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Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which provide, by and large, sitting areas, storage containers and horizontal surfaces supported above the ground. In general, they are objects either for humans to sit or lie on, or to hold or contain smaller objects such as tools, books, decorative items and so on. Types of furniture include chairs, tables, shelves, cupboards, lighting and beds.
Street furniture is the collective term for pieces of equipment installed in the street, such as street lighting, traffic signs, traffic signals and garbage boxes.
Chair
A chair consists of a seat, legs, back, and sometimes arm rests, for use by one person. Without back and arm rests it is called a stool. A chair for more persons is a couch, sofa, settee, loveseat or bench. A footrest for a chair is known as an ottoman or hassock
Bed
A bed is essentially a soft horizontal surface, large enough to lie on; it is mainly used for sleeping, relaxing and sexual activities. Beds and their mattresses are made in a few standard bed sizes. Beds are styled differently in different cultures. A futon is a traditional style of Japanese bed. A waterbed is a bed/mattress combination where the matress is filled with water. A Murphy bed is designed to be folded or raised upright into a cabinet or closet to save space.
A chair is to sit on, a bed to lie on. However, one can also lie on a couch, sofa or bench, and sit on a bed.
Table
A table is to put things on, often temporarily, e.g. food and eating utensils, etc. during a meal, cups for drinks, a book (especially a big one, that one can not easily keep in one's hands), a spread-out map, writing paper during writing, and anything that requires having several objects at hand, including various hobbies. Things may also be put more permanently on a table, e.g. a TV, computer, objects for decoration (including a cloth, usually arranged to lie flat on the top surface, and either hang near two ends vertically over two parallel edges of the table, or hang mostly vertical along all four edges of the table, with bunched folds hanging at the four corners of the table), etc. Table settings of food are laid out in a traditional arrangement.
For some tables the top surface can be adjusted in size, with a part that is foldable or can slide under the rest. Some tables are foldable for easy transport, e.g. for camping. Small tables in trains and planes may be fixed or foldable.
Traditionally, tables in Japan, called chabudai, are low, sometimes round tables, used to serve tea and food.
The international organisation Mensa is named after the Latin word for table.
Desk
A Desk is a table with one or often several drawers, also often used in offices. Unlike a regular table, only one side is suitable to sit on, except for some unusual desks like a Partners desk.
Not all desks have the form of a table, however. For instance, an Armoire desk is a desk built within a large wardrobe-like cabinet usually having the height of a man or a woman.
The List of desk forms and types gives the most common desk variations.
Chests
A chest (furniture) is a large box with a liftable lid. It may contain a fixed smaller container. A cassone is a kind of carved or painted chest specific to late medieval and later Italy.
Cupboard
Some cupboards are not movable, see also closet.
List of Furniture Manufacturers (Extant)
List of Furniture Manufacturers (Defunct)
Trivia
See also
de:Möbel ja:家具 nl:Meubilair sv:Möbler
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