Pottery Barn, Michael Graves Design Launch Accessible Home Furnishings

Pottery Barn, a portfolio brand of Williams-Sonoma, a digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer, has announced the launch of an accessible home furnishings collection developed in collaboration with Michael Graves Design. Renowned as experts in accessible design, Michael Graves Design collaborated with Pottery Barn to research, test, design and develop a collection of bedroom furnishings and upholstery designs intended to make life at home safer and more accessible.

The functional design elements of the Michael Graves Design for Pottery Barn collection leverage ethnographic research conducted by Michael Graves Design across several communities, including adults aging in place and individuals with disabilities.

With the primary research driving the development of the initial furniture designs, the Michael Graves Design team developed prototypes that were used for testing with a diverse pool of potential users, which allowed participants to touch, feel and interact with the designs. The insights collected from consumer testing influenced accessible updates to some of Pottery Barn’s best-selling collections and the development of new designs.

“Bringing together Pottery Barn’s design leadership for beautiful, quality home furnishings, with Michael Graves Design’s award-winning accessible-design knowledge has enabled us to create a collection that harmoniously blends aesthetic appeal and functionality,” says Monica Bhargava, president, Pottery Barn. “Collaborating with Michael Graves Design has deepened our commitment to accessible designs with the goal of enhancing the lives of consumers living with disabilities, injuries or aging in place at home without sacrificing quality or style.”

“Design has the power to enrich all of our lives,” says Donald Strum, president, Michael Graves Design. “This pioneering collaboration with Pottery Barn allows us to make beautiful and purposeful furniture available to everyone.”

“Together with Pottery Barn, we are setting new consumer expectations with products that seamlessly blend safety with style, proving to the world that accessible design makes great business sense by broadening the total addressable market,” says Rob Van Varick, chief design officer, Michael Graves Design.

The collection features upholstered armchairs and furnishings from Pottery Barn’s best-selling bedroom collections: Sausalito, Cayman and Farmhouse.

Items from the new collection include bed frames, nightstands, dressers, dresser seats and a Yardley & Bradford armchair. 

The inaugural Michael Graves Design for Pottery Barn collection, first announced by License Global last April,  is available on PotteryBarn.com/MichaelGravesDesign and will be available in select stores in the coming weeks.