my real furniture

Sustainability & Green

2007-08-03T15:20:00.000+07:00

Top Retailers Debate Sustainability & Green Successes During Las Vegas Market Panel

by: Furniture World Magazine
Thursday, August 02, 2007

Some of the home furnishings industry’s key manufacturers, retailers and sustainability leaders, including several members of the Sustainable Furniture Council, attended a lively panel discussion about sustainability practices yesterday at the Sands Expo Center.

Representatives from leading retailers joined Mike Italiano of Market Transformation to Sustainability and the U.S. Green Building Council in an open discussion about sustainability practices in the industry. Steve Freeman of Room & Board, a Minneapolis-based furniture retailer, joined Amy Chender of New York-based ABC Home to represent retailers on the panel.

Everyone taking part in the discussion agreed there are two fronts where sustainability practices are being addressed. The first is with consumers, as those who care about green practices show their support with their pocketbooks. “Consumers support sustainable products and say products that damage the environment should not be in stores,” said Italiano. As that support becomes more mainstream, retailers are being called to not only create more sustainable products, but make them affordable. “We are in a race. We need to reach the consumer,” said Gerry Cooklin of South Cone and the Sustainable Furniture Council from the audience.

On the other front of the sustainability issue are vendors who supply retailers with products and materials—vendors who are embracing green practices less quickly.

Both retailers on the panel said they work closely with their manufacturer partners and suppliers on various sustainability standards, in some cases making this a condition of doing business. ABC Home has a “good wood” program and shares with vendor partners packets explaining sustainability. Yet Chender said several years ago when her company approached suppliers about its good wood program, some balked or did not give the initiative much attention.

But that is changing. “The vendor community is starting to take green much more seriously because of its growing importance to their customers,” she said.

At the same time consumers demand more sustainable furniture, they’ve become skeptical of manufacturers claims of being eco-friendly—sometimes with good reason. Italiano spoke about exaggerated green claims and “greenwashing,” or the misleading, inaccurate and unlawful depiction of products as environmentally responsible. Due to the proliferation of greenwashing, a large percentage of consumers are questioning green claims.
At ABC Home, Chender said her team is looking carefully at marketing materials to guard against bold statements that can be viewed with skepticism by consumers inundated with the wave of green marketing. “There is a fine line between stating where you are at and making exaggerated claims,” she said.

Freeman, of retailer Room & Board, agreed. “The customer today is very smart. There are many sources for them to find out about you,” he said. “By being transparent, you avoid the potential pitfall of losing credibility. Make sure you are honest with your customer.”

Freeman said sustainability has been a part of Room & Board’s business strategy for a long time, and sustainability and smart practices are common threads in the stores, through the catalog and online. It limits the number of catalogs it prints, and those it does are done on FSC-certified paper. “We do not scream sustainability, but we do talk about it,” Freeman said, adding that the company is still striving to improve its product mix and practices related to sustainability. “You can be profitable and be sustainable,” he said.

ABC Home’s Chender said the very fact that the retailer has a director of social responsibility on staff speaks volumes to the priority on smart sustainability practices. “We are a big small company and we are seeing a paradigm shift,” she said, adding, “You don’t need to be perfect to make steps in the direction of change.”

In addition to working closely with vendors to ensure a large percentage of ABC Home’s merchandise mix meets sustainability standards, Chender said the company also focuses on being globally minded. The month of February, for example, was dedicated to celebrating the culture of India with events and displays. For Earth Day, ABC Home did a dynamic “shades of green” display of various green furnishings. “This visually depicted to the customers that you can be green at different levels,” Chender said.

The panelists shared tips for attendees wanting to “go green,” including suggestions on FSC- certified wood and paper along with eco-friendly inks and paper. They also spoke about steps in partnering with suppliers in an intelligent way. The more retailers asking suppliers about sustainable practices, the better it is for all, they said.

All of the panelists encouraged the attendees not to dive headfirst into green waters. “Do not venture in too quickly,” Freeman said. “And be aware that there is a cost to it. Take steps to increase the percentage of your FSC-certified product and focus on your suppliers.”

Italiano encouraged attendees to look into resources available in the industry. “The climate is right,” he said. “People want to make the shift and suppliers are eager to do it. It’s not as daunting as it might seem.”

Freeman added his support of the Sustainable Furniture Council. “Room & Board strives to apply manufacturing and business principles that are environmentally responsible and ethical and we see the Sustainable Furniture Council as a great opportunity to further such practices throughout our industry and put more players on the same page,” he said.

Retailers attending the seminar also had a chance to check out more than 15,000 square feet of sustainable home furnishings product in the Living Green Pavilion portion of the trade show, as well as the Greenhouse Gallery. This inaugural Living Green Pavilion is in addition to the many other environmentally conscious manufacturers with permanent showrooms in World Market Center’s Buildings A and B who are also showing new products and evolving their sustainable product lines and practices. In all, there are more than 35 manufacturers showing at Las Vegas Market this week who are committed to sustainable products and practices.

Editor's Note: If you are interested in getting more information on Sustainable Furniture Marketing, read the excellent three part FURNITURE WORLD series posted to the Marketing Management Article Archive on the furninfo.com website.

The semi-annual Las Vegas Market is the world’s fastest-growing trade show for home furnishings currently spanning 3.8 million square feet of showrooms/exhibits and featuring 1,300 companies and lines. World Market Center will soon boast the greatest depth and breadth of furniture-related products compared to any other market center and will be the world’s largest trade fair complex when fully built out to 12 million square feet in 2013.
The Las Vegas Market continues through August 3, 2007 at World Market Center’s Buildings A and B, the Pavilions; the temporaries are featured at Sands Expo & Convention Center.

Bookcase

2007-07-09T13:41:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture, almost always with horizontal shelves, used to store books.

History of the bookcase

When books were written by hand and were not produced in great quantities, they were kept in small containers which owners (usually the wealthy or clergy) carried with them. As manuscript volumes accumulated in religious houses or in homes of the wealthy, they were stored on shelves or in cupboards. These cupboards are the direct predecessors of today's bookcases. Later the doors were discarded, and the evolution of the bookcase proceeded. Even then, however, the volumes were not arranged in the modern fashion. They were either placed in piles upon their sides, or if upright, were ranged with their backs to the wall and their edges outwards. The band of leather, vellum or parchment which closed the book was often used for the inscription of the title, which was thus on the fore-edge instead of on the spine.

It was not until the invention of printing had greatly reduced the cost of books, thus allowing many more people direct access to owning books, that it became the practice to write the title on the spine and shelve books with the spine outwards. Early bookcases were usually of oak, which is still deemed by some to be the most appropriate wood for an elegant library.

Oldest bookcases

The oldest bookcases in England are those in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, which were placed in position in the last year or two of the sixteenth century; in that library are the earliest extant examples of shelved galleries over the flat wall-cases. Long ranges of book-shelves are somewhat severe in appearance, and many attempts have been made by means of carved cornices and pilasters to give them a less austere appearance. These attempts were most successful as in the hands of the English cabinetmakers of the second half of the eighteenth century.

Designers and manufacturers

Both Chippendale and Sheraton made or designed many bookcases, mostly glazed with little lozenges encased in fretwork frames, often of great charm and elegance. In the eyes of some, the grace of some of Sheraton's satinwood bookcases has rarely been equalled. The French cabinetmakers of the same period were also highly successful with small ornamental cases. Mahogany, rosewood satinwood and even choicer exotic timbers were used; they were often inlaid with marquetry and mounted with chased and gilded bronze. Dwarf bookcases were frequently finished with a slab of choice marble at the top.

Library shelving

In the great public libraries of the twentieth century the bookcases are often of iron, as in the British Museum where the shelves are covered with cowhide, or steel, as in the Library of Congress at Washington, D.C., or of slate, as in the Fitzwilliam Library at Cambridge.

Systems of arrangement

There are three stationary systems of arranging bookcases: Flat against the wall; in stacks or ranges parallel to each other with merely enough space between to allow of the passage of a librarian; or in bays or alcoves where cases jut out into the room at right angles to the wall-cases. The stack system is suitable only for public libraries where economy of space is essential; the bay system is not only handsome but utilizes the space to great advantage. The library of the City of London at the Guildhall is a peculiarly effective example of the bay arrangement.

For libraries where space is extremely tight there is yet another system, usually called mobile aisle shelving or high density storage. In such systems rows of bookcases are mounted on wheels and packed tightly together with only one or more aisles between them. It is possible then to visit only two bookcase sides at a time, all the others being pressed close together. A gearing mechanism allows users move the bookcases and open the aisle in the desired location. Because of the danger of tripping on the floor mounted rails or being squashed between bookcases these systems may have electronic sensors and/or recessed track, or are reserved for closed stacks where access is restricted.

Quilt

2007-07-09T13:20:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A quilt is a type of bedding— a bed covering composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing, generally combined using the technique of quilting. Another technique for securing the quilt layers is tying. Tying refers to the technique of using thread, yarn or ribbon to pass through all three layers of the quilt at reqular intervals. These "ties" hold the layers together during use and especially when the quilt is washed. This method is easier and more forgiving if the quilt is made by hand. Tied quilts are called, depending on the regional area, "lap", "comfort" or "comforter", among other names. Many quilts are made with decorative designs;, some quilts are not used as bed covering at all, but are rather made to be hung on a wall or otherwise displayed. In British English, quilt is another way of saying duvet, wadding is another way of saying batting, and calico refers to muslin rather than to a fabric with a printed pattern on it.

Some uses of quilts

Bedding
Decoration
For wrapping bodies in
Armoury (see Gambeson)
Commemoration (e.g., the "Twentieth Century Women of Faith" quilt on the Patchwork page)
Education (e.g., the "Science" quilt image shown here)
Campaigning
Documenting events / social history etc.
Artistic Expression

Types and traditions

Amish

Amish quilts are reflections of the Amish way of life. Because the Amish people believe in not being "flashy" or "worldly" in dress and lifestyle, their quilts reflect this religious philosophy. They use solid colors only in their clothing and quilts. Some church districts limit the use of certain colors such as yellow or red because those are considered "too worldly". Black is a dominant color. Although Amish quilts appear austere from a distance, the craftsmanship is often of the highest quality and the stitching forms vigorous patterns that contrast well with the plain background. These traits appeal to a modern esthetic; antique Amish quilts are among the most highly prized among collectors and quilting enthusiasts.

Baltimore album

Baltimore album quilts originated in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1840s, and are made up of in blocks in which each block is appliquéd with a different design. The designs are often floral, but many other motifs are also used.

Hawaiian

Hawaiian quilts are whole-cloth (not pieced) quilts featuring large-scale symetetrical appliqué in solid colors on a solid color (usually white) ground fabric.

Ralli quilts

Ralli quilts are traditional quilts made in Pakistan and India. Handmade ralli quilts are used as blankets and bedspreads. These ralli quilts make use of patchwork, applique and embroidery. Parents present rallis to their daughters on their weddings as a dowry.

Quilting technique

As an example, the quilt image above has 24 blocks arranged in a 4x6 pattern, set with dark sashing strips, corner stones in a contrasting color, an outside sashing strip but no border, and a multicolored binding. Click on the image to see these details in a larger view.

Quilts on display

Amongst famous quilts in history is the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which was begun in San Francisco in 1987, and is cared for by The NAMES Project Foundation. It is periodically displayed in various arranged locations.

The Museum of the American Quilter's Society (also known as the National Quilt Museum) is located in Paducah, Kentucky. The museum houses a large collection of quilts, most of which are winning entries from the American Quilter's Society festival and quilt competition held yearly in April. The Museum also houses other exhibits of quilt collections, both historic and modern.

Many historic quilts can be seen in Bath at the American Museum in Britain.

The largest known public collection of quilts is housed at the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The second Saturday of each July, the town of Sisters, Oregon hosts the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, which features more than 1,200 quilts on display throughout the town.

The book "Australia's Quilts" by Jenny Manning is an excellent directory of the many quilts on display in public collections in Australia.

For a small collection of family quilts made around Spartanburg, SC between 1850 and 1917, see Laurel Horton "An Upcountry Legacy: Mary Black's Family Quilts" Southern Spaces, 2006.

Art quilts

Distinguishing art quilts from the main category of quilts can be difficult. Art quilts can be created using any of the techniques of a quilt - piecing, applique, whole cloth, or even machine embroidery. These are techniques, though, and art involves more than mere technique. Meaningfulness, in whatever way the viewer perceives it, is involved in the experience of an art quilt, as opposed to a quilt built as an exercise in craft or technical capabilities, or for practical bedroom purposes.

The term 'art quilt' itself is controversial, since it implies that quilts in other categories are not art. Quilts have always been made, however, with their aesthetic value as a consideration, even when makers were creating objects for practical use in their homes and bedrooms. To this extent, nearly all quilts evidence artistic/creative expression and their functional raison d'être as well as their materials and techniques support their visual statements, expressions that can be as powerful viewed on a bed as from the flat expanse of a gallery wall. What perhaps distinguishes the art of the home-based maker from that of the studio-based maker are context and intent. The works of makers such as the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama demonstrate, however, that notions of what distinguishes a so-called 'art quilt' from an everyday 'bed quilt' may reside less in the minds of the makers than in the eyes of the beholders.

Colour Theory and Patterns

The colours used in art quilts are determined by their creators, but quilts which go beyond the basic "bed quilt" are usually distinguishable by non-traditional colours or pattern interpretation. Fiber Artists such as Valerie Page of PageQuilts, or Melody Crust, demonstrate their vision by the use of complementary and contrasting colours, and complex and unpredictable but balanced patterns. The result may be mathematical in nature, as is the case with the Fibonacci number textile patterns Valerie Page creates.

Quilts are named

During the late 1900's, the quilt community started to encourage quilters to label their quilts, starting with a name for the quilt, in addition to their own name, and completion date for the work. This was an important step in taking the craft of quilting into the art realm. A quilt's name implies there is some meaning to a quilt beyond its creation, to whatever degree, though meaning is found in quilts without names as well.

Emotion in an art quilt

One aspect of some art quilts is the ability of the piece to evoke an emotion in the viewer. While examples of quilts displaying the darker end of the emotional spectrum are still rare, they do exist. Quilts focused on the September 11, 2001 attacks have particularly explored grief and anger.

Bed sheet

2007-07-09T13:14:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A bed sheet is a large piece of cotton or linen cloth used to cover a mattress. It is this sheet that one typically lies on. Bed sheets come in two main varieties--flat or fitted. A flat bed sheet is simply a rectangular sheet of cloth, while a fitted bed sheet has its four corners sewn fitted with elastic.

Bed sheets were traditionally white, but now various colors and patterns are used. The quality of bed sheets is often conveyed by the thread count - the number of threads per square inch of material. The higher the thread count, the softer the sheet.

In many areas of the world a second flat bed sheet is laid on top of the sheet covering the mattress. This is known as a top sheet. One sleeps between the two bed sheets. Blankets, comforters, and other bed covers are then placed on top of the second bed sheet.

Usually a flat bed sheet is overlocked around the edges to form four seams. One of the seams is wider than the other three and helps with orienting the sheet correctly on the mattress. The wider seam goes at the head end of the mattress.

Box-spring

2007-07-09T13:07:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A box-spring is a hard sturdy wooden frame, covered in cloth, containing springs or some other form of torsion. Usually the box-spring is placed on top of a metal frame which sits on the floor and acts as a brace. The box-spring is usually the same size as the much softer mattress which is placed above the box-spring. Working together, the metal frame, box-spring, and mattress make up a bed. It is not uncommon to find a box-spring and mattress being used together without the support of a metal frame underneath.

The box-spring serves three main purposes: To help raise the mattress's height, making it easier to get in and out of bed; to help absorb shock and reduce wear to the mattress; and to help create a perfectly flat and firm structure for the mattress to lay upon.

Some beds do not need a box-spring, but most traditional metal-frame or four-post beds require one.

Mattress

2007-07-09T12:54:00.001+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A mattress is a mat or pad, usually placed atop a bed, upon which to sleep or lie.

The word mattress is derived from Arabic words meaning "to throw" and "place where something is thrown" or "mat, cushion." During the Crusades, Europeans adopted the Arabic method of sleeping on cushions thrown on the floor, and the word materas eventually descended into Middle English through the Romance languages.

Though a mattress may be placed directly on the floor, it is usually placed atop a platform (such as a bed or a metal spring foundation) to be further from the ground. Historically, mattresses have been filled with a variety of natural materials, including straw and feathers. Modern mattresses usually contain either an innerspring core or materials such as latex, viscoelastic, or other polyurethane-type foams. Mattresses may also be filled with air or water.

Spring mattress core

The core of the mattress supports the sleeper’s body. Modern spring mattress cores, often called "innersprings," are made up of steel coil springs, or "coils."

Although coil count is a consideration one might have when choosing a new mattress, it certainly should not be the deciding factor. Keep in mind that there are a number of different factors that contribute to the comfort, durability and support offered by a particular innerspring.

Innerspring (coil) design, gauge (thickness) of wire, number of turns, metal composition, tempering, and so on, all contribute to the potential of a particular innerspring.

Also keep in mind that as the coil count increases, the diameter of each individual coil will decrease. You still have to fit all of those springs in the same amount of space!

The gauge of the coils is another factor which determines firmness and support. Coils are measured in quarter increments. The lower the number, the thicker the spring. In general, higher-quality mattress coils have a 14-gauge (1.63 mm) diameter. Coils of 14 to 15.5-gauge (1.63 to 1.37 mm) give more easily under pressure, while a 12.5-gauge (1.94 mm) coil, the thickest typically available, feels quite firm.

Connections between the coils help the mattress retain its shape. Most coils are connected by interconnecting wires; pocketed coils are not connected, but the pockets preserve the mattress shape.

Types of coils

There are four different types of mattress coils:

Bonnell coils are the oldest and most common. First adapted from buggy seat springs of the 19th century, they are still prevalent in less expensive mattresses. Bonnell coils are hourglass-shaped, and the ends of the wire are knotted or wrapped around the top and bottom circular portion of the coil and self-tied.
Marshall coils, also called "pocketed coils," are each wrapped in a fabric encasement and usually are tempered, or in the case of the Simmons Beautyrest carbon magnesium is added. Some manufacturers pre-compress these coils, which makes the mattress firmer and allows for motion separation between the sides of the bed.
Offset coils are designed to hinge, thus conforming to body shape. They are very sturdy, stable innersprings that provide great support.
Continuous coils Work by a hinging effect, similar to that of offset coils. They are excellent at distributing body weight, and limiting motion transfer, as well as roll together.

Air Mattresses

Air mattresses use an air chamber instead of springs to provide support. Quality and price can range from very cheap ones that are used for camping and temporary places to sleep all the way up to high-end luxury beds. When compared to inner-spring mattresses, the price is generally comparable.

Recent innovations to air beds include the ability to adjust the firmness of the mattress, and the ability to maintain different settings for each side of a larger mattress. One such company is Select Comfort. They were established in 1987 and sell a patented adjustable, air-chamber designed sleep system.

Foam Mattresses

Foam mattresses use latex foam or viscoelastic memory foam instead of springs to provide support. Since foam varies in quality, prices can vary widely. Tempur-Pedic is the leader in the foam bed industry, due to highly-recognized TV commercials and direct mail pieces advertising its Swedish Foam Sleep System. The original material was designed to relieve the pressure experienced by astronauts during lift-off. Fagerdala World Foams of Sweden spent a decade and millions of dollars in research before perfecting a new advance formula, Tempur. Today, more and more people are turning to healthy alternatives such as latex foam in addition to memory foam, both providing a hypo-allergenic sleeping surface that is also mold/mildew resistant, while also instantly responding to touch and temperature. Most other mattress manufacturers offer a line of memory foam mattresses.

Foundation

There are three main types of foundations.

Box-springs consist of a rigid frame which contains extra-heavy-duty springs. This type of foundation contributes to softer support and a bouncier mattress. Because box-springs can cause mattresses to sag, many manufacturers add high-density block foam underneath the coils or provide a rigid foundation instead.
Traditional wood foundations are usually made of soft woods, such as pine, or hard woods, such as poplar. They usually consist of seven or eight support slats covered with cardboard or beaverboard. This type of foundation, called a zero deflection unit or an "Ortho Box" in the bed industry, increases the feeling of firmness and stability.
Grid foundations are a combination of steel and wood.

Upholstery layers

Upholstery layers cover the mattress and provide cushioning and comfort. Some manufacturers call the mattress core the "support layer" and the upholstery layer the "comfort layer." The upholstery layer consists of three parts: the insulator, the middle upholstery, and the quilt.

The insulator separates the mattress core from the middle upholstery. It is usually made of fiber or mesh and is intended to keep the middle upholstery in place.

The middle upholstery comprises all the material between the insulator and the quilt. It is usually made from materials which are intended to provide comfort to the sleeper, including regular foam, viscoelastic foam, felt, polyester fibers, cotton fibers, convoluted (“egg-crate”) foam, and non-woven fiber pads.

The quilt is the top layer of the mattress. Made of light foam or fibers stitched to the underside of the ticking, it provides a soft surface texture to the mattress and can be found in varying degrees of firmness. The protective fabric cover which encases the mattress is called ticking. It is usually made to match the foundation and comes in a wide variety of colors and styles. Most ticking is made of synthetic fibers like polyester, or acrylic; or of natural materials such as latex, cotton, silk, and wool.

Mattress quality

Many parameters determine mattress quality. Laboratory test methods have been established for some of these parameters, such as pressure distribution, skin microclimate, hygiene, edge support, and long-term stability. Many of these have been developed by Dr. Duncan Bain, working on behalf of the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Other parameters, such as firmness, are more specific to the sleeper. In general, firm mattresses are recommended for stomach and some back sleepers, soft mattresses are recommended for side sleepers, and medium mattresses are recommended for the majority of back sleepers. Some brands offer mattresses with one softer side and one firmer side, or with adjustable firmness levels, to accommodate sleepers who share a bed.

Special mattresses used in hospitals

"Not all the anti-decubitus mattresses really succeed in reducing the interface pressure. The foam and gel mattresses have no or limited pressure reducing qualities. The polyether mattress and especially the polyurethane slow foam mattress reduce pressure best and are preferable in the prevention of pressure ulcers on an operating table. None of the mattresses tested reduced the pressure sufficiently in lateral position."

Maintenance and care

The Better Sleep Council suggests that a quality mattress should provide 8 to 10 years of good support and comfort. This is an approximation, as many different things may factor into the lifespan one may expect to receive from their mattress.

Mattresses should be placed atop a firm base to prevent sagging. Mattresses should be rotated approximately once every three months to ensure even wear; in addition, two sided mattresses should be turned over (flipped) twice per year. Folding and bending of the mattress should be avoided if possible, as should heavy wear in one spot and excessive weight on the handles. Mattresses should not be soaked, lest mildew develop inside the upholstery; instead, they can be cleaned with a vacuum or with mild surface cleanser and a slightly damp cloth. Mattress Protectors help prevent stains and soiling of the ticking.

Once a mattress no longer feels supportive and instead seems to contribute to body pain or stiffness, it should be replaced. Some symptoms of a broken or worn out mattress include springs which can be felt poking through the upholstery layer, visible permanent sagging or deformity, lumpiness, and excessive squeaking.

Headboard

2007-06-13T09:13:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The headboard is a piece of furniture that attaches to the head of a bed. Its most basic function is to retain the pillow(s) and other bed linens. A headboard may be strictly utilitarian, but frequently has aesthetic value and may be a decorative focus for a bedroom.

A headboard may also be utilized to provide a wide variety of other functions, such as providing simple storage, various sexual conveniences (e.g. an anchor for handcuffs, something to grasp during orgasm, a source of intensifying noises), or incorporation into the critical care functions of a hospital bed.

Coffee table

2007-06-13T08:40:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A coffee table is a style of long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of a couch, to support beverages (hence the name), magazines, books (especially coffee table books), and other small items to be used while sitting, such as coasters. Coffee tables are usually found in the living room or sitting room. They are available in many different variations and prices vary from style to style. Coffee tables may also incorporate cabinets for storage.

The idiom "Gather round the coffee table" is derived from the furniture piece and its proclivity for encouraging conviviality and light conversation.

Origins of the Coffee Table

The first tables, in Europe, specifically designed as and called coffee tables, appear to have been made in Britain during the late Victorian era.

Prior to the late 18th century, the tables used in Europe in conjunction with a settle included occasional tables, end tables, centre tables, and tea tables. By 1780, the high backed settle was being relaced by low back sofas and this led to the development of sofa tables which stood against the back of the sofa and could be used by anyone sitting on the sofa to put down a book or a cup.

According to the listing in Victorian Furniture by R. W. Symonds & B. B. Whineray and also in The Country Life Book of English Furniture by Edward T. Joy, a table designed by E. W. Godwin in 1868 and made in large numbers by William Watt, and Collinson and Lock, is a coffee table. If this is correct it may be one of the earliest made in Europe. Other sources, however, list it only as 'table' so this cannot be stated categorically. Far from being a low table, this table was about twenty-seven inches high.

Later coffee tables were designed as low tables and this idea may have been introduced from the Ottoman Empire, based on the tables in use in tea gardens. However, as the Anglo-Japanese style was popular in Britain throughout the 1870s and 1880s and low tables were common in Japan, this would seem to be an equally likely source for the concept of a long low table.

From the late 19th century onwards, many coffee tables were subsequently made in earlier styles due to the popularity of revivalism, so it it is quite possible to find Louis XVI style coffee tables or Georgian style coffee tables, but there seems to be no evidence of a table actually made as a coffee table before this time. Joseph Aronson writing in 1938 defines a coffee table as a, "Low wide table now used before a sofa or couch. There is no historical precedent...," suggesting that coffee tables were a late development in the history of furniture.

Couch

2007-06-13T08:33:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A couch, and a sofa, settee, lounge, davenport or chesterfield are items of furniture for the comfortable seating of more than one person. Compare the joiner's settle, with its separate seat cushions.

Couches are usually to be found in the living room or the lounge. They come in a variety of textiles and in leather. A typical couch seats two to three people and has an armrest on either side. Many different types of couches exist; popular types include the divan. the chaise longue, the canapé or the ottoman. Also, to conserve space, some sofas double as beds (sofa-bed, daybed, or futon).

There are other types, including two-seater, three-seater, corner and chaise longue. A smaller version of the couch which may only comfortably seat two people is more commonly known as a loveseat. A sectional sofa (often just referred to as a "sectional") is formed from multiple sections (typically 2 to 4) and usually includes at least two pieces that join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater.

A three-piece suite is composed of three couch pieces (generally, a two- or three-seater and two armchairs).

Until the 20th century a couch referred to a long upholstered seat with one end inclined, high enough to provide a back and head-rest. "Couch" which in the Late Middle Ages had signified bedding (from the French se coucher, or "to go to sleep") was interchangeable with "daybed" through the 17th century. (Gloag, "couch"). Well into the 19th century a couch was particularly a seat for a lady; a fainting couch (a modern term) has a back and a single scrolling upholstered end. A récamier was a late nineteenth-century trade term for a similar single-ended couch, such as the one made famous in David's portrait of Mme Récamier (illustration, right). The sopha or sofa had a separate origin. "Sopha" made its entry in written English in 1717 (OED); divan preceded it (1702). Sofa was originally an Arabic word for the raised section of floor, furnished with rugs and cushions, set apart for a council (see Diwan) thus also for especially esteemed guests. Designs for "sophas" in Thomas Chippendale's Director (1754, 1762) all have solidly upholstered arms with padded elbow rests, cushioned seats and upholstered backs, but show their carved wood framing.

Further back in ancient Roman society, the couch was found in the dining room (known as the triclinium). Three couches would be arranged around a low table and the men would recline while eating (although the women sat in normal chairs).

Originally it was an elitist piece of furniture and it was not until industrialization that the upholstered couch became an indispensable item of furniture in middle and lower class households. Throughout its history it has often been an object of derision, considered a variety of things from decadent to conformist.

Since 19th Century the couch has become associated with Freudian psychoanalysis. Freud originally used the couch as a tool to aid his hypnosis of the patient. However when he moved on from hypnosis to stream-of-consciousness discourse as his dominant mode of analysis with the development of the interpretation of dreams, he still held on to the couch. He justified this with the need to limit the transference between psychoanalyst and analysand. Thus, the couch proved particularly useful because it limits the visibility of the analyst.

Today the couch is invariably linked to both domestic family life and television culture. It is often positioned in relation to the television set in a living room and for napping. It has spawned social phenomena such as the couch potato, a person who spends a lot of time watching the television. The couch has also become the central prop for many TV sitcoms and soap operas. This symbiosis, through which the couch has shifted from the private to the public sphere, has been satirically depicted in popular culture, in television series such as Married... with Children, The Simpsons, the big comfy couch, Friends, and Beavis and Butt-head. Tom Cruise also received a good deal of ridicule in 2005 for jumping the couch on The Oprah Winfrey Show as a way of professing his love for Katie Holmes. The couch was also featured prominently in the famous "Rick James/Charlie Murphy" sketch on Chappelle show.

Wardrobe

2007-06-13T08:23:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wardrobe is a cabinet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accommodation was provided for the sumptuous apparel of the great. The name of wardrobe was then given to a room in which the wall-space was filled with cupboards and lockers, the drawer being a comparatively modern invention. From these cupboards and lockers the modern wardrobe, with its hanging spaces, sliding shelves and drawers, evolved slowly.

In its movable form as an oak "hanging cupboard" it dates back to the early 17th century. For probably a hundred years such pieces, massive and cumbrous in form, but often with well-carved fronts, were produced in moderate numbers; then the gradual diminution in the use of oak for cabinet-making produced a change of fashion.

Walnut succeeded oak as the favourite material for furniture, but hanging wardrobes in walnut appear to have been made very rarely, although clothes presses, with drawers and sliding trays, were frequent.

During a large portion of the 18th century the tallboy was much used for storing clothes.

In the nineteenth century the wardrobe began to developing into its modern form, with a hanging cupboard at each side, a press in the upper part of the central portion and drawers below. As a rule it was often of mahogany, but as satinwood and other hitherto scarce finely grained foreign woods began to be obtainable in considerable quantities, many elaborately and even magnificently inlaid wardrobes were made.

Where Chippendale and his school had carved, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and their contemporaries achieved their effects by the artistic employment of deftly contrasted and highly polished woods.

The first step in the evolution of the wardrobe was taken when the central doors, which had previously enclosed merely the upper part, were carried to the floor, covering the drawers as well as the sliding shelves, and were often fitted with mirrors.

Bedroom

2007-05-24T12:34:00.000+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Many houses in North America and Europe have at least two bedrooms – usually a master bedroom (dedicated to the heads of the household, such as a husband and wife) and one or more bedrooms for either the children or guests.

In buildings with multiple self-contained housing units (e.g., apartment), the number of bedrooms vary widely. While many such units have at least one bedroom – frequently, these units have at least two – some of these units may not have a specific room dedicated for use as a bedroom.

Furniture and other items in bedrooms vary greatly, depending on taste and local tradition. For instance, a master bedroom may include a bed of a specific size (double, king or queen-sized); one or more dressers (or perhaps, a wardrobe armoire); a nightstand; one or more closets; and carpeting. Built-in closets are less common in Europe than in North America; thus there is greater use of freestanding wardrobes or armoires in Europe.

Bedding used in northern Europe (especially in Scandinavia) is significantly different from that used in North America and other parts of Europe.

Some bedrooms also include such items as a make-up desk, television, air conditioning and various accessories (such as lamps, telephone and an alarm clock).

Sometimes, a master bedroom is connected to a dedicated bathroom, often called an ensuite.

Children's bedrooms

In addition to a bed (or, if shared by two or more children, a bunk bed), a child's bedroom may include the requisite closets and dressers, plus items such as a toy box, desk and other items. Some children enjoy a bare room, including only a bed and wardrobe.

CASUAL LIVING

2007-05-23T12:10:00.000+07:00

Furniture that's outside the indoors

Source: Houston Chronicle (Houston, TX)
Publication Date: 05/12/2007
COPYRIGHT 2007 Houston Chronicle
Byline: Maggie Galehouse

The furniture business is happy to accommodate cuddlers.

Oversize chairs, double beds and love seats are cases in point; you have to get close to make the most of them.

But until recently, outdoor togetherness was largely the purview of campers who can throw down tents, mats and sleeping bags when the mood strikes.

No more.

The double outdoor chaise -- popping up in all price ranges -- is one manifestation of an outdoor living trend that shows no signs of ceasing until everything we do indoors can be done, safely and stylishly, outside.

Judy Evans, manager of Chair King, 6393 Richmond, has a nickname for one of the chairs she sells.

"We call it a 'snuggle' chaise," says Evans, pointing to an outdoor chaise-and-a-half by Solaris Designs that sells for $700. The same chair, she says, would also be great for "one big ol' guy."

Chair King also carries a double teak chaise for $1,000 (cushions not included) with an interesting bonus feature: The chairs can be raised or lowered at either end, so two people can lie side by side or face each other. It's a design with teenage girls in mind.

At the Decorative Center Houston, where Janus et Cie carries ultra-high-end outdoor furnishings, a number of double and oversize chaises lounge about the showroom. But manager Bruce Douglas pooh-poohs the cuddling concept.

"The double chaise is an outgrowth of the luxury lifestyle," Douglas says. "Today, everyone is always multitasking. And on a double chaise, you can spread out. There's more personal room for a computer, magazines, et cetera. It's the same concept as the king bed or the SUV."

More traditional beds have made their way outdoors, as well. Restoration Hardware, Sears and others have introduced outdoor beds this season, some of them far more elaborate than many people have in their indoor bedrooms. Think four posters and a canopy.

Restoration Hardware's Del Mar Queen Day Bed, which costs about $4,500, features fabric draping that offers a "feeling of seclusion and privacy even though you're outdoors," says Margie Nowak, assistant manager of the store at 4091 Westheimer. (The special-order bed is also available at www.restorationhardware. com.)

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spent close to $150 billion on home remodeling in 2005, and one-third of that sum was devoted to outdoor living areas. Reasons for the outdoor rush range from the desire to extend a home's living space to adding value to an existing home.

In Houston, where a mild climate offers plenty of opportunities for outdoor living, the trend began with homeowners. But builders caught on.

"About a decade ago, homeowners started expanding patio areas themselves," says Toy Wood, CEO of the Greater Houston Builders Association. "They added ceiling fans to porch areas, brought in better grills. Then we saw a transition where builders picked up on that and started offering homes with expanded outdoor areas. If you go out now and look at some of the new communities for midrange homes, from the mid-$200s to the mid-$300s, you'll find many will have an outdoor living area."

To Wood, it's a sign that people want to spend more time at home, a hunch that squares nicely with the "cuddle" trend that double chaises and outdoor beds seem to promote.

"It's not just about the fact that people seem to be going on fewer vacations," says Wood. "It's almost like a shift back in time toward, 'Let's get together as a family at home; and by the way, kids, bring your friends.' "

maggie.galehouse@chron.com
Copyright (c) 2007, Houston Chronicle
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Furniture

2007-05-09T14:35:00.001+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, or hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. Storage furniture (which often makes use of doors, drawers, and shelves) is used to hold or contain smaller objects such as clothes, tools, books, and household goods.

Furniture can be a product of artistic design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. Domestic furniture works to create, in conjunction with furnishings such as clocks and lighting, comfortable and convenient interior spaces. Furniture can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood.

Cabinetry and cabinet making are terms for the skillset used in the building of furniture.