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A Brief History of the Sofa, the Centrepiece of Living Rooms Around the World

Published by Clive Braude on 22nd Oct 2015

Without a doubt, the sofa is the most notable piece of furniture in the living room and its reigning place as the centrepiece has long gone undefeated. It may seem like this item has been around forever, but there was a time when this furniture staple was merely an idea in someone’s head before it came into popularity and international prominence. From its elegant beginnings as the stately-named ‘chesterfield’ to its current position, here’s a little bit about how the sofa has come to be.

How It Started with Stanhope

Lord Phillip Stanhope

While every tale of a well-known item is rife with misinformation, it is believed that the sofa, which was once more commonly known as a chesterfield, came into its original form in the 18th century. In hopes of a constructed piece that would allow society people of the day to sit upright without wrinkling their clothing, Lord Phillip Stanhope, the 4th Earl of Chesterfield, requested a craftsman to come up with something. The item the craftsman came up with, replete with buttons and rolled arms, would be the very first incarnation of the sofa, where men and women alike would be able to sit comfortably while adorned in their fabric-heavy garments.

The Burgeoning of a Popular Piece

Upon the death of Lord Stanhope on March 24th, 1773, the created piece that would come to be called the chesterfield was charitably passed on to a friend of the Lord, Solomon Dayrolles. In Dayrolles home, which was visited by friends and officials, the chesterfield was spotted by those who could afford to construct their own version of the item. From here on, a variety of takes on the now famous chesterfield began to appear in clubs across London. Soon, the look had expanded out into the United States, Canada and Australia, where it was associated with the upper crust elegance of British life.

The Continued Prominence of the Sofa

While the sofa gained further prominence during the Victorian era, where it became associated with Freudian psychoanalysis and the patients that would lie comfortably on it during therapy, it was around this time that the piece gained its distinguished place. As it became a centerpiece of salons where people would gather after work to unwind, relax and smoke or read, the sofa became a significant part of the life of the private home. The item surged into prominence and popularity and began to show up as a common furniture piece in palaces, offices, hotels and elegant homes. While it came in many different forms, the lounge chair, the settee and the more modern sofa were all a riff on the once unimagined chesterfield.

While the form that the sofa comes in has changed significantly over the years, and continues to, the original chesterfield has given way to many different inspirations that have been central to people’s comfort for centuries. With a history rooted in elegance that has evolved into the most popular piece in the living room, the sofa has made its mark as one of furniture’s classic, ever-evolving pieces.