Interior Designers Can Play Important Role in Promoting Healthy, Safe Homes
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) announces the first annual Furniture Safety Week will be October 7-11, 2024. The initiative is designed to engage all segments of the home furnishings industry in public conversation about furniture and home safety.
Common hazards that involve our industry’s products include:
Furniture tip-over. Since 2013, at least 58 children have died as a result of furniture tipping over on them, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Another 50 died during this same time period when a TV plus the furniture it was sitting on tipped over. While many associate tip-over accidents with inexpensive, lightweight furniture, high quality, solid wood pieces can also tip when a child attempts to climb.
Bunk beds. An estimated 36,000 children are injured playing on or jumping off bunk beds each year, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati. The CPSC recommends children under 6 years of age not sleep on top bunks, and with good reason. More than half of all bunk bed-related injuries involve kids under 6.
Reclining furniture. In the last 10 years, eight children died and more were injured when they became trapped under a reclining or lift chair, the CPSC reports. The rising popularity of power recline functions for chairs and sofas, including in the luxury market, has elevated the need for safety precautions in households with small children.
Glass-top tables. More than 2.5 million Americans sustain injuries involving broken glass-top tables every year, according to a 2020 study by Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
Furniture Safety Week will improve consumer awareness of these and other potential home hazards and how to help prevent them. Participation in the campaign is growing among manufacturers, retailers, retail buying groups, interior designers and child safety advocates like Parents Against Tip-Overs (www.parentsagainsttipovers.org) and Kids in Danger (www.kidsindanger.org).
“Interior designers have a special role to play in conveying home safety messages to their vast network of clients and online followers,” said Patricia Bowling, AHFA vice president of communications. “From luxury homeowners to DIY penny-pinchers, everyone wants a safe and healthy home. AHFA invites the design community to join this industry-wide effort in October to bring ‘hidden hazards’ out to the open.”
Home safety tips and social media graphics identifying key furniture hazards are available to participating interior designers on AHFA’s Alliance4Safety website.
Easy Ways to Participate in Furniture Safety Week
- Share our Furniture Safety Checklist. On October 7, post a link to our checklist on your social platforms. Suggested message:
It’s Furniture Safety Week! Check out these 5 steps for keeping everyone, especially, children, safe at home. #FurnitureSafetyWeek
- Share our Furniture Tip-over Prevention Checklist. On October 8, post a link to our tip-over prevention checklist on your social platforms. Suggested message:
It’s Furniture Safety Week! You can close the drawer on tip-over hazards in your home by following the precautions in this tip-over prevention checklist. #FurnitureSafetyWeek #AnchorIt
- Select your favorite vintage furniture image. On October 9, share your image and this possible message:
It’s Furniture Safety Week! In households with small children, be wary of vintage pieces that may have sticky drawers, an unstable base or loose hardware. Reduce hazards by anchoring pieces to the wall, even if you think they won’t tip; even if you think your youngster won’t climb! #FurnitureSafetyWeek
