Future Home Trends in Emerging Markets: Furniture Design for Young Urban Professionals

Young professionals enjoy their urban lifestyle in a denser housing type. As various activities occur in a limited size of space, smarter furniture design needs to be considered. This study aim to identify furniture design needs of young professionals living in denser housing type located in urban areas. Face-to-face interview and observation were conducted for three to four hours based on AEIOU (activities, environments, interatcions, objects, and users) framework. Eighteen young professionals living in Chicago, USA participated in this study during March, 2012. Interviews were video taped and transcribed, and photos of furniture usage in each housing unit were taken. The results show that young professionals living in denser housing type located in urban areas are looking for multifunctional furniture solutions for their restricted home environment that focus on 1) space saving, 2) efficient storage, 3) easy accessibility, and 4) intuitive interactions.