Couch
464961
225991736
2008-07-16T10:29:38Z
Hauskalainen
281601
Deleted the reference to 2.5 seats (which is nonsense). Settee and sofa are synonyms . . . .and are at least 2 seaters.
{{Nofootnotes||date=August 2007}}
{{Otheruses}}
[[Image:Red sofa.jpg|right|thumb|Couches come in a variety of colors, patterns, and materials (two-seater model)]]
A '''couch''' is an [[upholstery|upholstered]] item of [[furniture]] for the comfortable seating of more than one person and typically has an armrest on either side. Couches are usually to be found in the [[living room]], den or the [[lounge room|lounge]]. They are covered in a variety of [[textile]]s or in [[leather]].
The most common types of couches are the '''loveseat''' (or British '''two-seater'''), the '''settee''' or '''sofa''' (2 or more seats). A '''sectional sofa''' (often just referred to as a "sectional") is formed from multiple sections (typically 2 to 4) and usually includes at least two pieces that join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater.
Other couch variants include the '''[[divan (furniture)|divan]]''', the '''[[fainting couch]]''' (backless or partial-backed), the '''[[chaise longue]]''' (long with one armrest), the '''[[Canapé (furniture)|canapé]]''' (an ornamental 3-seater), and the '''[[ottoman (furniture)|ottoman]]''' (generally considered a [[footstool]]). To conserve space, some sofas double as [[bed (furniture)|bed]]s (sofa-bed, daybed, or [[futon]]). There are also couches known by [[genericized trademark]]ed names, such as a '''[[Davenport (sofa)|davenport]]''' or '''chesterfield''' (named for the [[Earl of Chesterfield]]). '''Lofabed''' (low-fa-bed) a combination of a [[Davenport (sofa)|davenport]] base and [[futon]] mattress resulting in a more comfortable, practical, and economical alternative to the traditional sofa-bed.
A three-piece suite is composed of three couch pieces (generally, a two- or three-seater and two armchairs).
== History ==
[[Image:Forngrekisk vilsoffa (ur Nordisk familjebok).png|thumb|right|Ancient Greek couch with one elevated armrest]]
[[Image:Madame Récamier painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1800.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier]], by [[Jacques-Louis David]], 1800: a [[Greek Revival]] couch with [[lyre arm]] design.]]
Until the 20th century a ''couch'' referred to a long upholstered seat with one end inclined, high enough to provide a back and head-rest. "Couch" which in the Late Middle Ages had signified bedding (from the French ''se coucher'', or "to lie down") was interchangeable with "[[daybed]]" through the 17th century. (Gloag, "couch"). Well into the 19th century a couch was particularly a seat for a lady; a ''fainting couch'' (a modern term) has a back and a single scrolling upholstered end. A ''récamier'' was a late nineteenth-century trade term for a similar single-ended couch, such as the one made famous in [[Jacques-Louis David|David]]'s portrait of Mme Récamier (''illustration, right'').
The word ''couch'' is scarcely used in the United Kingdom, where ''sofa'' is far more commonly used. The ''sopha'' or ''sofa'' had a separate origin. "Sopha" made its entry in written English in 1717 (''[[OED]]''); ''[[Divan (furniture)|divan]]'' preceded it (1702). ''Sofa'' was originally an [[Arabic]] word for the raised section of floor, furnished with rugs and cushions, set apart for a council (see [[Diwan]]) thus also for especially esteemed guests. Designs for "sophas" in [[Thomas Chippendale]]'s ''Director'' (1754, 1762) all have solidly upholstered arms with padded elbow rests, cushioned seats and upholstered backs, but show their carved wood framing.
Further back in ancient Roman society, the couch was found in the dining room (known as the ''[[triclinium]]''). Three couches would be arranged around a low table and the men would recline while eating (although the women sat in normal chairs).
Originally it was an [[elitist]] piece of furniture and it was not until [[industrialisation]] that the upholstered couch became an indispensable item of furniture in [[middle class|middle]] and [[lower class]] [[household]]s. Throughout its history it has often been an object of derision, considered a variety of things from [[decadence|decadent]] to [[conformism|conformist]].
Since 19th Century the couch has become associated with [[Freud]]ian [[psychoanalysis]]. Sigmund Freud originally used the couch as a tool to aid his [[hypnosis]] of the patient. However when he moved on from hypnosis to [[Stream of consciousness writing|stream-of-consciousness]] discourse as his dominant mode of analysis with the development of the [[Dream interpretation|interpretation of dreams]], he still held on to the couch. He justified this with the need to limit the [[transference]] between psychoanalyst and analysand. Thus, the couch proved particularly useful because it limits the visibility of the analyst.
Today the couch is invariably linked to both domestic [[family]] life and [[television]] culture. Indeed, a slogan used by [[IKEA]] home furnishings was "Life happens on the sofa."[http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/IkeaNearYouView?storeId=12&langId=-1&StoreNumber=152] It is often positioned in relation to the [[television set]] in a living room and for napping. It has spawned social phenomena such as the [[couch potato]], a person who spends a lot of time watching the television. The couch has also become the central [[Theatrical property|prop]] for many TV [[sitcom]]s and [[soap opera]]s. This [[symbiosis]], through which the couch has shifted from the private to the public sphere, has been satirically depicted in popular culture, in television series such as ''[[Married... with Children]]'', ''[[The Simpsons]],'' ''[[The Big Comfy Couch]]'', ''[[Friends]]'', The Royle Family and ''[[Beavis and Butt-head]]''.
==Developing==
Sofa can be traced back to ancient Egypt of around 2000 BC, but true sofa was invented in the end of the 16th to the early 17th century.
At that time, horse hair, bird feather, plant villi such as natural flexible materials were made as the filler, with the outside velvet, embroidery, or other fabrics masked, to form a soft sofa surface.
At that time in Europe, the most popular Farthingle chair is one of the earliest sofa chair.
1828, spring started to be one material in sofa.
1904, Morris invented Pocket Spring, he grouped Pocket Spring into sofa wooden framework to make sofa. it was originator of modern spring sofa.
in the 1920s, Dunlop had created a new pad technology–rubber foam. Filling the gas in the natural rubber latex, forming into the mold and trying, at last he got a flexible filler - rubber foam. The application of foam rubber greatly simplified the process of filling masked, also had same appearance and quality.
In the 1960s, people developed inflatable and water cushion sofa success, which indicates the sofa manufacturing technology was mature.
==References==
*John Gloag, ''A Short Dictionary of Furniture'' rev. ed. 1962. (London: Allen & Unwin)
==See also==
* The joiner's [[Settle (furniture)|settle]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.balashon.com/2006/12/sofa.html Etymology of "sofa"]
* [http://www.distinctivechesterfields.com/what_makes_a_distinctive_chesterfield.html Construction of a Chesterfield "sofa"]
* [http://www.sofa-manufacturer.com/sofa-history/ http://www.sofa-manufacturer.com/sofa-history/]
[[Category:Furniture]]
[[Category:Couches|*]]
[[ar:صفة (شريعة)]]
[[bar:Ottoman]]
[[cs:Gauč]]
[[da:Sofa]]
[[de:Sofa]]
[[es:Sofá]]
[[eo:Sofo]]
[[fr:Canapé]]
[[it:Divano]]
[[nl:Zitbank]]
[[nds-nl:Banke (meubel)]]
[[no:Sofa]]
[[pt:Sofá]]
[[ro:Canapea]]
[[ru:Диван (мебель)]]
[[fi:Sohva]]
[[sv:Soffa]]
[[th:โซฟา]]
[[zh:沙發]]