The original Knole Settee (also known as the Knole Sofa ) is a couch chair made in the 17th century, probably around 1640. It is housed at Knole in Kent , a house owned by the Sackville-West family since 1605 but now in the care of the National Trust .
14-493: It was originally used not as a comfortable sofa but as a formal throne -like seat on which an aristocrat or monarch would have sat to receive visitors. It was wide enough that a monarch and consort could be seated side by side. As of 2021, it is kept at Knole House in a transparent case. Modern versions of the design are marketed as "Knole settees" or "Knole sofas". They feature adjustable side arms and considerable depth of seating and usually have exposed wooden finials atop
28-722: A sofa , settee , chesterfield , or davenport , is a cushioned item of furniture that can seat multiple people. It is commonly found in the form of a bench with upholstered armrests and is often fitted with springs and tailored cushion and pillows . Although a couch is used primarily for seating , it may be used for sleeping . In homes, couches are normally put in the family room, living room , den, or lounge. They are sometimes also found in non-residential settings such as hotels , lobbies of commercial offices, waiting rooms , and bars . Couches can also vary in size, color, and design. The term couch originally denoted an item of furniture for lying or sleeping on. Couch
42-427: A "sectional", is formed from multiple sections (typically two, three, or four) and usually includes at least two pieces which join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater. Sectional sofas are used to wrap around walls or other furniture. Other variants include the divan , the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed) and the canapé (an ornamental three-seater). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds in
56-626: Is derived from the Arabic word suffah ("ledge/bench"), cognates with the Aramaic word sippa (" mat "). Nathan Bailey in his Dictionarium Britannicum (1730) defines sofa as a "a sort of alcove much used in Asia ... furnished with rich carpets and cushions." The word settee or setee comes from the Old English word setl , which was used to describe long benches with high backs and arms, but
70-419: Is now generally used to describe small upholstered seating structures. Both "sofa" and "settee" terms came into use in the beginning of the 18th century. Originally the settee defined a smaller sofa, but by the 20th century the distinction was lost. Other terms which can be synonymous with the above definition are divan , davenport , lounge , and canapé . In Canadian English , the word chesterfield
84-572: Is open to the public and run by the National Trust . On display there is the original Knole Sofa, along with other pieces of matching seat furniture. The exact date of the making of the "Knole Sofa" and its original patron is unclear. The sofa or couch may have been made for the royal family and brought to Knole sometime in the 17th or 18th century. It was probably originally described as a couch or couch chair. A London furniture maker and upholsterer, Ralph Grynder , made couches for Henrietta Maria in
98-670: Is predominantly used in North America , Australia , South Africa , and Ireland , whereas the terms sofa and settee ( U and non-U ) are most commonly used in the United Kingdom and India . The word couch originated in Middle English from the Old French noun couche , which derived from the verb meaning "to lie down". The word sofa comes from the Turkish language and
112-500: Is used to describe any couch or sofa, particularly among older Canadians. According to a 1992 survey conducted in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario , the term is quickly vanishing. The most common types of couches include the two-seater, sometimes referred to as a loveseat, and the sofa. The loveseat is designed for seating two people, while the sofa has more than two cushion seats. A sectional sofa, often just referred to as
126-454: The 1630s, and these were supplied with suites of matching chairs and stools with a canopy suspended above. The inventories of English aristocrats also include similar suites. A portrait of Vere Egerton, Mrs William Booth , painted around 1619 at Dunham Massey , shows a red couch with a curtained canopy. Some records show that couches or couch beds were brought to Knole from the London residence of
140-504: The family, Dorset House, in 1624. These included a "cooch of velvet laced with Crimsin silk & gold Lace, six longe cushions suitable to it, four chairs suitable to it". It is unclear if this describes the surviving sofa or if the Knole Sofa is more like those made later by Ralph Grynder in the 1630s and 1640s. The exposed beech woodwork of the Knole Sofa has traces of original marbling and painted and gilded arabesque decoration. Thomas Capp
154-541: The form of sofa beds , daybeds , or futons . A furniture set consisting of a sofa with two matching chairs is known as a "chesterfield suite" or "living-room suite". In the UK, the word chesterfield was used to refer to any couch in the 1900s. A chesterfield now describes a deep buttoned sofa, usually made from leather, with arms and back of the same height. The first chesterfield, with its distinctive deep buttoned, quilted (or "tufted" ) leather upholstery and lower seat base,
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#1732869649400168-572: The rear corners, and some exposed wood may be present on the arms. The arms, more correctly sides, are the same height as the back. The side arms are tied to the sofa back using a heavy decorative braid, often with an elaborate tassel, looped around the finials on the arms and back. The name of the sofa is spelled as "Knole" and not "Knoll", and it has no relation to the Knoll furniture company. The sofa's name derives from Knole House in Sevenoaks, Kent , which
182-555: Was a specialist in painting furniture in this period who worked for Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex , briefly a keeper of the Royal Wardrobe. Some pieces of literature refer to the Knole sofa. For example, Derek Marlowe notes the usage in his 1968 book Memoirs of a Venus Lackey. In the 1962 novel In High Places , a Knole sofa is positioned in a room with a fine antique Kerman carpet . Sofa A couch , also known as
196-425: Was commissioned by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773). A couch consists of a frame, springs, padding, and a covering. The frame is usually made of wood, but can also be made of steel, plastic or laminated boards. Sofa padding is made from foam, down, feathers, fabric or a combination thereof. Sofa coverings are usually made out of soft leather, corduroy or linen. Couches commonly have springs under
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