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Definition: FURNITURE from A Dictionary of Entomology

Noun. (French, fourniture < fournir = furnish. PL, Furnitures.) Movable articles used to make a room, building, domicile suitable for occupancy and work. Funrniture includes tables, chairs or desks and often made of wood or plant parts that are attacked by insects.

furniture

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
properly such movables as chairs, tables, and beds; it is extended to include draperies, rugs, mirrors, lamps, and other furnishings. In its gradual evolution from periods of earliest civilization, the history of furniture parallels the progress of culture. Furniture has been made in a great variety of materials and decorated by many methods, the most usual being inlaying , painting or gilding, wood carving , veneering, and marquetry . Western furniture has drawn motifs of ornament from four main sources: Egyptian, Asian (Persian and Chinese), Greek, and Gothic. Probably the first pieces to be in demand were the chest, the stool (prototype of the chair), the table, and the bed. From remote times Oriental furniture has exhibited carving and inlay on ebony and teak. Egyptian pieces 6,000 years old display an advanced form of woodworking, structure, and decoration and are characterized by inlays of gold and ivory and by carved supports representing animal forms. The Greeks favored the low…
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As a domestic necessity in all civilizations, ancient and modern, furniture has been produced in tremendous quantities over the centuries. While the basic categories of furniture are few – seating, tables, storage, and writing – the diversity of pieces that have evolved within these groupings is…
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Although Arts and Crafts furniture cannot be identified by a single style, its designers and makers, who were based mainly in Britain and the USA, shared the same priorities of simplicity in design, modest use of ornament, honesty in construction, and emphasis on the importance of the role of the…
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After World War II the development of new moulding techniques such as wood lamination, the invention of malleable plastics, and the growing popularity of metal afforded designers greater flexibility in their work. The clean lines of Scandinavian design were very influential, establishing a trend for…
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After World War I, furniture designers combined luxury and practicality in their products, and created both traditional types of furniture and innovative forms. In France, traditional Art Deco furniture was typified by elegant styles looking back to the 18th or 19th centuries, using inlay and exotic…
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The French, the main exponents of Art Nouveau, adapted Arts and Crafts designs to create inventive, sculptural furniture, embellished with fine organic decoration. Elsewhere in Europe interpretations of the style varied, although nature was always the main source of inspiration. In Belgium designers…
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Full text Article furniture

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
properly such movables as chairs, tables, and beds; it is extended to include draperies, rugs, mirrors, lamps, and other furnishings. In its gradual evolution from periods of earliest civilization, the history of furniture parallels the progress of culture. Furniture has been made in a great variety…
| 585 words
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Full text Article furniture

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
French 18th-century dressing and writing table by...
Household equipment designed for a variety of purposes. It may be made of wood, metal, plastics, marble, glass, fabrics, and related materials. It ranges from the simple pine chest or country chair to the elaborate marquetry-work cabinet or gilded console table. It is usually movable, though it can…
| 158 words , 1 image
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Full text Article furniture

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Movable functional items such as tables, chairs, and beds needed to make a room or a home more comfortable and easier to live and work in. Furniture may be made from a wide variety of materials, including wood, stone, metal, plastic, papier-mâché, glass, cane, and textiles. Styles vary from plain…
| 1,615 words
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Full text Article FURNITURE

From The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales
Traditional Welsh furniture was highly distinctive. Items such as the cwpwrdd deuddarn (two-part cupboard), the cwpwrdd tridarn (three-part cupboard) and the coffor bach (small chest) are much prized by collectors worldwide, while the reproduction ‘Welsh dresser’ is a popular product of the modern…
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Full text Article furniture,

From The Oxford Companion to British History
indicator of status, reflector of domestic habits, technological development, and personal taste, has constantly been influenced by architecture and socio-economic change. Until the 14th cent. furniture was scarce, since medieval kings and landowners were peripatetic, and it was customary to…
| 955 words
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