Furniture Towns

Perhaps the British town most associated with furniture making is High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It is claimed that in 1875 the town was producing 4,700 chairs a day and even today the town’s football team is known as the ‘Chair Boys.’

Etymology Carpenter

The word carpenter is a Middle English word derived from the Latin carpentarius artifex, literally carriage maker. The carpentum was a simple two-wheeled cart of Celtic origin.

Furniture Fashion

As new items of furniture develop (such as TV cabinets or computer workstations) other items fade into history. The now defunct triclinium for example, was used by the Romans for dining. The triclinium consisted of three couches arranged around a new dining table on which the diners would recline whilst eating their meal – a style of eating that would surely be revived by students if they had enough space and enough sofas!

Cabinets

During the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, a high proportion of London’s cabinet makers were immigrants from Eastern Europe. The tradition of buying furniture from a local cabinet maker became virtually obsolete due to improvements in mass-production techniques.

On a retro note we have now started a few websites which look back at the history of furniture first up is mfi furniture. MFI Furniture site looks at the styles and designs of years gone past with a view on the unique effect MFI had on the furniture industry. Then another name from years gone by Courts Furniture, the designs and methodology that both these companies used are very much alike.

A more contemporary styled site covering very recent furniture industry history will be Land of Leather which will look back at the rise and fall of a major supplier of sofas in the UK.

Cabinets Etymology

The word cabinet is derived from the word cabin, a small hut or, in Latin, cabanna. Hence the word has come to be used for a small room, a private room for a ruler and their advisors – as well as any enclosed piece of furniture.

In the meantime Webmaster Link Exchange - Free Web Link Exchange Directory. Where Webmasters go to trade links with other web-masters.

Yew Wood Furniture

Yew is a highly attractive wood for furniture making, but the timber must be handled with care during the construction process. All parts of the tree are poisonous and even ingestion of the wood dust created when sanding down can have serious consequences.

Flat Pack Furniture

Flat-pack or self-assembly furniture first appeared in Britain during the 1950s. One supplier, a company called Furni-Kit of London advertised its “Self-Build Furniture” in magazines of the time. Its offerings included a 22in high occasional table in oak, walnut or mahogany for 53 shillings (about £2.25) or a down payment of 6 shillings and 10 pence (about 34p).

View some great deals on Oak Furniture

Every few months your new lovely oak furniture is more than likely going to need a good exhaustive waxing, especially in the first few years in your home. Waxing helps the grain remain adhered, helps the wood withstand from cracking and crazing, and keeps any finishes on your oak furniture in the best possible shape. Waxing does not work well if you make small circles or broad back and forth strokes. You want to use the wax with a clean cloth in the same direction as the grain and then remove the wax by buffing with the grain. This allows for the best protection within the grain while reducing streaking and pockets of air.

Cheap furniture care products are cheap for a simple reason. Commonly the reason is because they don’t work that well. The components that go into a can of furniture polish in the cheap can are less expensive for the company to attain because they are not as potent. While there will always be a few companies who will also package for the store brand, these are few and far between. Thus, as a general rule, the cheap cans of furniture care products should really be avoided where possible.

Do you have any furniture care tips? If so we would love to hear them! Get in touch by clicking the contact button at the top of the page.

Art Deco Furniture

Art Deco Furniture was very popular a few years ago and is making a come back into our homes. With new and unusual designs which won't go out of fashion, you will always have a friend or family member commenting on the piece which you have bought.

There are great new deals on modern furniture from right price furniture. You can find a wide selection of furniture on their site, they have a great offer for solid oak furniture.

Furniture Fact, Did You Know

St David, the patron saint of Wales donated a traveling altar containing a great sapphire to Glastonbury Abbey in the 6th Century. What happened to the altar is not known, but the great sapphire is said to have been confiscated by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries and may today be part of the Crown Jewels.

Campaign Furniture

The centuries-old practice by army officers of taking furniture with them on campaigns and expeditions reached its height in the 18th and 19th Centuries and led to the evolution of a distinctive style of furniture known as campaign furniture. Its requirements to be compact and robust are characterised by the use of rot-proof tropical hardwoods, brass reinforcements to corners and inset brass handles.

Hence the name Campaign Furniture.

The Wardrobe

The word wardrobe appears to originate from the old Northern French ‘Warderobe’ - warder (to look after or guard) robe (garment).
Wardrobes are sometimes referred to as an armoire, this is simply the French word used for a standing closet used to hold clothes.
Before wardrobes, clothing was often stored in trunks or chests; it wasn’t until a degree of luxury was attained when building castles and palaces that separate accommodation was provided for the apparel. The name wardrobe originally referred to a whole room in which wealthy persons' clothes were kept. The wall space in these rooms was often filled with cupboards and lockers, from these designs the modern wardrobe seems to have evolved slowly with its hanging spaces, drawers and shelves.

Famous Beds

The famous bed and cabinet making company Heal’s was established in 1810 and continued to make furniture until 1983.  During the Victorian period, it was an innovative company capturing the essence of prevailing fashions and successfully applied them to large-scale furniture production.

Mahogany Furniture

One Dr Gibbon, of Covent Garden, is said to be responsible for mahogany becoming such a popular furniture wood in the 18th Century.  It had been dismissed as being too hard for the tools of the time, but Doctor Gibbon insisted his joiners use tools of a harder temper.  The results were so attractive his many friends, including the Duchess of Buckingham, then wanted furniture made of the same wood.

Couch or Sofa

A couch, derived from the French coucher (to sleep) was originally a long upholstered seat with a back but no sides on which to recline. The name is therefore correctly used when referring to a ‘psychiatrist’s couch’ as popularised by Sigmund Freud, but inaccurately used in expressions such as ‘couch potato’ and ‘spend the night on the couch’ where the furniture in question is generally taken to be a sofa. Researched this from Sofa Beds Sale where they discuss sofas in great detail.

Ash used in Furniture

Ash is a native wood of Britain that has long been used in furniture making. Its shock-proof properties meant it was also popular for tool handles and tennis racquets and, in ancient times, for spears. The name ash is derived from Aesc, the Anglo Saxon word for spear.

Sumpter Trunk

A Sumpter trunk, was designed specifically for belongings to be carried on a pack horse. The other name for a pack horse being a sumpter. Similarly, the arrival of the steam-powered ocean liner gave rise to the Steamer trunk.

Furniture World War 2

The use of timber for furniture making was banned in Britain for a short period during World War 2. However the need to replace furniture destroyed by bomb damage led to the Utility Scheme, which permitted furniture made to approved designs to be sold at government controlled prices. The Utility Scheme did not end until 1952.

Beds and their Superstitions

Several superstitions are associated with beds. One of the most widely known is that it’s bad luck to get out of a bed on the opposite side to the one you got in. Some cultures also believe it is bad luck to place a bed facing north and south.

Ottmans History as a peice of Furniture

Ottomans were originally footstools that got their name because 18th Century Europeans believed reclining with the feet up was an oriental habit – and therefore associated it with what was then the Ottoman Empire. Hollow ‘Ottomans’ could also be used as Blanket Boxes, hence their evolution into storage units.