With clipboard in hand, Jef De Smet leaned toward 90-year-old Joyce Thompson to make sure he didn't miss a word. The Ikea market researcher wanted to know all about Thompson's everyday tasks in her two-bedroom apartment.
How did she organize her kitchen? Did she sort and recycle her garbage? What colors did she like?
"These are questions I haven't given much thought to," Thompson chuckled lightly, even as she offered insight into how little she actually uses her kitchen.
The Swedish furniture giant may be better known for its hip back-to-college dorm designs and affordable, sleek minimalist lines for young urbanites. But as the population ages, the international retailer with a value of $36 billion is looking at whether its products could be displayed and marketed more directly to downsizing seniors as well.
The interview with Thompson was one of three that De Smet had recently with residents at Augustana Apartments of Minneapolis as part of a collaboration between Ikea Twin Cities and Augustana Care to learn about the challenges older people face when they downsize or move to assisted living.
The project offers a view into the myriad ways that businesses, communities and governments are preparing for the coming "gray tsunami" as the population ages.
"People want to stay in their homes and in their communities," said Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson, who is promoting a bipartisan legislative initiative known as Reform 2020 to find more flexible uses for state-federal Medicaid dollars to address the needs of an aging population and save taxpayer money.
"If we can provide more services to seniors, intervene earlier to help them stay in their homes longer, they're going to be healthier," Jesson said. "Furniture is just a piece of that, but it's an important piece."