Furniture refers to immovable objects designed to support various activities for human beings, including eating, eating, and sleeping. Furniture is used to hold or support objects in a convenient manner for easy access, or for work. Furniture may also be an item of artistic design and is commonly regarded as a form of interior decoration. The word “furniture” comes from the Latin word “fungulus”, which means “a mold or hollow”. Thus, furniture is a molded or hollow object made out of different materials like metal, wood, or plastic. Furniture has gained importance especially in the past few years, since people spend most of their time in homes.
Furniture has evolved through the ages, as people have developed taste and need for variety of materials. During the earlier periods, ancient furniture was mainly used for supporting tables and chairs. But as time progresses, the styles of furniture have changed, and now people use it for more important functions. The main article of furniture in any house is the bed. Ancient Egyptians have found several uses for the wooden baubles and they consider them as a symbol of luxury and power.
Ancient Greeks have molded the iron into most delicate pieces of art and used it to make most of the popular furniture of their period. Iron furniture became a symbol of the Greek culture. As time progressed, the Greeks realized that they could use the metal in a more productive manner and fashioned it into different items of furniture. The most prolific item of Greek furniture was the dining table, which was made either from marble or onyx. Later, chairs and stools were added to the dining table, as well as the tables, couches, lamps, chests, and vases.
The Chinese made use of the wood and made their own versions of classic, ancient furniture. Their furniture mostly consisted of small tables and chairs of dark woods. This type of furnishing was very functional, as they were used for dining, reading, writing, and for making food. They did not invent the wheel, but they did discover how to shape wood into beautiful tables and chairs. Chinese porcelain was an important breakthrough of ancient furniture.
The Italian Renaissance gave birth to many beautiful pieces of Italian furniture, mainly consisting of the trellis, barristeria, and gilded chairs. The most precious wood used in the Italian Renaissance furniture were walnut, oak, cherry, violet, ivory, and frankincense. Later on walnut and oak were replaced with mahogany, ebony, and ivory.
There were also different types of woods that were used in the main article of furniture of each country. Different parts of Europe used different types of wood. The main article of furniture for English furniture mainly consisted of tables, chairs, dressers, chests, drawers, cupboards, chests, and bed frames. The main article of furniture for French furniture mostly included armoires, closets, commodes, and mirrors.