Furniture - Definition and Overview

Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, and hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. Storage furniture is used to hold or contain smaller objects such as tools, books, and household goods. Furniture can be a product of artistic 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, in conjunction with furnishings such as clocks and lighting, to create comfortable and convenient interior spaces.

Street furniture is the collective term for pieces of equipment installed in the street, such as street lighting, traffic signs, traffic signals and waste receptacles.

Furniture Forms

• bed
• bedroom set (group)
• bench
• bookcase
• Cabinet
• chair
• chest
• china cabinet
• coffee table
• couch
• cupboard
• desk
• dinette (group)
• dining set (group)
• end table
• headboard
• hutch
• love seat
• ottoman_(furniture)
• recliner
• sofa
• settee
• sideboard
• table
• wardrobe

• see also: furnishings

List of Residential Furniture Manufacturers (Extant)

• American Drew - Expensive bedroom, diningroom, and occasional furniture
• American Oak - Inexpensive dining furniture, entertainment Furniture, home office
• Baker - Expensive bedroom, diningroom, livingroom and occasional furniture
• Barcolounger - Expensive uphostered furniture with built-in recliners
• Bassett - Medium priced bedroom, diningroom, livingroom and occasional furniture
• Berkline - Medium priced upholstered furniture with built-in recliners
• Best Chair - Low to medium priced chairs and recliner furniture
• Broyhill - Medium priced bedroom, diningroom, livingroom and occasional furniture
• Canandel, Canada - Upper medium priced dining furniture and bar stools
• Century - Expensive bedroom, diningroom, livingroom and occasional furniture
• Crescent - Medium priced, Solid cherry bedroom and diningroom furniture
• Cox
• Crawford - Medium priced, Solid cherry bedroom and diningroom furniture
• Davis - Imported livingroom and bedroom furniture
• Dutalier, Canada
• Drexel
• Eldrich Mills
• Franklyn - Medium priced uphostered furniture with built-in recliners
• Global - Inexpensive, solid wood, bedroom furniture
• Hammary
• Hancock and Moore - Expensive leather upholstered furniture
• Henredon
• Highland House
• Hooker
• King Hickory
• Jackson
• Klausner
• Kroehler
• Lane Action - Medium priced uphostered furniture with built-in recliners
• Lane - Upper medium priced bedroom, diningroom, and occasional furniture
• Largo
• Lazy Boy
• Lea
• Liberty - Inexpensive, imported, bedroom, diningroom and occasional furniture
• Ligo
• Magnussen
• Milling Road - Division of Baker Company
• Northern Harvest
• Pennsylvania House
• Powell - Inexpensive imports
• Stanley
• Sealy
• Simmons
• Thomasville
• Vaughan
• Vaughan Bassett
• Webb

List of Office Furniture Manufacturers (Extant)

• Haworth
• Herman Miller
• Hon Company
• Steelcase, Inc.

List of Furniture Manufacturers (Defunct)

• Berkey & Gay Furniture
• Dunbar
• Heywood Wakefield
• Jasper Cabinet
• Kroehler (name reused)
• Tell City
• Unagusta
• Unique

Trivia

• In the dystopian movie Soylent Green, the term furniture refers to a futuristic and organized form of prostitution.

Selected Bibliography

• Gloag, John. A Short Dictionary of Furniture. New York: Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston, 1965.

• Hayward, Charles H., Antique or Fake?: The Making of Old Furniture. London: Evans Brothers, 1971.

See also

• Common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum)
• Decorative art
• Tripod
• G-Plan
• Grand Rapids, Michigan (or Furniture City)
• Self-assembly furniture