Welcome to FurniturePedia™ -- The Furniture Encyclopedia

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To create the most complete and definitive source of information about the past and present of Furniture.

Our Goal:
To be your source for Furniture related information. We will supply our visitors with up to date news, stories, and latest Furniture News Links section.

Furniture News Links:
Marlon Brando Estate Wins $356000 Judgment in Federal Lawsuit Against Ashley ...
6 Feb 2012 at 10:13am

Marlon Brando Estate Wins $356000 Judgment in Federal Lawsuit Against Ashley ...
MarketWatch (pres...
Give Your Home the Red-Carpet Treatment With 4 Tips From Ashley Furniture - M...
6 Feb 2012 at 10:17am

Give Your Home the Red-Carpet Treatment With 4 Tips From Ashley Furniture
MarketWatch (press relea...
Bob's Discount Furniture and several employees help ailing girl - Furniture T...
6 Feb 2012 at 7:09am

Bob's Discount Furniture and several employees help ailing girl
Furniture Today
Touched by a 4-year...
Healthcare Furniture Goes Modular - woodworkingnetwork.com
6 Feb 2012 at 9:50am

Healthcare Furniture Goes Modular
woodworkingnetwork.com
In turn, this is spurring developments in ...
Furniture designer Ray Hill turns to iPad cases with the F3 Folio - Westword ...
6 Feb 2012 at 11:07am

Westword (blog)
Furniture designer Ray Hill turns to iPad cases with the F3 Folio
Westword (blog)
Th...
Belfort Furniture, Lawrance Furniture Are '12 Retailers of the Year - Home Fu...
6 Feb 2012 at 8:02am

Belfort Furniture, Lawrance Furniture Are '12 Retailers of the Year
Home Furnishings Business
Belfo...

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Furniture/Furnishings:
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.

History:
Furniture has been a part of the human experience since the development of non-nomadic cultures. Evidence of furniture from antiquity survives in the form of paintings, such as the wall Murals discovered at Pompeii; sculpture, and examples have been excavated in Egypt and found in tombs in Ghiordes, in modern day Turkey.

The Classical World:
Early furniture has been excavated from the 8th-century B.C. Phrygian tumulus, the Midas Mound, in Gordion, Turkey. Pieces found here include tables and inlaid serving stands. There are also surviving works from the 9th-8th-century B.C. Assyrian palace of Nimrud. The earliest surviving carpet, the Pazyryk Carpet was discovered in a frozen tomb in Siberia and has been dated between the 6th and 3rd century B.C.. Recovered Ancient Egyptian furniture includes a 3rd millennium B.C. bed discovered in the Tarkhan Tomb, a c.2550 B.C. gilded set from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres, and a c. 1550 B.C. stool from Thebes. Ancient Greek furniture design beginning in the 2nd millennium B.C., including beds and the klismos chair, is preserved not only by extant works, but by images on Greek vases. The 1738 and 1748 excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii introduced Roman furniture, preserved in the ashes of the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius, to the eighteenth century.

Early Modern Europe:
The furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and ornamented with carved designs. Along with the other arts, the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth century marked a rebirth in design, often inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition. A similar explosion of design, and renaissance of culture in general, occurred in Northern Europe, starting in the fifteenth century. The seventeenth century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized by opulent, often gilded Baroque designs that frequently incorporated a profusion of vegetal and scrolling ornament. Starting in the eighteenth century, furniture designs began to develop more rapidly. Although there were some styles that belonged primarily to one nation, such as Palladianism in Great Britain, others, such as the Rococo and Neoclassicism were perpetuated throughout Western Europe.

19th Century:
The nineteenth century is usually defined by concurrent revival styles, including Gothic, Neoclassicism, Rococo, and the Eastlake Movement. The design reform of the late century introduced the Aesthetic movement and the Arts and Crafts movement. Art Nouveau was influenced by both of these movements.

Modernism:
The first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often seen as the march towards Modernism. Art Deco, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Wiener Werkstätte, and Vienna Secession designers all worked to some degree within the Modernist idiom. Postmodern design, intersecting the Pop art movement, gained steam in the 1960s and 70s, promoted in the 80s by groups such as the Italy-based Memphis movement. Transitional furniture is intended to fill a place between Traditional and Modern tastes.

Asian History:
Asian furniture has a quite distinct history. The traditions out of China, India, and Japan are some of the best known, but places such as Korea, Mongolia, and the countries of South East Asia have unique facets of their own.

Traditional Japanese furniture is well known for its minimalist style, extensive use of wood, high-quality craftsmanship and reliance on wood grain instead of painting or thick lacquer. Japanese chests are known as Tansu, and are some of the most sought-after of Japanese antiques. The antiques available generally date back to the Tokugawa era.

Chinese furniture is traditionally better known for more ornate pieces. The use of uncarved wood and bamboo and the use of heavy lacquers are well known Chinese styles. It is worth noting that China has an incredibly rich and diverse history, and architecture, religion, furniture and culture in general can vary widely from one dynasty to the next.

Antique Furniture:
Antique furniture is the term for collectible interior furnishings of considerable age; often its age, rarity, condition, utility, or other unique features makes the furniture desirable.

Antique furniture may support the human body (such as seating or 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 skill set used in the building of furniture.

The earliest furniture was understandably very primitive and only practical, but gradually the furniture also began to have more importance and it became decorated. At this point, furniture became an early status symbol. Wealthy homeowners became more refined and demanded that their furnishings reflect their status and lifestyles.

Furniture Types:
Objects such as tables, chairs, beds, desks, dressers, cupboards, etc. usually kept in a house or other building to make it suitable or comfortable for living or working in.
Storage:
Armoire
Bookcase
Cabinet (furniture)
Chest
China Cabinet
Cupboard
Curio (furniture)
Dresser (Chest of Drawers)
Filing Cabinet
Hall Tree
Hatstand
Knoll Sofa
Sideboard
Wardrobe
Seating:
Bean Bag
Bench
Bergere
Chair
Couch
Fauteuil
Footstool
Love Seat
Ottoman
Recliner
Settee
Sofa (couch)
Stool (type of chair)
Tuffet
Watchman's Chair
Surfaces:
Coffee Table
Desk
End Table
Folding Table
Gateleg Table
Table
Sets:
Bedroom Set (group)
Dinette (group)
Dining Set (group)
Vanity Set
Sleeping or Lying:
Bed
Headboard
Other:
Hutch
Folding Screen
Headboard (furniture)
Built-in furniture (Frank Lloyd Wright)
Garden Furniture
Aquarium Furniture
Park Furniture (such as benches and picnic tables)
Stadium Seating

Furnishings:
The decorative arts are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in ceramic, wood, glass, metal, or textile. The field includes ceramics, furniture, furnishings, interior design, and architecture. The decorative arts are often categorized in opposition to the "fine arts", namely, painting, drawing, photography, and large-scale sculpture. Some distinguish between decorative and fine art based on functionality, intended purpose, importance, status as a unique creation, or single-artist production. Decorative arts, or furnishings, may be fixed (for example, wallpaper), or moveable (for example, lamps).

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