2025–09–23
Spending time outdoors every day has a powerful, positive impact on health, especially later in life. Research shows that greenery, daylight, and physical activity can reduce stress, boost the immune system, and even lower the need for medication. In the planning of care homes, the outdoor environment should therefore be seen as a resource for health and quality of life. With the right furniture, the garden becomes an extension of the home, accessible year-round and adapted to residents’ different needs.
“A well-designed outdoor environment can become the most important room in a care home.”
Accessibility as standard
For outdoor areas to be fully used, accessibility must be integrated both in planning and in product choice. Furniture should provide support, safety, and ease in everyday use. The Access sofa, developed specifically for older users, is one example: its seat height and armrest design make it easier to sit down and get up again. Small details like these can make a big difference for independence and participation.
The Access sofa was developed together with Veryday through a dedicated design process to create a seat with maximum accessibility.
The Korg Swing Sofa is now available in a new version with a roof. The hammock is suspended from two poles in a stable A-shaped steel frame anchored to the ground.
Greenery as rehabilitation
A garden should invite people out at all times of the year. Plantings that can be experienced up close – to see, smell, and touch – support stimulation and recovery. Water features, winding paths, or clusters of furniture provide natural destinations for short walks. Products such as the Korg Swing Sofa with roof offer both shelter and rest, creating places where people are happy to stay a little longer.
Rooms for activity and quality of life
An outdoor environment can be seen as a sequence of rooms with different functions: rest, activity, and sensory experience. Working with health design experts Anette and Tina Blåberg, designer Eva Schildt has created products that support movement and everyday joy. The Promenad series includes the Walking Bar, as well as the new Portal – a modern garden arch in generous proportions that improves orientation and creates spatial definition – and the Steps, designed with stable treads for safe training all year round. Together, these additions act as both tools and experiences, showing how design can give people of all ages more reasons to spend time outdoors.
