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Wardrobe
A wardrobe (sometimes called an "armoire" the french word) is a
standing closet 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.
Wardrobe

History
A Chinese Ming Dynasty compound wardrobe made of rosewood,
latter half of the 16th century.

Intricately carved French Oakley style Tallboy with under cabinet

instead of a chest of drawers.

In its movable form as an oak "hanging cupboard" it dates back to

the early 17th century where it was an early export product to
England from America since English Forest lands were over forested
or reserved for the navy. Consequently, these were sometimes
referred to as an Oakley. 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 in
favor of the more plentiful American walnut. (Ironically, the virgin
American forests became successively Oak, then Maple with
successive deforestation episodes.)

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.

Wardrobe size; a common feature was to base future size on the

eight small men method. A considered good size double wardrobe
would thus be able to hold within its capacity, eight small men.
A modern fitted wardrobe.

In the nineteenth century the wardrobe began to develop 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.
Bookcase

A bookcase filled with books

A child using a cordless handheld drill to assemble a bookcase.

A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture, almost always with horizontal shelves, used to
store books. A bookcase frequently has doors that may be closed to protect the books, bookshelves
are open-fronted. These doors are usually glazed, so as to allow the spines of the books to be read.

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

Parallel arrangement of bookshelves.

Mobile aisle shelving.

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. 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.

Barrister's bookcase
A barrister requires the use of many law books and may frequently move to new chambers. A
specialised form of portable bookcase has thus developed to meet their needs. A barrister's
bookcase consists of several separate shelf units that may be stacked together to form a cabinet. An
additional plinth and hood complete the piece. When moving chambers, each shelf is carried
separately without needing to remove its contents and becomes a carrying-case full of books.

As most high-quality bookcases are closed by doors, but also to retain the books when being
carried, a barrister's bookcase has glazed doors. As the shelves must still separate it's not possible to
provide the usual hinged doors opening sideways and so instead they use an "up and over"
mechanism on each shelf. The better quality cases use a metal scissor mechanism inside the shelves
to ensure that the doors move in a parallel fashion without skewing and jamming. Many of this
style, exported worldwide, were made by the Skandia Furniture Co. of Rockford, Illinois around the
beginning of the 20th century

This style of bookcase was either made in a Dickensian period, or harkens back to the style of such
times, so they're most commonly glazed with a leaded light and small panes of glass.

The true barrister's bookcase must be capable of each shelf being carried with a heavy load of
books. The more robust examples have folding handles at the ends of each shelf. Modern
"decorator" copies of these may look the same, but are often too lightly constructed to be carried
whilst loaded, or may even be simply a single fixed case as per a normal bookcase, but with
separate doors to each shelf to give the appearance of a barrister's bookcase.
Cabinet

Glass display cabinet.

Oriental cabinet.
A cabinet is usually a box-shaped furniture, either standing alone as a piece of furniture or built
into or attached to a wall (such as a medicine cabinet) typically made of wood but now often made
of synthetic materials, and used for storage of miscellaneous items.

Cabinets usually have one or more doors on the front that are mounted with door hardware and
occasionally a lock; they may also contain drawers. Short cabinets often have a finished surface on
top that can be used for display, or as a working surface such as the countertops found in kitchens.

A cabinet intended for clothing storage is usually called a wardrobe or an armoire (or a closet if
built-in). In previous centuries, such a cabinet was also known as a linen-press. In British usage, a
wardrobe occasionally was referred to as an oakley, because of the oak wood used in its
construction. In India, a cabinet is often referred to as an Almari.

Old cabinets

Chest

Antique Wooden Chest

early 19th Century American pine blanket chest or sugar chest, painted to look like curly maple

A chest (also called coffer or kist) is one of the oldest forms of furniture. It is typically a
rectangular structure with four walls and a liftable lid, for storage. The interior space may be
subdivided. The early uses of an Antique chest or coffer included storage of fine cloth, weapons,
foods and valuable items.

A cassone is a kind of carved or painted chest associated with late Medieval and Renaissance Italy.
Cassones were often used to carry the dowry goods in a marriage ceremony.

In Medieval and early Renaissance times in Europe low chests were often used as benches while
taller chests were used as side tables. By placing a chest on the side on any kind of rough table, the
inner surface of its lid could be used as a proper writing surface while the interior could house
writing implements and related materials, as was the case with the Bargueno desk of Spain. Many
early Portable desks were stacked chests, with the top one having its lid on the side, to serve as a
writing surface when opened.

In fantasy, fables, and games, chests frequently contain treasure such as gold or jewels. A toy chest
is a type of chest that usually carries children's toys, like dolls or building blocks.

Cupboard

English livery cupboard approximately 1600 to 1640

Decorative crockery and bibelots in vitré armoire or vitrina

A cupboard (pronounced /ˈkʌbərd/) or press (Hiberno-English) is a type of cabinet, often made of

wood, used indoors to store household objects such as food and crockery, and protect them from
dust and dirt.

As the name suggests, this piece of furniture was originally a simple board or table on which to
place cups or mugs - recorded use of such a name dates back to at least the Middle Ages. For the
last few centuries, "cupboard" has referred to a storage area enclosed by doors.

The term cupboard originally was used to describe an open shelved side table for displaying plates
and cups and saucers. These open cupboards typically had between one and three display tiers, and
at the time, a drawer or multiple drawers fitted to it. The word cupboard gradually came to mean a
closed piece of furniture.

Airing cupboard
An airing cupboard is a large built-in wardrobe, sometimes of walk-in dimensions, containing a
water heater; typically an immersion heater for hot running water rather than a boiler for central
heating water. Shelves, usually slatted to allow for circulation of heat, are positioned above or
around the heater to provide storage for clothing, typically linen and towelling. The purpose is to
prevent damp rather than to dry wet clothing. Other names include "boiler cupboard", or (in
Ireland) "hot press".

China cabinet
The very first china cabinet was created during the King William and Queen Mary era (1689-1702)
in England. William and Mary came from Holland, and brought with them lots of Dutch craftsmen.
Queen Mary was obsessed with the Blue and White china that was being imported in Europe, so
she commissioned the craftsmen to create a special cabinet that would display some of her personal
collection. The cabinet itself was made of walnut, so it had to be moved with a stretcher because the
large piece was too heavy for the small legs that were under it. It had a glass door, which were glass
panes, which at this time were created by blowing glass into compartments and then spreading it
into sheets. The original china cabinet had an oriental influence to go with the idea of the Blue and
White china.

Linen cupboard
A linen cupboard is an enclosed recess of a room used for storing household linen, usually with
shelves; or a free-standing piece of furniture for this purpose.

Credenza

Credenza

A credenza is a piece of furniture that became very fashionable during the second half of the 19th
century. Often made of a burnished and polished wood decorated with marquetry a central
cupboard would be flanked by symmetrical quadrant glass display cabinets. The top would often be
made of marble or other decorative stone or inlaid wood.

Today, a credenza is more often a type of sideboard used in domestic or restaurant situations. In
dining rooms, it is typically made from wood and used as a platform to serve buffet meals. In
restaurant kitchens, made from stainless steel, it provides a side surface and storage cupboards.

Originally in Italian the name meant "belief". This was because in XVI century the act of
"credenza" was the tasting of food and drinks by a servant for a lord or for an important person (like
popes and cardinals). With this taste they sincerated the food was not poisoned. The name passed
then to the room where the act took place, then to the furniture.

Curio
A curio is a predominantly glass cabinet with a metal or wood framework used to display
collections of figurines that share some common theme. Most curios have glass on each side or a
mirror at the back and glass levels to show the entire figurine. A curio prevents dust and vermin
from destroying the value of the collection. Curios are also used to display single crafted dolls. A
curio is different from a display case, in that while a display case is usually horizontal to display
jewellery for sale on top of a felt bottom, a curio is vertical to show standing items and usually has
no bottom lining.

Dresser
An illustration of a dresser.

A dresser is a piece of furniture which is similar to a sideboard, but also has shelves above for
storing and displaying crockery. Traditionally, a dresser is located in the kitchen and used for
"dressing" meat. The design sometimes varied from that in the picture by having one or two
drawers above the opening doors in the base. On larger estates and properties, one of these drawers
(if two) very often had a tin lining and was referred to as a 'porage drawer'into which freshly made
porage was emtied and left to cool. When cold, slices of the porage were cut out and given to the
'estate' manual workers for breakfast. A bedroom chest of drawers is often called a "dresser."

Filing cabinet
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Two tall metal file cabinets for work or home use

A filing cabinet (or file cabinet in North American English) is a piece of office furniture usually
used to store paper documents in file folders. In the most simple sense, it is an enclosure for
drawers in which items are stored. The two most common forms of filing cabinets are lateral files
and vertical files. A vertical file cabinet has drawers that extend from the short side (typically 15
inches) of the cabinet. A lateral file cabinet has drawers that extend from the long side (various
lengths) of the cabinet. These are also called side filers in Great Britain. There are also lateral files
and shelf files. In the United States, file cabinets are usually built to accommodate 8.5 x 11 paper,
and in other countries, filing cabinets are often designed to hold other sizes of paper, such as A4
paper.

Hall Tree

Hall Tree
A Hall Tree is a piece of furniture, usually found in hallways or near the entryway of homes, on
which people hang items such as hats, coats, or other clothing. They often have mirrors and drawers
to store personal items such as wallets, sunglasses, money, etc. Many incorporate a bench to sit
upon while putting on or taking off footware. The bench seat is often hinged with a storage space
underneath often used for shoes, hats and gloves. Most Hall Trees are made of wood. In Victorian
times some of the better quality hall trees were made of walnut or oak.

A hatstand or hall rack is a device used to store hats and often coats on, and umbrellas within.

The front hall was the introduction to the house, and as such was an important part of the Victorian
home. Furnishings were selected not only to make it a useful place to hang a hat and coat, store an
umbrella and leave a calling card, but also to show family wealth, social position and knowledge of
current styles. A hall stand or a hatrack was the most important piece of furniture. These were new
forms that appeared about 1840, as homes became larger and social visits became more structured;
see also Hall Tree.

Usually made of wood and standing at least five foot tall, they have a single pole making up most
of the height, with a sturdy base to prevent toppling, and an array of lengthy pegs at the top for
placement of hats. Smaller houses had smaller front halls, so a hanging hatrack was the answer to
the problem of storing visitors' coats and hats. The complicated shapes of the spindles and hooks of
both varieties created an interesting pattern on the wall.

Knoll sofa
The famous Knole settee (sometimes known as the Knole Sofa) was made in the 17th century. It is
housed at Knole in Kent, a house owned by the Sackville-Wests since 1605. It was originally used
not as comfortable sofa but as a formal throne on which the monarch would have sat to receive
visitors. It features adjustable side arms and considerable depth of seating, it usually has exposed
wooden finials at the rear corner tops, and some exposed wood may be present on the otherwise
arms. The arms, more correctly sides, are of the same height. The side arms are tied to the sofa back
by means of heavy decorative braid, often with an elaborate tassel.

Sideboard

Modern sideboard

A sideboard is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for
displaying serving dishes such as silver, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or
cupboards, and one or more drawers, all topped by a flat display surface for conveniently holding
food, serving dishes, and even lighting devices. The overall height of the tops of most sideboards is
approximately waist level.

The earliest versions of the sideboard familiar today made their appearance in the 18th century, but
they gained most of their popularity during the 19th century as households became prosperous
enough to dedicate a room solely to dining. Sideboards were made in a range of decorative styles
and were frequently ornamented with costly veneers and inlays. In later years, sideboards have been
placed in living rooms or other areas where household items might be displayed.

In traditional, formal dining rooms today, an antique sideboard is a desirable and fashionable
accessory, and finely styled versions from the late-18th or early-19th centuries are the most sought
after and costly today. Among its counterparts in modern furniture styles, the form is often referred
to as a server. Some of the earliest production of sideboards arose in England, France, Belgium and
Scotland. Later, American designs arose. Characteristic materials used in historic sideboard
manufacture include oak, pine and walnut.

Storagewall
A storage wall, in building trade jargon, is a system of floor to ceiling cupboards, storage elements,
and doorways that can be pre-assembled or assembled on site when building an office. Storage
walls act as partitions.

Bean bag

Bean bags like these are commonly used as juggling props.

Bean bag chairs

A bean bag (also beanbag) is a sealed bag containing dried beans, PVC pellets or expanded
polystyrene, with various applications. As bean bag games are not apt to cause injury, they are
referenced in the famous aphorism by the Irish-American politico Finley Peter Dunne that "Politics
ain't bean bag."
Bench

Classic garden bench

A bench is a piece of furniture, which mostly offers several persons seating. As a rule, benches are
made of wood, but one can also find stone benches and benches made of synthetic materials. Many
benches have arm rests. In public areas, benches are often donated by persons or associations,
which may then be indicated on it, e.g. by a small copper plaque.

Different types of benches

Snow covered park bench

An open park bench in al-Mahdi Park, Tehran.

 the bench seat is a traditional seat installed in automobiles, featuring a continuous pad
running the full width of the cabin.
  a punishment bench is used to have a punishee lie (and often be tied) down on for the
administration of a corporal punishment, after which it may be specifically named, e.g.
caning bench

Often benches are simply called after the place they are used, regardless whether this implies a
specific design

 Garden benches are very similar to public park benches set outdoors, but the former offer
usually only two or three -, the latter mostly up to five persons sitting places.
 Picnic tables, or catering buffet tables have long benches as well as a table. These tables
may have table legs which are collapsible, in order to expedite transport and storage.
 Church pews inside places of worship are equipped with an additional kneeling bench.

Chair
This article is about furniture. For the head of an assembly, see chairman. For a device to support
railway track, see chair (railway). For academic department, see Chair (academic department). For
academic position, see Chair (academic).

Vincent's Chair by Vincent van Gogh

A chair is used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs often have the seat raised above
floor level, supported by four legs. A chair without a back or arm rests is a stool, or when raised up,
a bar stool (adults) or high chair (young children). A chair with arms is an armchair and with
folding action and inclining footrest, a recliner. A permanently fixed chair in a train or theater is a
seat or airline seat; when riding, it is a saddle and bicycle saddle, and for an automobile, a car seat
or infant car seat. With wheels it is a wheelchair and when hung from above, a swing.

The design may be made of porous materials, or be drilled with holes for decoration; a low back or
gaps can provide ventilation. The back may extend above the height of the occupant's head, which
can optionally contain a headrest.

A chair for more than one person is a couch, sofa, settee, or "loveseat"; or a bench. A separate
footrest for a chair is known as an ottoman, hassock or pouffe.

History of the chair

Early twentieth century chair made in eastern Australia, with strong heraldic embellishment

The chair is of extreme antiquity, although for many centuries and indeed for thousands of years it
was an article of state and dignity rather than an article of ordinary use. "The chair" is still
extensively used as the emblem of authority in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom and
Canada, and in many other settings. Committees, boards of directors, and academic departments all
have a 'chairperson'. Endowed professorships are referred to as chairs. It was not, in fact, until the
16th century that it became common anywhere. The chest, the bench and the stool were until then
the ordinary seats of everyday life, and the number of chairs which have survived from an earlier
date is exceedingly limited; most of such examples are of ecclesiastical or seigneurial origin. Our
knowledge of the chairs of remote antiquity is derived almost entirely from monuments, sculpture
and paintings. A few actual examples exist in the British Museum, in the Egyptian Museum at
Cairo, and elsewhere.

Butterfly chair

In ancient Egypt chairs appear to have been of great richness and splendo. Fashioned of ebony and
ivory, or of carved and gilded wood, they were covered with costly materials, magnificent patterns
and supported upon representations of the legs of beasts or the figures of captives. The earliest
known form of Greek chair, going back to five or six centuries BCE, had a back but stood straight
up, front and back. During Tang dynasty (618 - 907 AD), a higher seat first started to appear
amongst the Chinese elite and their usage soon spread to all levels of society. By the 12th century
seating on the floor was rare in China, unlike in other Asian countries where the custom continued,
and the chair, or more commonly the stool, was used in the vast majority of houses throughout the
country.

In Europe, it was owing in great measure to the Renaissance that the chair ceased to be a privilege
of state, and became a standard item of furniture for anyone who could afford to buy it. Once the
idea of privilege faded the chair speedily came into general use. We find almost at once that the
chair began to change every few years to reflect the fashions of the hour.

The 20th century saw an increasing use of technology in chair construction with such things as all-
metal folding chairs, metal-legged chairs, the Slumber Chair, moulded plastic chairs and ergonomic
chairs. The recliner became a popular form, at least in part due to radio and television, and later a
two-part. The modern movement of the 1960s produced new forms of chairs: the butterfly chair,
bean bags, and the egg-shaped pod chair. Technological advances led to molded plywood and wood
laminate chairs, as well as chairs made of leather or polymers. Mechanical technology incorporated
into the chair enabled adjustable chairs, especially for office use. Motors embedded in the chair
resulted in massage chairs.

Design and ergonomics

This rocking chair in the Adirondack chair style is made of rough wood to give it a rustic look.

Chair design considers intended usage, ergonomics (how comfortable it is for the occupant), as well
as non-ergonomic functional requirements such as size, stack ability, fold ability, weight, durability,
stain resistance and artistic design. Intended usage determines the desired seating position. "Task
chairs", or any chair intended for people to work at a desk or table, including dining chairs, can
only recline very slightly; otherwise the occupant is too far away from the desk or table. Dental
chairs are necessarily reclined. Easy chairs for watching television or movies are somewhere in
between depending on the height of the screen.

Ergonomic design distributes the weight of the occupant to various parts of the body. A seat that is
higher results in dangling feet and increased pressure on the underside of the knees ("popliteal
fold"). It may also result in no weight on the feet which means more weight elsewhere. A lower seat
may shift too much weight to the "seat bones" ("ischial tuberosities").

Computer Chair

A reclining seat and back will shift weight to the occupant's back. This may be more comfortable
for some in reducing weight on the seat area, but may be problematic for others who have bad
backs. In general, if the occupant is supposed to sit for a long time, weight needs to be taken off the
seat area and thus "easy" chairs intended for long periods of sitting are generally at least slightly
reclined. However, reclining may not be suitable for chairs intended for work or eating at table.

an adjustable office chair

The back of the chair will support some of the weight of the occupant, reducing the weight on other
parts of the body. In general, backrests come in three heights: Lower back backrests support only
the lumbar region. Shoulder height backrests support the entire back and shoulders. Headrests
support the head as well and are important in vehicles for preventing "whiplash" neck injuries in
rear-end collisions where the head is jerked back suddenly. Reclining chairs typically have at least
shoulder height backrests to shift weight to the shoulders instead of just the lower back.

Some chairs have foot rests. A stool or other simple chair may have a simple straight or curved bar
near the bottom for the sitter to place his or her feet on.

A kneeling chair adds an additional body part, the knees, to support the weight of the body. A sit-
stand chair distributes most of the weight of the occupant to the feet. Many chairs are padded or
have cushions. Padding can be on the seat of the chair only, on the seat and back, or also on any
arm rests and/or foot rest the chair may have. Padding will not shift the weight to different parts of
the body (unless the chair is so soft that the shape is altered). However, padding does distribute the
weight by increasing the area of contact between the chair and the body. A hard wood chair feels
hard because the contact point between the occupant and the chair is small. The same body weight
over a smaller area means greater pressure on that area. Spreading the area reduces the pressure at
any given point. In lieu of padding, flexible materials, such as wicker, may be used instead with
similar effects of distributing the weight. Since most of the body weight is supported in the back of
the seat, padding there should be firmer than the front of the seat which only has the weight of the
legs to support. Chairs that have padding that is the same density front and back will feel soft in the
back area and hard to the underside of the knees.

There may be cases where padding is not desirable. For example, in chairs that are intended
primarily for outdoor use. Where padding is not desirable, contouring may be used instead. A
contoured seat pan attempts to distribute weight without padding. By matching the shape of the
occupant's buttocks, weight is distributed and maximum pressure is reduced.

Churchchairs

Actual chair dimensions are determined by measurements of the human body or anthropometric
measurements. The two most relevant anthropometric measurement for chair design is the popliteal
height and buttock popliteal length.

For someone seated, the popliteal height is the distance from the underside of the foot to the
underside of the thigh at the knees. It is sometimes called the "stool height." The term "sitting
height" is reserved for the height to the top of the head when seated. For American men, the median
popliteal height is 16.3 inches and for American women it is 15.0 inches. The popliteal height, after
adjusting for heels, clothing and other issues is used to determine the height of the chair seat. Mass
produced chairs are typically 17 inches high.

For someone seated, the buttock popliteal length is the horizontal distance from the back most part
of the buttocks to the back of the lower leg. This anthropometric measurement is used to determine
the seat depth. Mass produced chairs are typically 15-17 inches deep.

The Difference between Leg Room & Seat Pitch

Additional anthropometric measurements may be relevant to designing a chair. Hip breadth is used
for chair width and armrest width. Elbow rest height is used to determine the height of the armrests.
The buttock-knee length is used to determine "leg room" between rows of chairs. "Seat pitch" is the
distance between rows of seats. In some airplanes and stadiums the leg room (the seat pitch less the
thickness of the seat at thigh level) is so small that it is sometimes insufficient for the average
person.

For adjustable chairs, such as an office chair, the aforementioned principles are applied in adjusting
the chair to the individual occupant.

Armrests

A Large Armchair

A chair may or may not have armrests; chairs with armrests are termed armchairs. In French, a
distinction is made between fauteuil and chaise, the terms for chairs with and without armrests,
respectively. If present, armrests will support part of the body weight through the arms if the arms
are resting on the armrests. Armrests further have the function of making entry and exit from the
chair easier (but from the side it becomes more difficult). Armrests should support the forearm and
not the sensitive elbow area. Hence in some chair designs, the armrest is not continuous to the chair
back, but is missing in the elbow area.

A couch, bench, or other arrangement of seats next to each other may have armrest at the sides
and/or arm rests in between. The latter may be provided for comfort, but also for privacy e.g. in
public transport and other public places, and to prevent lying on the bench. Arm rests reduce both
desired and undesired proximity. A loveseat in particular, has no armrest in between.

Chair seats
A bench is long enough for several people to sit on

Chair seats vary widely in construction and may or may not match construction of the chair's back
(backrest).

Some systems include:

 center seats where a solid material forms the chair seat.

o Solid wood, may or may not be shaped to human contours.
o Wood slats, often seen on outdoor chairs
o Padded leather, generally a flat wood base covered in padding and contained in soft
leather
o Stuffed fabric, similar to padded leather
o Metal seats of solid or open design
o Molded plastic
o Stone, often marble
 Open center seats where a soft material is attached to the tops of chair legs or between
stretchers to form the seat.
o Wicker, woven to provide a surface with give to it
o Leather, may be tooled with a design
o Fabric, simple covering without support
o Tape, wide fabric tape woven into seat, seen in lawn chairs and some old chairs
o Caning, woven from rush, reed, rawhide, heavy paper, strong grasses, cattails to
form the seat, often in elaborate patterns
o Splint, ash, oak or hickory strips are woven
o Metal, Metal mesh or wire woven to form seat

Standards and specifications

Highly decorated carved-back chairs in Mexico

Design considerations for chairs have been codified into standards. ISO 9241, "Ergonomic
requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) -- Part 5: Workstation layout
and postural requirements" is the most common one for modern chair design.

There are multiple specific standards for different types of chairs. Dental chairs are specified by
ISO 6875. Bean bag chairs are specified by ANSI standard ASTM F1912-98. ISO 7174 specifies
stability of rocking and tilting chairs. ASTM F1858-98 specifies plastic lawn chairs. ASTM E1822-
02b defines the combustibility of chairs when they are stacked.

The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA) defines BIFMA
X5.1 for testing of commercial-grade chairs. It specifies things like:

 chair back strength of 150 pounds (68 kg)

 chair stability if weight is transferred completely to the front or back legs
 leg strength of 75 pounds (34 kg) applied one inch (25 mm) from the bottom of the leg
 seat strength of 225 pounds (102 kg) dropped from six inches (150 mm) above the seat
 seat cycle strength of 100,000 repetitions of 125 pounds (57 kg) dropped from 2 inches
(50 mm) above the seat

The specification further defines heavier "proof" loads that chairs must withstand. Under these
higher loads, the chair may be damaged, but it must not fail catastrophically.

Large institutions that make bulk purchases will reference these standards within their own even
more detailed criteria for purchase. Governments will often issue standards for purchases by
government agencies (e.g. Canada's Canadian General Standards Board CAN/CGSB 44.15M on
"Straight Stacking Chair, Steel" or CAN/CGSB 44.232-2002 on "Task Chairs for Office Work with
Visual Display Terminal").

Chairs may be rated by the length of time that they may be used comfortably — an 8-hour chair, a
24-hour chair, and so on. Such chairs are specified for tasks which require extended periods of
sitting, such as for receptionists or supervisors of a control panel.

Accessories
In place of a built-in footrest, some chairs come with a matching ottoman. An ottoman is a short
stool intended to be used as a footrest but can sometimes be used as a stool. If matched to a glider,
the ottoman may be mounted on swing arms so that the ottoman rocks back and forth with the main
glider.

A chair cover is a temporary fabric cover for a side chair. They are typically rented for formal
events such as wedding receptions to increase the attractiveness of the chairs and decor. The chair
covers may come with decorative chair ties, a ribbon to be tied as a bow behind the chair. Covers
for sofas and couches are also available for homes with small children and pets. In the second half
of 20th century, some people used custom clear plastic covers for expensive sofas and chairs to
protect them.

Chair pads are cushions for chairs. Some are decorative. In cars, they may be used to increase the
height of the driver. Orthopedic backrests provide support for the back. Some manufacturers have
patents on their designs and are recognized by medical associations as beneficial. Car seats
sometimes have built-in and adjustable lumbar supports.

Chair mats are plastic mats meant to cover carpet. This allows chairs on wheels to roll easily over
the carpet and it protects the carpet. They come in various shapes, some specifically sized to fit
partially under a desk.

Remote control bags can be draped over the arm of easy chairs or sofas and used to hold remote
controls. They are counter-weighted so as to not slide off the arms under the weight of the remote
control.

Chair glides are attached to the feet of chairs to prevent them from scratching or snagging on the
floor.

Specific types of chairs

 Sgabello.
 Caquetoire.
 Savonarola.
 Dantechair.
 Saddle chair
 Rocking chair

Couch

Couches come in a variety of colors, patterns, and materials (two-seater model).

A couch is a item of furniture for the comfortable seating of more than one person and typically has
an armrest on either side. Couches are usually to be found in the family room, living room, den or
the lounge. They are covered in a variety of textiles or in leather.

The most common types of couches are the "loveseat" (or British two-seater) and the settee or sofa
(two or more seats). 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.

Other couch variants include the divan, the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed), the chaise
longue (long with one armrest), the canapé (an ornamental 3-seater), and the ottoman (generally
considered a footstool). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds (sofa-bed, daybed, or futon).
There are also couches known by genericized trademarked names, such as a davenport or
Chesterfield (named for the Earl of Chesterfield). Lofabed (low-fa-bed) a combination of a
davenport base and futon mattress resulting in a more comfortable, practical, and economical
alternative to the traditional (convertible) sofa-bed.

The term chesterfield is a Canadian term equivalent to couch or sofa.

The term three-piece suite describes a furniture set consisting of a two-/three-seater couch, plus two
armchairs. Other (less specific) terms for sets including at least one sofa include: Chesterfield
suite, lounge suite, living-room suite and sofa suite.

Fauteuil

Fauteuil by Pierre-Antoine Bellange, c. 1815. Gilded beech, gesso, with 1996 reproduction silk
jacquard based upon an 1815 Tassinari et Chatel document. Located in the Blue Room of the White
House.

A fauteuil is a style of open-arm chair with a primarily exposed wooden frame originating in
France in the early eighteenth century. A fauteuil is made of wood, and frequently with carved
relief ornament. It is typically upholstered on the seat, the seat back and on the arms (manchettes).
Some fauteuils have a valenced front seat rail which is padding that extends slightly over the apron.
The exposed wooden elements are often gilded or otherwise painted.
Footstool

Ottoman footstool

A footstool is a piece of furniture, the purpose of which is to support one's feet. There are two main
types of footstool, which can be loosely categorized into two categories, those designed for comfort
and those designed for function.

Recliner

A recliner

A recliner is an armchair that reclines when the occupant lowers the chair's back and raises its
front. It has a backrest that can be tilted back, causing a footrest to extend from the front. It
provides the occupant more comfort than most of the conventional chairs and is thus popular all the
world over in Western-style luxury accommodations.

Tuffet
Tuffet, pouffe or hassock are all terms for a piece of furniture used as a footstool or low seat. It is
distinguished from a stool by being completely covered in fabric so that no legs are visible. It is
essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more rigidity.
Wooden feet may be added to the base to give it stability. If the piece is larger, so that storage can
take place inside it, then it is generally known as an ottoman.

Hassock has special association with churches, as it is used to describe the thick cushions employed
by the congregation to kneel on while in prayer.

The names tuffet and hassock are both derived from English names for a small grassy hillock or
clump of grass, in use since at least the sixteenth century. Pouffe is a nineteenth century French
import for "something puffed out".

A tuffet is also an English unit of capacity, equal to 2 pecks, or half a bushel.

Another connotation of the word tuffet is the description of an inflatable landing area for precision
accuracy parachute landings.

Watchman's chair
A watchman's chair is a design of unupholstered wood construction featuring a forward slanted
seat, such that the watchman could not readily fall asleep without sliding downward and off the
front of the chair. The design was developed in Western Europe, and was used from late medieval
times well into the 19th century. Currently this antique furniture item is found primarily in the
possession of collectors and museums.

Coffee table

A coffee table, also called a cocktail table, is a style of long, low table which is designed to be
placed in front of a sofa, 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.

Desk
A desk is a furniture form and a class of table often used in a work or office setting for reading or
writing on or using a computer. Desks often have one or more drawers to store office supplies and
papers. Unlike a regular table, usually only one side of a desk is suitable to sit on (though there are
some unusual exceptions, such as a partners desk). Not all desks have the form of a table. For
instance, an Armoire desk is a desk built within a large wardrobe-like cabinet, and a portable desk
is light enough to be placed on a person's lap.
Typical rolltop desk

Early desks
Desk-style furniture appears not to have been used in classical antiquity or in other ancient centers
of civilization in the Middle East or Far East, but there is no specific proof. Medieval illustrations
show the first pieces of furniture which seem to have been designed and constructed for reading and
writing.

Before the invention of the movable type printing press in the 15th century, any reader was
potentially a writer or publisher or both, since any book or other document had to be copied by
hand. The desks were designed with slots and hooks for bookmarks and for writing implements.
Since manuscript volumes were sometimes large, and heavy, desks of the period usually had
massive structures.

Desks of the Renaissance and later eras had relatively slimmer structures, and more and more
drawers as woodworking became more precise and cabinet-making became a distinct trade. It is
often possible to find out if a table or other piece of furniture of those times was designed to be
used as a desk by looking for a drawer with three small separations (one each for the ink pot, the
blotter and the powder tray) and room for the pens.

The desk forms we are familiar with in this beginning of the millennium were born mostly in the
17th and 18th centuries. The ergonomic desk of the last decades is the newest addition to a long list
of desk forms, but in a way it is only a refinement of the mechanically complex drawing table or
drafting table of the end of the 18th century.

Industrial era

An untidy desk
Refinements to those first desk forms were considerable through the 19th century, as steam-driven
machinery made cheap wood-based paper possible in the last periods of the first phase of the
industrial revolution. This produced a boom in the number of, or some might say the birth of, the
white-collar worker. As these office workers grew in number, desks were mass-produced for them
in large quantities, using newer, steam-driven woodworking machinery. This was the first sharp
division in desk manufacturing. From then on, limited quantities of finely crafted desks have been
constructed by master cabinetmakers for the homes and offices of the rich while the vast majority
of desks were assembled rapidly by unskilled labor, from components turned out in batches by
machine tools. Thus, age alone does not guarantee that an antique desk is a masterpiece, since this
shift took place more than a hundred years ago.

More paper and more correspondence drove the need for more complex desks and more specialized
desks, such as the rolltop desk which was a mass produced, slatted variant of the classical cylinder
desk. It provided a relatively fast and cheap way to lock up the ever increasing flow of paper
without having to file everything by the end of the day. Paper documents started leaving the desk as
a "home," with the general introduction of filing cabinets. Correspondence and other documents
were now too numerous to get enough attention to be rolled up or folded again, then summarized
and tagged before being pigeonholed in a small compartment over or under the work surface of the
desk. The famous Wooton desk and others were the last manifestations of the "pigeonhole" style.
The newer desks could be transformed into many different shapes and angles and were ideal for
artists.

Steel desks
A smaller boom in office work and desk production occurred at the end of the 19th century and the
beginning of the 20th with the introduction of smaller and cheaper electrical presses and efficient
carbon papers coupled with the general acceptance of the typewriter. Steel desks were introduced to
take heavier loads of paper and withstand the pounding meted out on the typewriters. The L-shaped
desk became popular, with the "leg" being used as an annex for the typewriter.

Another big boom occurred after the Second World War with the spread of photocopying.
Paperwork drove even higher the number of desk workers, whose work surface diminished in size
as office rents rose, and the paper itself was moved more and more directly to filing cabinets or sent
to records management centers, or transformed into microfilm, or both. Modular desks seating
several co-workers close by became common. Even executive or management desks became mass-
produced, built of cheap plywood or fiberboard covered with wood veneer, as the number of
persons managing the white collar workers became even greater.

Student desks

A student desk.

A student desk can be any desk form meant for use by a student. Usually the term designates a
small pedestal desk or writing table constructed for use by a teenager or a pre-teen in his or her
room at home. It often is a pedestal desk, with only one of the two pedestals and about two thirds of
the desk surface. Such desks are sometimes called left-pedestal desks and right-pedestal desks,
depending on the position of the single pedestal. These desks are not as tall as normal adult desks.
In some cases, the desk is connected from the seat to the table. The table is also used for sitting
before classes.

The desks are usually mass-produced in steel or wood and sold on the consumer market. There is a
wide variety of plans available for woodworking enthusiasts. There are many novel forms of
student desks made to maximize the relatively restricted area available in a child's room. One of the
most common is the bunk-bed desk, also called the loft bed.
Influence of computers
Until the late 1980s desks remained a place for paperwork and business negotiation.

At the end of this decade though the personal computer was taking hold in large and medium sized
businesses. New office suites included a "knee hole" credenza which was a place for a terminal or
personal computer and keyboard tray. Soon new office designs also included "U-shape" suites
which added a bridge worksurface between the back credenza and front desk. During the North
American recession of the early 1990s, many manager and executive workers had to do word
processing and other functions previously completed by typing pools and secretaries. This
necessitated a more central placement of the computer on these "U-shape" suite desk systems.

A desk in an office.

With computers abounding, "computer paper" became an office staple. The beginning of this paper
boom gave birth to the dream of the "paperless office", in which all information would appear on
computer monitors. However, the ease of printing personal documents and the lack of comfort with
reading text on computer monitors led to a great deal of document printing. The need for paperwork
space vied with the rising desk space taken up by computer monitors, CPUs, printers, scanners, and
other peripherals. As well, the need for more space led some desk companies to attach some items
to the modesty panel at the back of the desk, such as multi-outlets and cabling.

Through the "tech boom" of the 1990s, office worker numbers skyrocketed along with the cost of
office space rent. The cubicle desk became widely accepted in North America as an economical
way of putting more desk workers in the same space without actually shrinking the size of their
working surfaces. The cubicle walls have become new place for workers to affix papers and other
items once left on the horizontal desktop surface. Even computer monitor frames themselves are
used to attach reminder notes and business cards.

Early in the 2000s, private office workers found that their side and back computer-placing furniture
made it hard to show the contents of a computer screen to guests or co-workers. Manufacturers
have responded to this issue by creating "Forward Facing" desks where computer monitors are
placed on the front of the "U-shape" workstation. This forward computer monitor placement
promotes a clearer sight-line to greet colleagues, increases computer screen privacy and allows for
common viewing of information displayed on a screen.

Table

A wooden dining table and chairs.

A table is an item of furniture comprising a surface supported by a base or legs. It may be used to
hold articles such as food at a convenient or comfortable height when sitting, and is therefore often
used in conjunction with chairs. Unlike many earlier table designs, most modern tables do not have
drawers, although they are not uncommon. A table specifically intended for writing and office work
is a desk, which may incorporate one or more drawers in the base. Some tables have removable
sections or leaves used to extend the surface, or utilize hinged extensions of the table top known as
drop leaves. Tables can be made of wood, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass or basically any solid
material.

Shape, height, and function

A formally laid table set with a Meissen dinner service

Tables sometimes come in a wide variety of materials, shapes, and heights, that depends on their
origin, style, and intended use. All tables are composed of a flat surface and a base with one or
more supports, or legs. A table with a single, central foot is a pedestal table. Tables can be
freestanding or designed for placement against a wall (a console table). Table tops can be in
virtually any shape, although rectangular, square, round (e.g., the round table), and oval tops are the
most frequent. Long tables often have extra legs for support. Others have higher surfaces for
personal use while either standing or sitting on a tall stool.

Many tables have tops that can be adjusted to change their position or size, either with foldable
extensions or sliding parts that can alter the shape of the top. Some tables are entirely foldable for
easy transport, e.g., camping. Small tables in trains and aircraft may be fixed or foldable, although
many are simply convenient shelves rather than tables.

Types of table

A chess table with a chessboard built into its top

Tables of various shapes and sizes are designed for specific uses:

 A bedside table, nightstand, or night table is a small table used in a bedroom. It is often
used for convenient placement of a small lamp, alarm clock, glasses, or other personal
items.
 A drawing table usually has a top that can be tilted for making large or technical drawing.
It might have a ruler or similar element integrated.
 A gateleg table has one or two hinged leaves supported by hinged legs.
  A coffee table is a low table designed for use in a living room, in front of a sofa, for
convenient placement of drinks, books, or other personal items.
 A chess table is a type of games table that integrates a chessboard.
 A refectory table is a long table designed to seat many people for meals.
 A dining room table is a table designed to be used for formal dining.

Historically, various types of tables have been popular for other uses:

 Tripod tables were very popular during the 18th and 19th centuries as candlestands, tea
tables, or small dining tables. Their typically round tops often had a tilting mechanism and
sometimes rotated as well. The folding top enabled them to be stored out of the way (e.g., in
room corners) when not in use.
 Pembroke tables were first introduced during the 18th century and were popular
throughout the 19th century. Their main characteristic was a rectangular or oval top with
folding or drop leaves on each side. Most examples have one or more drawers and four legs
sometimes connected by stretchers. Their design meant they could easily be stored or
moved about and conveniently opened for serving tea, dining, writing, or other occasional
uses.
 Sofa tables evolved from Pembroke tables and usually have longer and narrower tops. They
were specifically designed for placement directly in front of sofas for serving tea, writing,
dining, or other convenient uses.
 Work tables were small tables designed to hold sewing materials and implements,
providing a convenient work place for women who sewed. They appeared during the 18th
century and were popular throughout the 19th century. Most examples have rectangular
tops, sometimes with folding leaves, and usually one or more drawers fitted with partitions.
Early examples typically have four legs, often standing on casters, while later examples
sometimes have turned columns or other forms of support. You can eat at a table.
 Drum tables are round tables introduced for writing, with drawers around the platform.
 End tables are small tables typically placed beside couches or armchairs. Often lamps will
be placed on an end table. May be confused with the lesser known "InTable" which is a
fictional type of table.
 Billiards tables are bounded tables on which billiards-type games are played. All provide a
flat surface, usually composed of slate and covered with cloth, elevated above the ground.
 Table tennis tables are usually masonite or a similar timber, layered with a smooth low-
friction coating. It is divided into two halves by a low net, which separates opposing
players.

Trestle table
A trestle table is an item of furniture comprising two or three the trestle supports linked by a
longitudinal cross-member over which a board or tabletop is placed. It is the earliest form of table,
after the basic pedestal-style table known to be used in ancient times, and was a common structure
in ancient Rome, when it was made primarily of stone or marble. By the Middle Ages the trestle
table was often little more than loose boards over trestle legs for ease of assembly and storage. It
remained the most common form of table until the 16th century, when the basic trestle design gave
way to stronger frame-based structures such as gateleg and refectory tables. Ease of assembly and
storage has made it the ideal occasional table, and it remains a popular form of dining table, as
those seated are not so inconvenienced as they might be with the more usual arrangement of a fixed
leg at each corner.

Construction and uses

Trestle tables figure prominently in the traditional Americana style of household furnishings,
usually accompanied by spindle-backed chairs. The trestles in this case are normally of much
higher quality, often made of oak and braced with a stretcher beam using a keyed tenon through the
centre of each trestle. These typically support a high-quality waxed oak tabletop.

The trestle table can be a utilitarian, portable work surface. Much favoured by professional
decorators, it typically comprises two or more trestles – often collapsible, folding or height-
adjustable; similar to the woodworker's sawhorse – supporting a plain, lightweight, wooden
tabletop, often little more than a cheap flush panel door.
Another common form, often used in school dining rooms, utilises a folding-leg construction
similarly valued for its portability and easy storage. In this case a basic tubular steel framework is
employed, with the tabletop a combination of metal and plywood laminate.

A folding-leg trestle table

Trestle Tables are featured in Hardcore Professional Wrestling matches.

Furniture

A dining table for two

Furniture is the mass noun 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. (See List of furniture types.)

Furniture can be a product of 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.
Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflect the local culture.

Bed
A bed is a piece of furniture (or a location) used as a place to sleep, and as a primary place for
relaxation.
Beds usually consist of a mattress placed on top of a box spring Inner-sprung Base. The box spring
is a large mattress-sized box containing wood and springs that provide additional support and
suspension for the mattress.
The box spring will typically lie on a bed frame(which lifts the mattress/mattress-box spring off the
ground) or on slats (usually made of 2" x 4" wood).
A "headboard", "side rails", and "footboard" or "front rail" will complete the bed.
"Headboard only" beds often incorporate a dust ruffle, bed skirt, or valance sheet to hide the bed
frame.

A bed with matching pillows.

For greater head support, most people use a pillow, placed at the top of a mattress. Also used is
some form of covering blanket to insulate the sleeper, often bed sheets, a quilt, or a duvet.
Also, some people prefer to dispense with the box spring and bed frame, and replace it with a
platform bed style. This is more common in Europe and Japan.

Tutankhamun's gilded bed from the 14th century BC

Early beds were little more than piles of straw or some other natural material. An important change
was raising them off the ground, to avoid draughts, dirt, and pests. The Egyptians had high
bedsteads which were ascended by steps, with bolsters or pillows, and curtains to hang round. The
elite of Egyptian society such as its pharaohs and queens even had beds made of wood and gilded
with gold. Often there was a head-rest as well, semi-cylindrical and made of stone, wood or metal.
Ancient Assyrians, Medes and Persians had beds of a similar kind, and frequently decorated their
furniture with inlays or appliqués of metal, mother-of-pearl and ivory.

The Roman mattresses were stuffed with reeds, hay, wool or feathers; the last was used towards the
end of the Republic, when custom demanded luxury. Small cushions were placed at the head and
sometimes at the back. The bedsteads were high and could only be ascended by the help of steps.
They were often arranged for two persons, and had a board or railing at the back as well as the
raised portion at the head. The counterpanes were sometimes very costly, generally purple
embroidered with figures in gold; and rich hangings fell to the ground masking the front. The
bedsteads themselves were often of bronze inlaid with silver, and Elagabalus had one of solid
silver. In the walls of some of the houses at Pompeii bed niches are found which were probably
closed by curtains or sliding partitions. Ancient Romans had various kinds of beds for repose.
These included:

 lectus cubicularis, or chamber bed, for normal sleeping;

 lectus genialis, the marriage bed, it was much decorated, and was placed in the atrium
opposite the door.
 lectus discubitorius, or table bed, on which they ate—for they ate while lying on their left
side—there being usually three people to one bed, with the middle place accounted the most
honorable position;
  lectus lucubratorius, for studying;
 and a lectus funebris, or emortualis, on which the dead were carried to the pyre.[2]

Medieval Europe

The ancient Germans lay on the floor on beds of leaves covered with skins, or in a kind of shallow
chest filled with leaves and moss. In the early Middle Ages they laid carpets on the floor or on a
bench against the wall, placed upon them mattresses stuffed with feathers, wool or hair, and used
skins as a covering. They appear to have generally lain naked in bed, wrapping themselves in the
large linen sheets which were stretched over the cushions. In the 13th century luxury increased, and
bedsteads were made of wood much decorated with inlaid, carved and painted ornament. They also
used folding beds, which served as couches by day and had cushions covered with silk laid upon
leather. At night a linen sheet was spread and pillows placed, while silk-covered skins served as
coverlets. Curtains were hung from the ceiling or from an iron arm projecting from the wall. The
Carolingian manuscripts show metal bedsteads much higher at the head than at the feet, and this
shape continued in use until the 13th century in France, many cushions being added to raise the
body to a sloping position. In the 12th-century manuscripts the bedsteads appear much richer, with
inlays, carving and painting, and with embroidered coverlets and mattresses in harmony. Curtains
were hung above the bed, and a small hanging lamp is often shown. In the 14th century the
woodwork became of less importance, being generally entirely covered by hangings of rich
materials. Silk, velvet and even cloth of gold were much used. Inventories from the beginning of
the 14th century give details of these hangings lined with fur and richly embroidered. Then it was
that the tester bed made its first appearance, the tester being slung from the ceiling or fastened to
the walls, a form which developed later into a room within a room, shut in by double curtains,
sometimes even so as to exclude all drafts. The space between bed and wall was called the ruelle,
and very intimate friends were received there.

In the 15th century beds became very large, reaching to 7 or 8 feet by 6 or 7 feet. The mattresses
were often filled with pea-shucks, straw or feathers. At this time great personages were in the habit
of carrying most of their property about with them, including beds and bed-hangings, and for this
reason the bedsteads were for the most part mere frameworks to be covered up; but about the
beginning of the 16th century bedsteads were made lighter and more decorative, since the lords
remained in the same place for longer periods.

[edit] Renaissance and Modern Europe

In the 17th century, which has been called "the century of magnificent beds," the style a la
duchesse, with tester and curtains only at the head, replaced the more enclosed beds in France,
though they lasted much longer in England. Louis XIV had an enormous number of sumptuous
beds, as many as 413 being described in the inventories of his palaces. Some of them had
embroideries enriched with pearls, and figures on a silver or golden ground. The great bed at
Versailles had crimson velvet curtains on which "The Triumph of Venus" was embroidered. So
much gold was used that the velvet scarcely showed.

Napoleon I's bed

In the 18th century feather pillows were first used as coverings in Germany, which in the fashions
of the bed and the curious etiquette connected with the bedchamber followed France for the most
part. The beds were a la duchesse, but in France itself there was great variety both of name and
shape. The custom of the "bed of justice" upon which the king of France reclined when he was
present in parliament, the princes being seated, the great officials standing, and the lesser officials
kneeling, was held to denote the royal power even more than the throne. Louis XI is credited with
its first use, and the custom lasted till the end of the monarchy. In the chambre de parade, where
the ceremonial bed was placed, certain persons, such as ambassadors or great lords, whom it was
desired to honour, were received in a more intimate fashion than the crowd of courtiers. At
Versailles women received their friends in their beds, both before and after childbirth, during
periods of mourning, and even directly after marriage - in fact in any circumstances which were
thought deserving of congratulation or condolence. During the 17th century this curious custom
became general, perhaps to avoid the tiresome details of etiquette. Portable beds were used in high
society in France till the end of the Ancien Régime. The earliest of which mention has been found
belonged to Charles the Bold. They had curtains over a light framework, and were in their way as
fine as the stationary beds.

Iron beds appear in the 18th century; the advertisements recommend them as free from the insects
which sometimes infested wooden bedsteads. Elsewhere, there was also the closed bed with sliding
or folding shutters, and in England - where beds were commonly quite simple in form - the four
poster was the usual citizen's bed until the middle of the 19th century.

[edit] Bed sizes

Main article: Bed size

Bed sizes vary considerably around the world, with most countries having their own standards and
terminology.

While the double size appears to be standard among English speaking countries, based on the
imperial measurement of 4 ft 6 in by 6 ft 3 in, the sizes for other bed types tend to vary. The
European sizes differ, not merely because of difference based on use of the metric system.

A king-sized bed differs from the other sizes in implementation, as it is not common to have a king-
sized box spring; rather, two smaller box-springs are used under a king-sized mattress. It is a
common misconception that on a U.S. standard or eastern king, the box springs are identical in size
to a twin extra-long, however twin extra-long mattresses next to each other add up to 78 inches
wide instead of the 76 inch width that is standard for an eastern king.

Types of beds

Lit à la Polonaise (Polish style bed), Royal Castle in Warsaw, 18th century.

There are many varieties of beds:

  An adjustable bed is a bed that can be adjusted to a number of different positions
 An air bed uses an air-inflated mattress(es), sometimes connected to an electric air pump
and having variable, firmness controls. The portable version of an air bed can also be rolled
up and packed, so is meant for travel or temporary guest use.
 A bassinet is a bed specifically for newborn infants.
 A box-bed is a bed having the form of a large box with wooden roof, sides, and ends,
opening in front with two sliding panels or shutters; often used in cottages in Scotland:
sometimes also applied to a bed arranged so as to fold up into a box.
 A brass bed, constructed from brass or brass-plated metal.
 A bunk is a bed used in a confined space.
 A bunk bed is two or more beds one atop the other. (See also: loft bed.)
 A captain's bed (also known as a chest bed or cabin bed) is a platform bed with drawers and
storage compartments built in underneath.
 A camp bed (also cot) is a simple, temporary, portable bed used by armies and large
organizations in times of crisis.
 A canopy bed is similar to a four poster bed, but the posts usually extend higher and are
adorned or draped with cloth, sometimes completely enclosing the bed.
 A curtained bed is a luxury bed with curtains.
 A daybed is a couch that is used as a seat by day and as a bed by night.
 A futon is a traditional style of Japanese bed that is also available in a larger Western style.
 A four poster bed is a bed with four posts, one in each corner, that support a tester.
 A hammock is a piece of suspended fabric.
 A hideaway bed, invented by Sarah E. Goode in response to the needs of apartment-
dwellers, folds up into another piece of furniture, such as a shelf or desk, when not in use.
 A hospital bed is specifically designed to facilitate convalescence, traditionally in a hospital
or nursing facility, but increasingly in other settings, such as a private residence. Modern
hospital beds commonly have wheels to assist in moderate relocation, but they are larger
and generally more permanently placed than a gurney. The hospital bed is also a common
unit of measurement for the capacity of any type of inpatient medical facility, though it is
just as common to shorten the term to bed in that usage.
 An infant bed (also crib or cot) is a small bed specifically for babies and infants.
 An iron bed, developed in the 1850s, is constructed of iron and steel.
 A Manjaa is a traditional Punjabi bed made of tied ropes bordered by a wooden frame.
 A Murphy bed or wallbed is a bed that can hinge into a wall or cabinet to save space.
 A pallet is a thin, lightweight mattress.
 A platform bed is a mattress resting on a solid, flat raised surface, either free-standing or
part of the structure of the room.
 A roll-away bed (or cot) is a bed whose frame folds in half and rolls in order to be more
easily stored and moved.
 A rope bed is a pre-modern bed whose wooden frame includes crossing rope to support the
typically down-filled single mattress.
 A sofabed is a bed that is stored inside a sofa.
 A state bed developed in Early Modern Europe from a hieratic canopy of state.
 A trundle bed or truckle bed is a bed usually stored beneath a twin bed also sometimes
referred to as a sleepover bed.
 A vibrating bed is typically a coin-operated novelty found in a vintage motel. For a fee, the
mattress vibrates for a duration of time. Alternatively it is a modern bed which vibrates by
use of an off-centre motor. It is controlled by electronics for varying time and amplitude
settings and is used therapeutically to ease back pains.
 A waterbed is a bed/mattress combination where the mattress is filled with water.

Bed frames
Bed frames, also called bed steads, are made of wood or metal. The frame is made up of head, foot,
and side rails. For heavy duty or larger frames (such as for queen- and king-sized beds), the bed
frame also includes a center support rail. These rails are assembled to create a box for the mattress
or mattress/box spring to sit on.

Types of bed frames include:

 platform - typically used without a box spring

 captain - has drawers beneath the frame to make use of the space between the floor and the
bed frame
  waterbed - a heavy-duty frame built specifically to support the weight of the water in the
mattress(Mainly used on larger models)

Though not truly parts of a bed frame, headboards, footboards, and bed rails can be included in the
definition. Headboards and footboards can be wood or metal. They can be stained, painted, or
covered in fabric or leather.

Bed rails are made of wood or metal and are attached to a headboard and footboard. Wooden slats
are placed perpendicular to the bed rails to support the mattress/mattress box spring.

Bed rails and frames are often attached to the bed post using knock-down fittings. A knock-down
fitting enables the bed to be easily dismantled for removal. Primary knock-down fittings for bed
rails are as follows:

 Pin-and-hook fastener. A mortise or slot is cut vertically in the bedpost. Pins are inserted
horizontally in the bed post so that the pins perpendicularly intersect the mortise. For
example, if one looked in the mortise, one might see part of one horizontal pin at the bottom
of the mortise and a part of a second pin toward the top of the mortise. Hooks are installed
at the end of the rail. Usually these hooks are part of a plate that is attached to the rail. The
hooks then are inserted into the bed post mortise and hook over the pins.

 Plate-and-hook fastener. Instead of pins inserted horizontally into the bedpost, an eye plate
(post plate) is installed on the bedpost. The hooks are installed on the rail, either as surface
mount or recessed. Depending on the hardware, the bedpost may require a mortise in order
to allow the hooks to fasten to the plate. This is also referred to as a keyhole fastener,
especially if the connector is more of a "plug" than a "hook".

 Bed bolts ("through-bolts") are a different means of knock-down connection. A hole is

typically drilled through the bedpost. The bolt head is inset and covered with a plug. In the
rail, a dowel nut or other type of nut receives the bolt. The springs are made from metal,
which are swirled for maximum comfort

Safety rails [6] can be added to the sides of a bed (normally a children's bed) to stop anyone falling
out of the sides of the bed. A safety rail is normally a piece of wood that attaches to the side rails on
one or both sides of the bed. They are made so that they can be easily removed when no longer
required.

Headboard

A wooden headboard

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 (such as securing handcuffs in place), or incorporation
into the critical care functions of a hospital bed.

It may often, but not always, be complemented by a spragging board at the foot of the bed; again
with a function to retain the bed linen or extend the decorative function of the headboard but also to
provide the occupant(s) purchase for the feet

Radiogram

Braun Table Radiogram, Model SK5, c 1962.

In British English, a Radiogram is a now old-fashioned piece of furniture that combined a valve
radio and record player. [1] The word Radiogram is formed by a combination of the words radio and
gramophone.[2]

Radiograms reached their peak of popularity in the late 1950's, supported by a rapidly growing
interest in records. Originally they were styled in polished wood to blend with the furniture styles of
the 1940s and 1950s. Later models took on the modern lines and plastic finish of the 1960s. When
valve radio development ended in the early 1960's and transistors began to take over radiograms
became obsolete. By the late 1970s they had been relpaced by more compact equipment.[3]

Since radiograms were manufactured in such huge numbers they are not as rare or valuable as TV
sets or table radios from the same period.

Piano

Boesendorfer grand piano

The piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in
Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano
is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often
expensive, the piano's versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the most familiar musical
instruments.

Pressing a key on the piano's keyboard causes a felt covered hammer to strike steel strings. The
hammers rebound, allowing the strings to continue vibrating at their resonant frequency.[1] These
vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a sounding board that couples the acoustic energy to
the air so that it can be heard as sound. When the key is released, a damper stops the string's
vibration. Pianos are sometimes classified as both a percussion and a stringed instrument.
According to the Hornbostel-Sachs method of music classification, they are grouped with
chordophones.
The word piano is a shortened form of the word pianoforte, which is seldom used except in formal
language and derived from the original Italian name for the instrument, clavicembalo [or
gravicembalo] col piano e forte (literally harpsichord with calm and strong). This refers to the
instrument's responsiveness to keyboard touch, which allows the pianist to produce notes at
different dynamic levels by controlling the speed with which the hammers hit the strings.

Deutsche Grammophon
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This article's tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may
be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.
(October 2008)
Deutsche Grammophon Records

Parent
Universal Music Group
company
Founded 1898
Founder Emile Berliner
Distributing Deutsche Grammophon Records (in the U.S.
label and U.K.)
Genre Classical Music
Country of
Germany
origin
Official website http://www.deutschegrammophon.com

Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label, now part of the Universal Music
Group. It is also UMG's oldest active label.

[edit] History

Record of Emile Berliner's Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Made 1908 in Hannover,

Germany

The Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft was founded in 1898 by German-born United States
citizen Emile Berliner as the German branch of his Berliner Gramophone Company. Based in the
city of Hannover (the founder's birthplace), the company had links with the U.S. Victor Talking
Machine Company and the British Gramophone Company, but those links were severed at the onset
of World War I.

In 1941 Deutsche Grammophon was purchased by the Siemens & Halske electronics company.

In 1945 as part of Germany's surrender terms ending World War II, Deutsche Grammophon
forfeited its rights to the His Master's Voice trademark to EMI. The dog and gramophone were
replaced by the "crown of tulips", designed by Siemens advertising consultant Hans Domizlaff.

In 1962 Siemens formed a joint venture with Netherlands based Philips to create the DGG/PPI
Record Group, which became The PolyGram Group in 1972.

Deutsche Grammophon were owners of the Beatles' first record label, Polydor Records.

Deutsche Grammophon pioneered the introduction of the compact disc to the mass market,
debuting classical music performed by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic for sale in
the new medium in 1983, the first recording being Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie.

DGG/Polydor's entrance into the US market in 1969 came at a time when the big US classical
labels -- Columbia (Masterworks) and RCA (Red Seal and Victor) were caving in to the pop
culture, dropping their 'unlucrative' classical artists, and making bad pressings. The fine quality
both of recording and of pressings helped DGG especially succeed and attract Arthur Fiedler and
the Boston Pops Orchestra to DGG/Polydor. In 1987 Siemens sold off its interest in PolyGram, and
Philips became the majority shareholder. In 1998 Seagram Company Ltd of Canada purchased
Deutsche Grammophon and Polygram. Since then Deutsche Grammophon has been merged into the
Universal Music Group, a division of Vivendi.

Deutsche Grammophon has a huge back catalogue of notable recordings. The company currently is
reissuing a portion of it with the indication Originals. Originals compact disc releases are noted for
their vinyl record stylized design. They are also releasing some of American Decca Records'
albums from the 1940s and '50's, such as those that Leonard Bernstein made for Decca in 1953, and
the classic Christmas album which features Ronald Colman starring in A Christmas Carol and
Charles Laughton narrating Mr. Pickwick's Christmas. Along with the American Decca Records
classical music catalogue, Deutsche Grammophon also manages the classical music catalogue of
ABC Records including Westminster Records.

Although Deutsche Grammophon acquired the reputation of releasing mainstream classical

recordings, from the 1960s onwards it released several avant garde recordings (initially under the
'Avant Garde' imprint), including Bruno Maderna, David Bedford, Cornelius Cardew, Luigi Nono
and improvisations. It also released the majority of the compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen until
the composer bought the rights to the recordings and re-released them under his own label. Other
German composers associated with the label included Paul Hindemith and Hans Werner Henze.

Contemporary composers whose works have been released by Deutsche Grammophon include
Sofia Gubaidulina, Oliver Knussen, Mark Anthony Turnage, Peter Eötvös and Philip Glass.

The conductor most associated with the label is Herbert von Karajan. Other conductors under
contract have included Karl Böhm, Eugen Jochum, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Claudio
Abbado and Christian Thielemann. A more recent signing has been Gustavo Dudamel.

High-Definition Television (or HDTV) is a digital television broadcasting system with higher
resolution than traditional television systems (standard-definition TV, or SDTV). HDTV is digitally
broadcast; the earliest implementations used analog broadcasting, but today digital television
(DTV) signals are used, requiring less bandwidth due to digital video compression.
Projection screen in a home theater, displaying a high-definition television image.

Receiver (radio)
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This article is about a radio receiver, for other uses see Radio (disambiguation).

A radio receiver is an electronic circuit that receives its input from an antenna, uses electronic
filters to separate a wanted radio signal from all other signals picked up by this antenna, amplifies it
to a level suitable for further processing, and finally converts through demodulation and decoding
the signal into a form usable for the consumer, such as sound, pictures, digital data, measurement
values, navigational positions, etc.[1]

Old-fashioned radio receiver--wireless Truetone model from about 1940

In consumer electronics, the terms radio and radio receiver are often used specifically for receivers
designed for the sound signals transmitted by radio broadcasting services – historically the first
mass-market radio application.

Folding screen
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A three-piece folding screen

In furniture, a folding screen is a piece of furniture which consists of at least two frames connected
by hinges. These frames are covered with paper, cloth, wood or other materials. Screens are used to
provide shelter, partition off a space, and as decoration.
The earliest folding screens originated in China as early as the fourth century BC. It is called píng
fēng (屛風) in Chinese[1][2] and its use became widespread around the 7th century in Tang Dynasty
of China.[3]

Garden furniture
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Associated main article: Garden design

Garden furniture, also called patio furniture, is a type of furniture specifically designed for
outdoor use. It is typically made of weather resistant materials. The oldest surviving examples of
garden furniture were found in the gardens of Pompeii.

[edit] Types of furniture

An area of typical patio furniture, including umbrellas, in Taiwan

Garden furniture is often sold as a patio set consisting of a table, four or six chairs and a parasol.
Garden parasols are a specialist type of umbrella designed to provide shade from the sun. Parasols
fit through a hole in the centre of the table and are secured in a base. Long chairs, referred to as
chaise lounges, are also common items. Patio heaters, that run on bottled butane or propane, are
often used to enable people to sit outside at night or in cold weather. A picnic table is used for the
purpose of eating a meal outdoors such as in a garden

[edit] Materials

Green plastic garden furniture

The materials used to manufacture modern patio furniture include stones, metals, vinyl, plastics,
resins, glass, and treated woods.

Plastic garden furniture is naturally waterproof, so you can leave it out year-round. However, rain
water will collect at the back of chairs and in nooks and crannies. As such, a surprising amount of
dirt can form.

Wooden garden furniture can suffer through exposure to the elements and therefore needs to be
periodically treated, for example with varnish. Teak is a commonly used material for outdoor
furniture. It naturally contains silica, which makes it resistant to fungal decay, many of the effects
of water (such as rot, swelling and warping), as well as chemicals. It is also resistant to fire, acid
and alkalis, and there are certain oils specifically for the treatment of teak to help it resist weather
and the adverse effects of being outside.

Aluminum garden furniture is robust and long-lasting. Despite that, agents such as suntan lotions,
perspiration and car exhaust can eat away at the powder coating that protects it, although aluminum
does not rust. If the protective coating is compromised it will corrode and cannot usually be
salvaged.

Rattan outdoor living furniture is made from two types of material. Originally made from the stems
of any one of 600 species of palms found in tropical regions all over the world, most modern rattan
is made from synthetic resin, increasing the life expectancy and reducing manufacturing costs. The
palm stems are tightly woven into interlocking panels, and formed into the desired structure.

Light fixture

A wide array of light fixtures

A light fixture is an electrical device used to create artificial light or illumination. A luminaire is a
lighting fixture complete with the light source or lamp, the reflector for directing the light, an
aperture (with or without a lens), the outer shell or housing for lamp alignment and protection, an
electrical ballast, if required, and connection to a power source [1]. A wide variety of special light
fixtures are created for use in the automotive industry, aerospace, marine and medicine.

Light fixtures are classified by how the fixture is installed, the light function or lamp type.

Fixture types
Free-standing or portable

Tiffany dragonfly desk lamp with pigeon sculptures

 table lamps, standard lamps and office task lights. Note: The use of "lamp" to describe light
fixtures is different from its use to describe electrical components - see Lamp (electrical
component).
o Balanced arm lamp is a spot light with an adjustable arm like anglepoise and Luxo
L1.
o Nightlight

Fixed

A chandelier light fixture

 Recessed light — the protective housing is concealed behind a ceiling or wall, leaving only
the fixture itself exposed. The ceiling-mounted version is often called a "downlight".
o "Cans" with a variety of lamps — this term is jargon for inexpensive downlighting
products that are recessed into the ceiling. The name comes from the shape of the
housing. The term "pot lights" is often used in Canada and parts of the US.
 o Troffer light — recessed fluorescent lights (the word comes from the combination of
trough & coffer)
o Cove light — recessed into the ceiling in a long box against a wall
o Torch lamp, torchiere or floor lamp
 Surface-mounted light — the finished housing is exposed; not "flush" with surface
o Chandelier
o Pendant light — suspended from the ceiling with a chain or pipe
o Sconce — provide up or down lights; can be used to illuminate artwork,
architectural details; commonly used in hallways and/or as an alternative to overhead
lighting.
o Track lighting fixture — individual fixtures (track "heads") can be positioned
anywhere along the track, which provides electric power.
o Under-cabinet light — mounted below kitchen wall cabinets
o Emergency lighting or Exit light — connected to a battery or to an electric circuit
that has backup power if the main power fails
o High bay/Low bay lighting — typically used for general lighting for industrial
buildings
o Strip lights or industrial lights — often long lines of fluorescent lamps used in a
warehouse or factory
 Outdoor lighting — used to illuminate walkways, parking lots, roadways, building exteriors,
landscape and architectural details.
o Pole or stanchion mounted — for landscape, roadways, and parking lots
o Pathway lighting — typically mounted in the ground at low levels for illuminating
walkways
o Bollards — A type of architectural outdoor lighting that is a short, upright ground-
mounted unit typically used to provide cutoff type illumination for egress lighting, to
light walkways, steps, or other pathways
o Street light
o Yard light
o Solar lamp

A garden solar lamp is an example of landscape lighting

Special purpose lights

 Accent light
 Background light (for use in film and television production)
 Blacklight
 Flood light
  Safelight (for use in a dark room)
 Safety lamp (for use in coal mines)
 Searchlight (for military and advertising use)
 Security lighting
 Step light
 Strobe light
 Followspot (for use in a theatre)
 Wallwasher

Lamp types

Main article: List of light sources

 Fuel lamps
Betty lamp, butter lamp, carbide lamp, gas lighting, kerosene lamp, oil lamp, rush light,
torch, candle
 Arc lamps
Safety lamps: Davy lamp & Geordie lamp, Xenon arc lamp, Yablochkov candle
 Incandescent lamp
A-lamp, PAR Parabolic reflector lamp (PAR), Reflector lamp (R), Bulged reflector lamp
(BR) (Refer to lamp bases)
 Obsolete types: Limelight, Carbon button lamp, Mazda (light bulb), Nernst glower
 Novelty: Blacklight, Lava lamp
 Special purpose: Heat lamp, Nernst lamp, HQI
 Halogen - special class of incandescent lamps
 Gas discharge lamp and High-Intensity Discharge lamp (HID)
Mercury-vapor lamp, Ceramic discharge metal halide lamp, Metal-halide, Sodium vapor or
"high pressure sodium", HMI
 Neon sign, Plasma lamp
 Fluorescent
Linear fluorescent, Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL)
 Cold cathode
 Fiber optics
 Induction lamp
 Light-Emitting Diode (LED) (Solid state lighting)
 Nuclear: Self-powered lighting

Light fixture controls

 Light switch
 Dimmer
 Occupancy sensor
 Timer
 Touch

Aquarium furniture
Aquarium furniture refers to the various ornaments and functional items in an aquarium.

Ornamental aquarium furniture is often kitsch: popular examples include ceramic mermaids,
'sunken' ships and castles, and the ever-popular (but curiously misplaced) "No Fishing" sign.
Another strange piece of decor is the ubiquitous plastic corals found often in freshwater tanks.
Examples of functional aquarium furniture would include devices for removing algae from the glass
(either a razor or a scouring pad, attached to the glass by a magnet), airstones, water filters, water
heaters, and food dispensers.

Aquarium furniture may also refer to an item of (regular) furniture that features an aquarium in its
design. A stand or cabinet that supports the aquarium may be considered aquarium furniture. Also,
many home reef aquariums canopies containing metal halide lights. The canopies are often
constructed to the same standards as high quality cabinetry

Door furniture
Door furniture (British and Australian English) or Door hardware (North American English)
refers to any of the items that are attached to a door or a drawer to enhance its functionality or
appearance.

Decorative door in Florence, Italy.

Design of door furniture is an issue to disabled persons who might have difficulty opening or using
some kinds of door, and to specialists in interior design as well as those usability professionals
which often take their didactic examples from door furniture design and use.

Items of door furniture fall into several categories, described below.

Hinges

A typical peephole in a door, allowing the person to see who is outside the door without opening it.

A hinge is a component that attaches one edge of a door to the frame, while allowing the other edge
to swing from it. It usually consists of a pair of plates, each with a set of open cylindrical rings (the
knuckles) attached to them. The knuckles of the two plates are offset from each other and mesh
together. A hinge pin is then placed through the two sets of knuckles and usually fixed, to combine
the plates and make the hinge a single unit. One door usually has about three hinges, but it can vary.

Handles
Doors generally have at least one fixed handle, usually accompanied with a latch (see below). A
typical "handle set" is composed of the exterior handle, escutcheon, an independent deadbolt, and
the interior package (knob or lever). On some doors the latch is incorporated into a hinged handle
that releases when pulled on.
Locks
A lock is a device that prevents access by those without a key or combination, generally by
preventing one or more latches from being operated. Often accompanied by an escutcheon. Some,
particularly older, doors will have a keyhole accompanying the lock.

Fasteners
Most doors make use of one or more fasteners to hold the door closed. Typical or common
fasteners include:

 Latch - A device that allows one to fasten a door, but doesn't necessarily require an external
handle
 Bolt - A (nearly always) metal shaft usually internal to the door, attached by cleats or a
specific form of bracket, that slides into the jamb to fasten a door.
o Latchbolt - A bolt that has an angled surface which acts as a ramp to push the bolt in
while the door is being closed. By the use of a latchbolt, a door can be closed
without having to operate the handle.
o Deadbolt - Deadbolts usually extend deeper into the frame and are not automatically
retractable the way latchbolts are. They are typically manipulated with a lock on the
outside and either a lock or a latch on the inside. Deadbolts are generally used for
security purposes on external doors in case somebody tries to kick the door in or use
a tool such as a crowbar or a hammer and screwdriver etc.
 Strike plate - A plate with a hole in the middle made to receive a bolt. If the strike is for a
latchbolt, it typically also includes a small ramped area to help the bolt move inward while
the door is being closed. (Also known as just "strike") It's also available as electric strike
which allows you to open the door even though the mechanical lock is locked.

Accessories
Numerous devices exist to serve specific purposes related to how a door should (or should not) be
used. See:

 Door closer - A hydraulic device employed to slow the door's closure

 Door knocker
 Door stop - used to prevent the door from opening too far or striking another object
 Espagnolette (for a window)
 Fingerplate
 Letter box or mail slot
 Peephole

A number of items normally accompany doors but are not necessarily mounted on the door itself,
such as doorbells.

Hutch
A hutch is a type of furniture that usually consists of a set of shelves or cabinets placed on top of a
lower unit with a counter and either drawers or cabinets. Hutches are often seen in the form of
desks or kitchen furniture. Can be a chest, bin, and animal cage.

Street furniture
Street furniture can reflect local issues, as here at Lyme Regis, UK. The Ammonite-design
streetlamps reflect the town's location on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage site.

Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed on streets and
roads for various purposes, including traffic barrier, benches, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes,
streetlamps, street lighting, traffic lights, traffic signs, bus stops, grit bins, tram stops, taxi stands,
public lavatories, fountains and memorials, and waste receptacles. An important consideration in
the design of street furniture is how it affects road safety.

General descriptions

Street name signs on Birdbrook Road, Birmingham, England, showing old "Birmingham 22" (top)
and modern "B44" postcodes.

Street name signs identify streets, for the benefit of visitors, especially postal workers and the
emergency services. They may also indicate the district in which the street lies.

A bench is essentially a chair made for more than one person, usually found in the central part of
any settlement (such as plazas and parks). They are often provided by the local councils or
contributors to serve as a place to rest and admire the view. Armrests in between are sometimes
provided to prevent people lying down and/or to prevent people from sitting too close to someone
who likes to keep some distance.

Bollards are posts, short poles, or pillars, with the purpose of preventing the movement of vehicles
onto sidewalks or grass etc.

Post boxes, also known as mail boxes, are found throughout the world, and have a variety of
forms: round pillar style found in Japan and the U.K. (the two feature a difference in that the
Japanese version has a round lid while the UK version is flat); rectangular blue boxes in the United
States; red and yellow boxes with curved tops in Australia, some on poles. The Canadian version is
a red box with a slanted back top.

Phone boxes or telephone booths are prominent in most cities around the world, and while ranging
drastically in the amount of cover they offer users, e.g. many only cover the phone itself while
others are full booths, are instantly recognisable. The widespread use of mobile phones has resulted
in a decrease in their numbers.

Streetlamps are designed to illuminate the surrounding area at night, serving not only as a deterrent
to criminals but more importantly to allow people to see where they're going. The colour of
streetlamps' bulbs differ, but generally are white or yellow.

Traffic lights (or traffic signals) usually include three colours: green to represent "go", amber to
inform drivers that the colour will alternate shortly and red to tell drivers to stop. They are generally
mounted on poles or gantries or hang from wires.

Traffic signs warn drivers of upcoming road conditions such as a "blind curve", speed limits, etc.
Direction signs tell the reader the way to a location, although the sign's information can be
represented in a variety of ways from that of a diagram to written instructions. Direction signs are
usually mounted on poles. Recently, illumination has started to be added in order to aid nighttime
users.

Public lavatories allow pedestrians the opportunity to use restroom facilities, either for free or for a
per-use fee.

Local significance
K2 and K6 (left) telephone boxes stand next to each other on St John's Wood High Street, London,
England.

Street furniture itself has become as much a part of many nations' identities as dialects and national
events, so much so that one can usually recognise the location by their design; famous examples of
this include:

 the red telephone boxes of Britain

 the residential post boxes of the United States
 the streetlamps and metro entrances of Paris.

Outdoor advertising and street furniture

 Posters are a part of out-of-home media (also referred to as OOH). The presentation of
backlit posters is done in display boxes or street furniture components like mega-displays or
billboards. To install these street furniture components on public ground, city councils have
to agree. To get these permissions (Europe, Asia and part of the US) services and fees are
offered to the cities by the outdoor advertisers.

 In Europe there is a heavy competition for public spots to do advertising in different poster
formats since these spots generate high contact figures – means many people can possibly
remember a presented advertising message on a major road or square.

 The presentation of this advertising has to fit in the overall public planning rules of cities
and their architecture. These requirements lead to interesting design approaches for poster
presentation in different formats.

 Street furniture families were designed to fit these needs. Over the years they were
completed with additional components like restrooms and automatic toilet facilities and
kiosks to name a few.

A new entrant to the market is an interesting, dual purpose "hand hygiene kiosk". Developed by
CleanMedia of Chicago, IL, their outsized, 5ft tall devices dispense an alcohol-free hand sanitizing
formula, and the kiosks are "wrapped" with digital signage. The kiosks were introduced to
Chicago's Comerica Park, and have since been implemented at other sports arenas, as well as
shopping malls.

 To finance this infrastructure long term contracts (10 to 15 years) are signed between cities
and outdoor advertising companies.
  Cities are often put in a situation to decide on new concepts when they are not familiar with
the issues, since new contracts occur only very seldom. This knowledge gap is closed by a
special advisor—the street furniture report.

 This advisor gives cities some independent ideas on how to act in this surrounding (rather
than reacting) since public grounds can not be enlarged.

Stadium seating

Example of stadium seating.

"Stadium seating" can also be used as a synonym for festival seating.

Stadium seating is a technique used in performing-arts venues, educational facilities, religious

institutions, and movie theaters to allow more guests to see an event with less blockage than
traditional seating. Like seating in a football or baseball stadium, stadium seating in theaters is
usually a 30 degree slope stepped upwards from the bottom of the theater, as opposed to the
approximately 15 degree gentle slope in traditional theaters. This slope improves sightlines for
visitors and reduces the chance that a tall person will block the view of a short person behind them.
Sometimes the sloping floor is not stepped, with the disadvantage that items can roll down.

There has been some criticism of stadium seating because it usually isn't possible for disabled
people in wheelchairs to climb them. To reduce the problem, venues with stadium seating generally
mark the row at walk-in level for disabled patrons. This row is more open than those above or
below it and includes empty spaces for wheelchairs.

Stadium seating on a roller coaster

The trains on some roller coasters are also configured in tiers; this seating configuration is also
sometimes called stadium seating. Three prominent examples of roller coasters whose trains use
this type of seating are Millennium Force at Cedar Point[2], which opened in 2000, SheiKra at
Busch Gardens Tampa [3], which opened in 2005, and Griffon at Busch Gardens Europe, which
opened in 2007 [4].

Converting sloped-floor theaters to stadium seating theaters requires raising the ceiling and adding
risers, so owners of movie theaters often judge conversion as not cost effective.

Bandstand
A bandstand built in 1912 stands in the grounds of the Horniman Museum in London

Jedforest Instrumental Bandstand built in 2006 stands in the shadow of Jedburgh Abbey Scottish
Borders

Eastbourne bandstand opened in 1935

Ocean Park bandstand, Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, or pier, designed to

accommodate musical bands performing outdoor concerts. A simple construction which not only
creates an ornamental focal point it also serves acoustic requirements whilst providing shelter for
the changeable weather.
Many bandstands in the United Kingdom originated in the Victorian era as the British brass band
movement gained popularity. Smaller bandstands are often not much more than gazebos. Much
larger bandstands such as that at the Hollywood Bowl may be called band shells and usually take a
shape similar to a quarter sphere.

Bandstands of Interest
One of the most recent bandstands erected in the UK was the Jedforest Instrumental Bandstand.
Opened by HRH the Princess Royal spring 2006.

In 1993 the Deal Memorial Bandstand was opened as memorial to eleven bandsman killed by 1989
Deal barracks bombing. The bandstand was erected by public subscription and is maintained by
volunteers.

A good example of a semi-circular bandstand is the Eastbourne Bandstand which replaced a

circular bandstand that stood on cast iron stilts.

Herne Bay, Kent contains a totally enclosed bandstand with a stage and cafe area, topped with
copper clad domes.
Other information
Many Bandstands were manufactured in Scotland and are listed in the Scottish Iron Work website.

The function of the bandstand inspired the names of:

 the 1950s United States television show American Bandstand and

 the Australian television show Bandstand (1958-72).