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Fantasy Furnishings

fcbkid15

Scribe
I'm having a little bit of trouble when I describe the houses and rooms in my world. I can't just say a couch, its too modern. What kind of thing's do they have in fantasy stories that are like couches, but fit for the time its in? And also what are they made out of? Velvet, leather? I've been going with leather so far, but I'll go back and change it if thats not right. Any ideas?
 

Ravana

Istar
Depends on wealth level, and the period you're trying to get. (And place: this assumes a European setting.) Upholstered furniture of any type would have been rare throughout much of the time fantasy novels tend to emulate. Bare wood would be the norm, possibly covered with some sort of rug or provided with a separate cushion for minimal comfort; for the less well-off, bare wood. Possibly wood frames with leather stretched around a rim for a seat; if so, it wouldn't be likely to be padded. (Figure the leather's softer than wood to begin with: be happy with what you've got, eh?) Benches would be common for seating; individual chairs most likely only for the wealthier, stools for the less so. I'm also pretty sure the chairs wouldn't have arms in most cases, just backs… and I am certain that any notion of "ergonomic design" would have been absent: the back would meet the seat at a 90° angle. (Making sitting on a throne with arms rather like sitting inside a wooden box—every museum piece I've ever seen looked enormously uncomfortable.) "Couches" would normally more closely resemble beds: they were reclined upon, possibly with cushions for props: this was common at least as far back as the Roman Empire. Couches with backs on them, intended for seating more than one person, were a fairly late development, if memory serves. Anything that was padded may not be a whole lot more comfortable than what wasn't, depending on what was used to stuff the padding: straw would have been overwhelmingly the most often-used material (and all but inevitable when it came to mattresses, no matter what your level of wealth).

Once you hit the Renaissance, upholstered furniture tends to become more common. Covering fabric could be just about anything, but the tendency would be for ostentatious—since it was still only those who had wealth who could afford this. Beyond that, pretty much anything: velvet, brocade, felt… you name it. Order of preference in fabric type would start with silk, then cotton (which was rare once…); if those weren't available or affordable, it would probably descend to flax, then wool; anyone who can't manage at least that much probably wouldn't have upholstery or cushions at all. I don't believe leather was too common as a cushion material until fairly recently, but I could well be wrong on that—and it doesn't have to be that way in your world, in any event. And no matter what the period, throwing something over the furniture (rugs, etc.) would still make appearances as a way to enhance comfort.
 
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Motley

Minstrel
Wonderful information. I was hung up on couches in one of my books as well.

In many of my stories I use either cushioned benches--wooden benches with various pillows or pads on them (I don't get into stuffing much. My characters don't care what is stuffed inside the cushion they just sat on.)--or frames of wood with rope or canvas straps forming the bottom where you then put a cushion upon... rather like a rigid hammock.
 

Peutra

Acolyte
Yeah, basically said everything above; you should try and research the furnishings of medieval time periods, if you're going for something like that. Otherwise you can even create your own. I don't really brood much on that; mostly just throw things in like beds and rooms, obviously, but I don't linger on the details.
 
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