINGS LIKE COFFEE TABLES, LAMPS, SIDE TABLES AND OTHER ITEMS.

BEDS ARE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FURNITURE ITEMS TO GET THE TRANSFER HEIGHT CORRECT ON. THIS CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE TO ALLOW SOMEONE TO BE INDEPENDENT. I CAN NOT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES THE BED IN AN ACCESSIBLE HOTEL ROOM IS 30″ FROM THE GROUND AND THERE IS NO WAY FOR A PERSON TO TRANSFER FROM A SITTING POSITION. IT IS A STORY I HAVE HEARD WAY TOO MANY TIMES AND SOMETHING THAT GETS OVERLOOKED. WE DO NOT WANT TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE IN YOUR HOUSE.

FIRST, DETERMINE YOUR PERFECT TRANSFER HEIGHT!

THEN TRY TO FIND A BED WITHIN THAT RANGE. DO NOT FORGET TO ADD IN THE HEIGHT OF THE MATTRESS AND BOXSPRING. IF YOU CAN NOT FIND A BED YOU LOVE WITHIN THAT RANGE THERE ARE SOME TRICKS YOU CAN TRY. FIND A BED WITH 4 WOOD LEGS AND CUT THEM DOWN TO YOUR PERFECT HEIGHT. THIS WILL REQUIRE A STEADY HAND AND LOTS OF ACCURATE MEASURING. THIS WAY THERE ARE MUCH MORE OPTIONS WHEN SOURCING A BED FRAME. WE ADVISE TO STAY AWAY FROM PLATFORM BEDS BECAUSE THEY CAN BE HARDER TO TRANSFER TO AND NOT ABLE TO BE CUT DOWN.

WE GOT LUCKY ANDDID END UP FINDING THE PERFECT BED FRAME WITH A 18″ HEIGHT FOR OUR CONDO GLOW UP PROJECT.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS BED FRAME, CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!