--- title: "Furniture for apartments and senior living" url: https://contractfurniture.us/senior-living-furniture/ --- # Furniture for apartments and senior living > Amenity lounges, dining rooms, fitness areas and rooftop and pool decks for apartment and senior living communities, with the standards for larger-occupant seating and outdoor fabric. Facts checked October 5, 2026. Source page: https://contractfurniture.us/senior-living-furniture/ Apartment and senior living communities furnish the shared spaces residents use every day: the lobby and leasing office, amenity lounges, dining rooms, fitness and business centers, and rooftop and pool decks. Senior living communities can add a main dining room, activity rooms and furniture for resident apartments. ## What a request can include - Lobby, leasing office and amenity lounge seating, with coffee tables and side tables. - Dining room chairs and tables, and bar or café seating. - Co-working and business center tables and chairs. - Rooftop and pool deck furniture: dining sets, lounge seating, chaise lounges, fire tables and umbrellas. - In senior living, dining and activity room chairs with arms, and resident room furniture where the community provides it. ## Standards that apply Upholstered seating for indoor use has to meet the federal flammability standard in 16 CFR part 1640, which adopts California's Technical Bulletin 117-2013 smolder test. The rule defines upholstered furniture as seating intended for indoor use, so outdoor-only pieces fall outside it. BIFMA's ANSI/BIFMA X5.4 covers public and lounge seating in indoor gathering areas. BIFMA X5.41 covers the same kind of seating for larger occupants, with one set of requirements based on a 400 lb person and a second based on a 600 lb person. Name X5.41 in a request when dining and activity room seating has to be tested for larger residents. If a community includes a skilled nursing area, ask its administrator or compliance officer which fire and furniture rules apply there. The [page on health care furniture](/healthcare-furniture/) covers the federal rules for hospitals. ## Fabric for indoor and outdoor seating For upholstery in shared lounges and dining rooms, the Association for Contract Textiles (ACT) guideline for high-traffic public spaces is 30,000 double rubs on the Wyzenbeek abrasion test, in which a machine rubs cotton duck, a heavy cotton fabric, back and forth over the fabric, and each pass back and forth counts as one double rub. ACT's guideline for woven outdoor fabric includes lightfastness, a measure of how well color resists fading in light, of Grade 3 minimum after 1,000 hours on the AATCC 169 or AATCC 16.3 test, test methods published by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. For pool and rooftop decks, ASTM F1838 sets performance requirements for plastic chairs for outdoor use, including weathering, impact and static load. ASTM F3512 sets procedures for testing and rating the wind safety and durability of market umbrellas. ## What to send with an apartment or senior living request - A list of the amenity spaces with the furniture for each and the quantities. - For senior living, any requirements for seat height, chair arms or weight capacity that the community's staff have set. - For decks, the floor or roof surface, whether furniture has to be anchored or weighted against wind, and whether it stays out through the winter. - Whether residents will be in the building during delivery, and the freight elevator size. The [checklist for a quote request](/guides/furniture-quote-request-checklist/) goes through each detail. ## Request a quote Sending a request is free and does not oblige you to buy anything. [Open the quote request form with the project type set to Apartment or senior living community](https://contractfurniture.us/#quote?project_type=Apartment+or+senior+living+community&from=page), or [ask an AI assistant](https://contractfurniture.us/assistants/) to put the request together. ## Sources 1. BIFMA, [Standards Descriptions](https://www.bifma.org/page/StandardsShortDesc), accessed 2026-10-05 2. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, [16 CFR Part 1640, Standard for the Flammability of Upholstered Furniture](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-II/subchapter-D/part-1640), accessed 2026-10-05 3. Association for Contract Textiles, [ACT Performance Guidelines, woven upholstery for indoor use (February 2025)](https://contracttextiles.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1_act_performance_guidelines_overview_woven_indoor_feb2025.pdf), accessed 2026-10-05 4. Association for Contract Textiles, [Contract Textile Glossary](https://contracttextiles.org/learn/contract-textile-glossary/), accessed 2026-10-05 5. Association for Contract Textiles, [ACT Performance Guidelines, woven fabric for outdoor use (February 2025)](https://contracttextiles.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2_act_performance_guidelines_overview_woven_outdoor_feb2025.pdf), accessed 2026-10-05 6. ASTM International, [ASTM F1838-19(2025), Standard Performance Requirements for Adult and Children's Plastic Chairs for Outdoor Use](https://store.astm.org/f1838-19r25.html), accessed 2026-10-05 7. ASTM International, [New Standard Will Promote Safety and Durability of Market Umbrellas](https://www.astm.org/news/press-releases/new-standard-will-promote-safety-and-durability-market-umbrellas), accessed 2026-10-05