English sofa

In European furniture-making of the late 18th c. and early 19th c., simplicity prevailed. At that time, fashion was dictated by sober English Classicism and French Directorate, inspired on the one hand by the style of Louis XVI, on the other - the clear forms of English furniture-making. Ornamentation becomes secondary to the material and rational design of furniture. Furnishings are made simple in form, elegantly subdued and display the texture of the wood. This is particularly evident in the case of sitting furniture. The designs of seats and backrests of sofas, armchairs, and chairs are dominated by square and rectangular forms. Seat casings are supported by either straight and angular legs or cylindrical and fluted ones, modelled on the patterns of the French Louis XVI furniture. The frames' edges are emphasised by structural elements usually made of mahogany. Gilded bronze rosettes, sometimes placed at the junctions of the frames, and other sparingly used decorations seem like luxury additions. Despite their simplicity, this type of furniture is very comfortable, kind to a human body that remains seated for a long time. Therefore, it is no surprise that they were a 19th-century model, reproduced all the way until the early 20th century, when there was a trend for copying and imitating the styles of past eras. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967