Specially designed chair brightens up lives

Kapiti Inner Wheel members Judith Shilling, Maureen Ellis, Vera Greiner and Dorothy Woods presenting Kapiti Retirement Trust CEO Wendy Houston with a new recliner chair. Photo / Rosalie Willis

It's bright, it's colourful, it's life-changing, and it's a chair.

Kapiti Retirement Trust residents at Sevenoaks have found a new lease of life through comfortable La-Z-Boy style, movable, recliner chairs.

The latest one has been gifted by Kapiti Inner Wheel Club who held a fundraising fashion show at Ballentynes raising $1650 for the chair.

The group decided to raise funds for a chair after president Maureen Ellis saw how much freedom the chairs give the residents when visiting Sevenoaks.

"We don't do a lot of fundraising but this year we chose to raise funds for a chair," Maureen said.

This chair is specially designed to suit the needs of elderly residents who would otherwise be bedbound.

"What normally happens in an aged care facility when people are assessed and move into the hospital unit, they become bed ridden and stay in their room all day," Kapiti Retirement Trust chief executive Wendy Houston said.

"A chair like this means they are able to be moved around by staff and participate in all the different activities around the place."

Made by Archer Furnishings, the trust now has 15 chairs, hoping to eventually have 30, with the latest one being gifted by the Kapiti Inner Wheel Club.

The chair is made from memory foam, has wheels, an extra wide foot rest, two bars for staff to push from and washable fabrics with an antibacterial treatment to sanitise it, but what really stands out is its bright aesthetic.

Featuring ultra-bright material with flowers and birds, the chair is bright and cheery.

"It just makes you feel bright," Inner Wheel member Dorothy Woods said.

"When lots of other things you have in life go, the one thing that still gives you pleasure is colour," Wendy said.

With a passion for fabrics and bright colours Wendy said, "I've gone through and chosen all of the brightest fabrics I can find. You can't be feeling down when you're in it."

Chairs have been donated by a number of different groups with modifications being made to suit the needs of the residents.

"There are all these extra things to it that you don't necessarily think about when you see it, they really are life changing," Wendy said.

"These chairs enable residents to be mobile, residents that would have otherwise been stuck in their beds are now able to join in and participate in activities.

"For the next chairs I've got fish fabric selected for the blokes who like fishing and have also picked out some bright pink flamingoes."