Prehistoric Furniture
When people learned to farm and lived in permanent
settlements they began to make furniture. In Europe some of
the earliest known furniture comes from a stone age a village
at Sara Brae in the Orkney Islands in Scotland about 2,000
BC. The Stone Age farmers lived in stone huts with roofs of
whalebone and turf. Inside they made stone furniture such as
cupboards and beds.
Ancient Egyptian Furniture
Meanwhile in Egypt rich Egyptians lived in large, comfortable
houses with many rooms. Walls were painted and floors had
coloured tiles. Inside their homes rich Egyptians had wooden
furniture such as beds, chairs, tables and chests for storage.
However instead of pillows they used wooden head rests.
Ordinary people lived in simpler homes made of mud. People
may have slept on the flat roof when it was hot and they did
most of their work outside because of the heat. For the poor
furniture was very basic. Ordinary Egyptians sat on brick
benches around the walls. They used reed chests or wooden
pegs on walls to store things.
Ancient Greek Furniture
In Ancient Greece even in rich home furniture was basic. The
Greeks stored things in wooden chests or hung them from
wooden pegs on the walls. A rich home would also have a
dresser to display expensive cups. People reclined on
couches (which could also act as beds). The couches were
simply wooden frames with rope webbing and mats or rugs
laid on top.
Roman Furniture
In Rome rich people enjoyed luxuries such as mosaics and (in
colder parts of the empire) panes of glass in windows and
even a form of central heating called a hypocaust. Wealthy
Romans also had wall paintings called murals in their houses.
The wealthy owned very comfortable furniture. It was
upholstered and finely carved. People ate while reclining on
couches. Oil lamps were used for light. Of course for the poor
Roman furniture was very basic and sparse.
Saxon Furniture
Life even for rich Saxons was hard and rough and furniture
was very simple. Usually in a Saxon hall there was only one
room shared by everybody. Thanes (upper class Saxons) and
their followers slept on beds with straw mattresses and pillows
but the poorest people slept on the floor.
Very little is known about Saxon furniture but it must have
been basic and heavy such as wooden benches and tables
although upper class Saxons liked having tapestries on their
walls. There were no panes of glass in windows, even in a
Thane's hall.
Furniture in the Middle Ages
In Saxon times a rich man and his entire household lived
together in one great hall. In the Middle Ages the great hall
was still the center of a castle but the lord had his own room
above it. This room was called the solar. In it the lord slept in a
bed, which was surrounded by curtains, both for privacy and
to keep out drafts. The other members of the lord's household,
such as his servants, slept on the floor of the great hall. At one
or both ends of the great hall there was a fireplace and
chimney. However in the Middle Ages chimneys were a
luxury.
About 1180 for the first time since the Romans rich people
began to have panes of glass in the windows.
Medieval furniture was very basic. Even in a rich household
chairs were rare. Most people sat on stools or benches. Rich
people also had tables and large chests, which doubled up as
beds. Rich peoples homes were hung with wool tapestries or
painted linen. They were not just for decoration. They also
helped keep out drafts. In the Middle Ages furniture (for the
rich) was usually made of oak.
16th Century Furniture
In the 16th century life became more comfortable for the wealthy.
Furniture was more plentiful than in the Middle Ages but it was still
basic. In a wealthy home it was usually made of oak and was heavy
and massive. 16th century furniture was expected to last for
generations. You expected to pass it on to your children and even
your grandchildren. Comfortable beds became more and more
common in the 16th century and increasing numbers of middle class
people slept on feather mattresses rather than straw ones.
In the 16th century chairs were more common than in the Middle
Ages but they were still expensive. Even in an upper class home
children and servants sat on stools. The poor had to make do with
stools and benches.
During the 16th century glass windows became much more common.
However the poor still had to make do with strips of linen soaked in
linseed oil.
Chimneys were also a luxury in the 16th century, although they
became more common. Poor people simply had a hole in the roof to
let out the smoke.
In wealthy Tudor houses the walls of rooms were lined with oak
paneling to keep out drafts. People slept in four-poster beds hung
with curtains to reduce drafts. In the 16th century some people had
wallpaper but it was very expensive. Other wealthy people hung
tapestries or painted cloths on their walls.
None of the improvements in 16th century furniture applied to the
poor. They continued to live in simple huts with one or two rooms
(occasionally three). Smoke escaped through a hole in the thatched
roof. Floors were of hard earth and furniture was very basic,
benches, stools, a table and wooden chests. They slept on
mattresses stuffed with straw or thistledown. The mattresses lay on
ropes strung across a wooden frame.
17th Century Furniture
In the late 17th century furniture for the wealthy became more
comfortable and much more finely decorated. In the early 17th
century furniture was plain and heavy. It was usually made of oak. In
the late 17th century furniture for the rich was often made of walnut
or (from the 1680s) mahogany. It was decorated in new ways. One
was veneering. (Thin pieces of expensive wood were laid over
cheaper wood). Some furniture was also inlaid. Wood was carved out
and the hollow was filled in with mother of pearl. At this time
lacquering arrived in England. Pieces of furniture were coated with
lacquer in bright colors.
Furthermore new types of furniture were introduced in Stuart times.
In the mid 17th century chests of drawers became common.
Grandfather clocks also became popular. Later in the century the
bookcase was introduced.
Chairs also became far more comfortable. Upholstered (padded and
covered) chairs became common in wealthy people's homes. In the
1680s the first real armchairs appeared.
However all the improvements in Stuart furniture did not apply to the
poor. Their furniture, such as it was remained very plain and basic.
Life in the 17th Century
18th Century Furniture
In the 18th century the wealthy owned comfortable upholstered
furniture. They owned beautiful furniture, some of it veneered or
inlaid. In the 18th century much fine furniture was made by Thomas
Chippendale (1718-1779). In 1754 he published a catalogue The
Gentlemen and Cabinet Makers Director. Another furniture maker
was George Hepplewhite (?-1786). In 1788 his widow published a
book of his designs The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer's Guide,
which had a big influence on Regency furniture. Thomas Sheraton
(1751-1806) was a cabinet maker. In 1791-93 he published his
designs in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book. The
famous clock maker James Cox (1723-1800) made exquisite clocks
for the rich.
In America the first great cabinet makers were Duncan Phyfe (17681854), John Goddard (1724-1785) and Samuel McIntire (1757-1811).
As usual furniture for the poor remained basic and sparse.
19th Century Furniture
Well off Victorians lived in very comfortable houses. (Although their
servants lived in cramped quarters, often in the attic). For the first
time furniture was mass-produced. That meant it was cheaper but
unfortunately this cheap furniture lead to a fall in design standards.
To us middle class Victorian homes would seem overcrowded with
furniture, ornaments and nick-knacks. However only a small minority
could afford this comfortable lifestyle.
In the early 19th century the poorest people slept on piles of straw
because they could not afford beds.
In the early 19th century skilled workers usually lived houses with two
rooms downstairs and two upstairs. The downstairs front room was
kept for best. The family kept their best furniture and ornaments in
this room. They spent most of the their time in the downstairs back
room, which served as a kitchen and living room. As the 19th century
passed more and more working class Victorians could afford this
lifestyle.
20th Century Furniture
At the start of the 20th century working class homes had two rooms
downstairs. The front room and the back room. The front room was
kept for best and children were not allowed to play there. In the front
room the family kept their best furniture and ornaments. The back
room was the kitchen and it was where the family spent most of their
time. Most families cooked on a coal-fired stove called a range, which
also heated the room.
This lifestyle changed in the early 20th century as gas cookers
became common. They did not heat the room so people began to
spend most of their time in the front room or living room, by the fire.
Rising living standards meant it was possible to furnish all rooms
properly not just one. During the 20th century ordinary people's
furniture greatly improved in quality and design.
In the 1920s and 1930s a new style of furniture and architecture was
introduced. It was called Art Deco and it used geometric shapes
instead of the flowing lines of the earlier Art Nouveau. The name Art
Deco came from an exhibition held in Paris in 1925 called the
Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs.
In the late 20th century Britain became an affluent society and
standards of furniture for ordinary people continued to rise.