16 FURNITURE CLASSIFICATION FURNITURE FOR COMFORT, REST, RELAXATION, WORK, AND STORAGE BUILT –IN AND PORTABLE FURNITURE

V. Yasodha

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INTRODUCTION:

 

In this module, we are going to discuss how the furniture in our homes and work places are classified according to their use and function. As you all know, Furniture are the movable objects used to support various human activities. They are used for comfort, rest, relaxation, work, and storage. The furniture makes the house or other building suitable or comfortable for living or working in. The various types of furniture which we need for our activities include- tables, chairs, beds, desks, dressers or cupboards. Within each type, there are many styles. As an Interior Designer you must be familiar with the types of furniture available in the market.

 

Let us discuss now each of these types of furniture.

 

The Objectives of this lesson is:

 

1.  To know the different types of furniture used for comfort, rest, work, and storage.

2.  To understand the features of built-in furniture.

3.  To know the advantages of portable furniture.

Let us discuss the Classification of furniture

 

Furniture can be classified according to many criteria such as

 

1. Place of use

2. Functionality

3.  Method of construction

4.  Techniques involved

5.  Quality

 

Among this classification, the division based on the purpose and functionality are the major and important group of furniture because almost all the furniture which we used today to do our activities with ease and comfort fall under these categories.

 

1. According to the purpose, that is where and how the furniture is used, it is grouped into Home furniture, Office and Institutional furniture, and Transport furniture.

 

1.1. Home furniture -Furniture that are used at home makes up large group. These are kept in the residential buildings such as bedrooms, drawing rooms, study rooms and dining rooms and meant for individual use only. These types are smaller than office furniture and are available in much range of designs and styles to suit specific houses.

 

Home furniture should comply with all the requirements of each individual in the family, living together in a house or flat, and make it possible to perform everyday activities in these rooms. The furniture should satisfy all the functional needs of the people like relaxation, sleep, work, learning, preparing and eating meals, and should give maximum space for storage also.

 

1.2. Office and Institutional furniture –are designed and made for commercial buildings like offices and public buildings. Office furniture are obviously seen in many offices and in other business establishments like a restaurant or other departmental stores which includes desks, filing cabinets, storage units and computer tables. Institutional furniture are built for public buildings, hospitals, hotels, motels and theaters. Semi-reclining seats in movie halls and height adjustment beds in hospitals are examples of this type. These furniture are plainer and far from intrinsic designs.

 

The nature of office furniture should be suitable to the specific requirements of many different users. School and office furniture should be well suited to the anthropometric measurements of individual groups of users. Hospital furniture should conducive to easy recovery and should minimize the side effects of prolonged pressure of the human body on a bed. Furniture which used in waiting rooms should be highly durable and more functional, adapted to the mode of travel of the people.

 

1.3. Transport furniture– This classification is very important which includes ship furniture, train furniture, aircraft furniture, car furniture etc.,

 

The requirements and conditions of use included in the design and manufacturing process are different for vehicular furniture. Whatever the mode of transportation, whether it may be that may be train, car, bus, ship and aero plane, all should have a good quality material, firm construction and confirm the safety of the people who are travelling in it.

 

2.  The furniture can be divided into many groups according to their Functionality, that is the furniture needed to carry out our day to day activities. We need furniture for

 

•    Sitting

•    Relaxing and sleeping

•  Working

•    Learning, and

•    Storage,

 

When we use furniture for doing any activities we feel more comfortable and complete the work with ease.

 

2.1 Furniture used for sitting

 

The people need furniture for sitting, to relax their body and to obtain comfort while working. They need furniture like stools, sofas, chairs, corner sofas and chaise lounge Let us discuss about the specific name of the furniture and its character.

 

SOFAS

 

A sofa is long upholstered furniture with seats to accommodate two or more people. It is usually available in a set of sofa and two sofa chairs. A variety of designs in sofas are available. The common variations of sofas are Chesterfield is an over-stuffed sofa with upholstered ends.

 

Chesterfield sofa

 

Couch –a sofa with low-back and one raised end.

 

Davenport- a sofa which can be changed or opened up into a bed

 

                                                                           Davenport sofa

Divan – a low couch without arm or back

Lounge is a type of couch with one end raised so that a person can recline

                                           Chaise Longue

  • Love-seat – is small sofa for two people
  • Settee- is a long, light seat with a back and sometimes arms.
  • Settle –is an all-wood settee, with or without cushions for comfort

CHAIRS

 

The simplest form of seat is the chair which is a piece of furniture designed to allow a single person to sit down, which has a back and legs, as well as a platform for sitting. Chairs often covered with cushions made from various fabrics.

 

Many types of chairs are made for carrying out different activities in sitting posture. Each one is different from others in terms of size, shape, materials used and usage. Chairs are used for work, study, relaxation, eating, and so on. Lift chair, chaise longue, ottoman, recliner, stool etc. are few example of chair.

 

The following pictures show the commonly used chairs.

2.2. Furniture for relaxing and sleeping

 

These furniture not only provide comfortable and continuous support of the human body in a reclining position, but also provide support for the body in a sitting position. Examples of this type are beds, couches, mattresses, folding sofas, sofas and corner sofas.

 

Beds

 

The purpose of bed is to reduce physical strain and give a comfortable place to sleep. A bed usually is constructed with a solid wooden or metal frame and resilient mattress. The frame may consist of just legs and sides or it may have additional features like head board with night lamps and a foot-board. A round or a rotating bed is some unusual variations in design of beds.

 

Mattresses

 

Mattresses form an essential feature of a bed. The mattresses made of various types of fillings are available. The materials commonly used for stuffing inside the mattress to give resiliency are straw, cotton, down or feathers, horse hair, and in special types namely inflatable furniture, even air and water are used.

Inflatable Furniture

 

The urethane foam rubber mattresses are the latest and are preferred by the people living in modern homes. They are light in weight and easy to keep clean.

Chairs and sofas are also used for relaxation.

 

2.3. Furniture needed for studying and learning

 

The furniture used for study purpose are benches, study tables and davenports. Furniture designed for school students should be strong, stable, avoid sharp edges and non-toxic materials. These are available in variety of forms and dimensions depending on the age group of users.

 

2.4. Furniture for working

 

Now a day, we are all able to complete any sort of work with more ease and more quickly with less stress and fatigue. The reason for this is the new development in furniture designs. We bought furniture not only for its beauty but also for its utility. Well designed furniture will give more comfort and improve the efficiency of the users. The furniture which we needed for work of any category consists of tables, desks and reception bays

 

Let us discuss about the functions of these furniture

 

Tables

 

Table is furniture with a flat or a slanted top with one or more legs. The surface of table is used for placing objects related to work.

 

Tables of various size and shapes suitable for specific function are needed in the home and work places. The size is determined by the need and shape could also be of individual’s choice. A variety of tables are needed in the home as well as in office to work, study, prepare and consume meals, playing games, as well as to place the accessories such as flower arrangements and lamps.

 

Let us now examine special requirements of each type.

 

Dining table is used to serve meals and the tables for dining rooms can usually change the dimensions of the work surface, increasing its length and at the same time, area for future users.

 

Coffee table is a long low table used to place drawing room accessories, such as ashtrays, books or magazines, flowers, etc., The height of coffee table is about 20” it can be higher if it is used as a dining table too.

 

End tables are small tables placed within easy reach of chair. They are usually kept at end of sofas or chairs. They are also known as side tables or teapoys.

 

Card or games tables– Usually not found in homes but is necessary for playing cards. A special games table is usually lower than dining table. It is about in 2 feet in height.

 

Desks or study table is slightly lower than dining table. The shape of table is generally rectangle. The writing surface should have dull finish, neutral values in colour and durable material. Folding –writing table is also available and it can be used where space is a problem.

 

Buffet table is a table holding plates of food that people can go and help themselves to.

 

Reception Bays -The Reception bays are front desk in an office or hotel or hospital where clients are welcomed and appointments and questions are dealt with. They are designed in such a way that they will increase the performance of sedentary work in a sitting position, and hard work in a standing position.Next, we are going to discuss in detail the furniture used for office work

 

Office furniture

 

The furniture play a vital role in defining office space and its ambience. We cannot think of an office without furniture as it is considered the part of the work environment. Most of the workers are spending nearly nine hours of their time in their office. It is important to have the right furniture suitable for specific work. Variety of tables and chairs are used by the workers for specific purpose in the office to facilitate work.

Most chairs do not allow good postures, but induce bending, discomfort and pain, because of its disproportionate construction with tables or keyboard. It is very useful if office furniture are made with the parts that can be adjusted and modified to different heights which are suitable to the worker and work spaces.

 

An upright, well balanced and more comfortable office furniture are available in recent days. We can get effective and healthy posture when using it. One such furniture is Ergonomic Furniture.

 

Ergonomic furniture should be designed to fit the furniture to the height, body size, and range of motion of the worker. Hence it is very essential to use ergonomically designed furniture to improve the work performance, decrease health complaints, alleviate fatigue and avoid injuries.

 

                                     Ergonomically Designed Chairs

 

hairs like ergonomic chairs, conference chair, executive chair, stacking chair, task chair etc. are used in offices in different places and occasions according to their specific function.

 

Ergonomic chairs provide maximum comfort while sitting for long periods of time. They help individuals avoid stress or injury, while increasing their productivity. We can make important adjustments in seat depth, knee tilt, seat height, back height and lumbar support. The advantages we can obtain by using ergonomic chairs include good support, pain relief, proper movement, comfort and more concentration.

 

Storage furniture

 

The storage furniture include, wardrobes or cabinets, bookcases, shelves, dressers, chests of drawers, containers, dressing tables and library bookcases. This is the most important type of furniture with a wide variety of forms and dimensions depending on the type, shape and size of the stored items.Now I am going to explain the types of storage articles  Wardrobes are large vertical cabinets intended for hanging clothing.

 

Chest of drawers is a piece of furniture that has sliding, lidless, horizontal compartments that may be drawn out in order to gain access to it. It can be placed in all the rooms of a house and used to store any item that can be accommodated inside.

 

Dresser is a piece of furniture that has shelves and drawers to store dishes, cutlery and table linen.

 

Dresser

 

 

Bookcases hold books for reading. A bookshelf with adjustable shelves helps to store books of various sizes. It can be open or closed type. These could be built-in or free standing can be used in almost any room.

 

A closet is an enclosed space used for general storage or hanging or storing clothes.

 

Cupboard is an open-shelved side table for displaying plates, cups and saucers. Cupboards may be closed or open type. In some pieces, a drawer or multiple drawers are fitted. Overhead cupboard is placed at the ceiling used for storing rarely used items.

 

Wall unit, is used to divide the room as partitions and at the same time it acts as a storage.

Wall Unit

 

Office Storage

 

In this day and age, most of our valuable time is spent working at our offices or workplaces. The performance of the workers and staff will be improved when they are working in a pleasing environment, it results in increased productivity. Comfort is very important in order to increase productivity. Maximum comfort can be obtained by using Ergonomic modular furniture while you are working at your office. Modular Furniture has become more popular in recent years. These furniture are designed with standardized units or sections that can be arranged in different manner or modify the size and shape according to the need.

 

The features, storage space, and ease of use, must be well thought-out before selecting the kind of office furniture. Newly and innovatively designed storage furniture are available in the market. The different types of filing cabinets or storage used in offices are open file shelves, mobile shelves, rotary cabinets, pull out shelves, etc.

                                               Modular File Cabinets

 

Next, we will see the special types of furniture pieces.

 

The furniture can be divided into mobile or portable, that is not connected to the wall or floor of the room and stationary or built-in, that is fixed permanently or impermanently with the structural elements of the room, this division could be made depending on the degree of connection with the room.

 

Let us discuss the features of Portable Furniture

 

Portable Furniture is any piece specifically made to break down or fold for ease of transport or for easy storage. Now a days, these types of furniture are becoming popular because of the following advantages.

  • These portable furniture can be easily dismantled and stored when not needed and assembled quickly if needed.
  • These furniture save space and are more suitable for all interiors, both residential and commercial.
  • It is easy to store them.
  • They are light in weight and convenient to use.
  • These foldable furniture can be conveniently and easily transported from place to place. So it is very useful when you are going on a picnic or on some trip, you can easily carry these furniture with you.

Built-in- Furniture

 

Built-in- Furniture are a very special type of furniture as they are made an integral part of the structure and they are not free-standing one. Almost all furniture like sofas, beds, cupboards, tables and other pieces could be built-in if necessary. (Figures)

These built-ins offer several advantages like the following

 

  • They take up more wall space for their construction and occupy only less floor area.
  • The built-in furniture gives a feeling of permanency.
  • They blend well with the room décor rather than standing out.
  • It increases space for free movement and this makes it suitable for contemporary interiors.
  • It reduces cluster appearance of independent free-standing furniture pieces.
  • The unique feature of that it can create an airy atmosphere.
  • Built-in furniture looks like a part of the house itself and it beautifully blend with an overall appearance of the room.
  • A large built-in piece of furniture can look smaller than a free-standing one with the same size.
  • Built-ins provide lots of storage and display space.
  • Another important great thing about this is that built-in furniture they can be constructed to meet our specific needs.
  • Finally, the built-in furniture can be illuminated by fitting the lighting fixtures as their integral part and this makes an added advantage.

 

IV. Multifunctional furniture

 

As the name denotes, they are made to serve more than one function and are very useful. The innovative ideas incorporated in these multi-purpose furniture render a solution to the people who are struggling with little floor space and those looking for renovation. They are constructed to meet the different needs of the people. Best examples of multifunctional furniture are sofa cum bed , table for work and storage, and bed cum storage.

The benefits of using this type of furniture are

 

1.   Multi-purpose furniture saves a lot of space and minimizes clutter. This is the most important benefits associated with the use of multifunctional furniture..

2.    We can prevent our home from looking like a cramped up place in which when we have multipurpose furniture items. For example, if we place a sofa cum bed in the living room, it can be used as a sofa during the day time and it can be converted as a bed in the night, to enjoy sleeping.

3.  Multipurpose furniture saves money because these are sold at affordable prices.

 

3.  Furniture classification According to Technology

 

  • Based on the types of materials used, processes involved in the method of construction and finishing, the furniture can be divided into
  • Carpentry furniture is made of wood or wood-based materials by machine cutting. These include turned furniture, carved furniture, and fluted furniture.
  • Bent furniture is commonly manufactured by bending the plywood or veneers of wood and wood-based materials by using hydrothermal treatment.
  • Woven furniture is made by interlacing thin and flexible materials, to get the shape of seats, backs and sides of chairs, armchairs and sofas. They also constitute the decorative element of door panels or sides of bodies of case furniture. Usually, for weaving, wicker, rattan, bamboo, water hyacinth, raffia and loom are used.
  • Upholstered furniture has a complex construction and they are stuffed with cushioning materials and covering with suitable materials. Upholstered furniture can be divided into soft, semi-soft and hard considering the softness of the mattress or seat.

4.  Based on the type of material used, furniture can be divided into

  •   Wooden furniture in which the basic construction consists of elements made of wood or wood-based materials.
  •   Plywood furniture are made with a thin layer of precious wood.
  •  Wicker Furniture are constructed with woven back or seat made of wicker.
  •  Metal furniture made of metal like aluminium, wrought iron steel etc.
  • Plastic, in which the construction is made of plastic
  •  Leather, usually upholstered furniture has all external surfaces covered with natural leather.

CONCLUSION

 

In this module, we have discussed about the different types of furniture. The furniture which you choose should have some use in the home or in work place. The furniture should be of convenient height and shape too. An easy chair for study purpose is not convenient to work. A good choice of multipurpose, portable and built-in furniture is more practical. Whatever may be the type; both the design and material used for furniture should be comfortable.

 

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Web links

 

  • http://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/978331919532 2-c2.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-1512993-p177396998
  • https://www.slideshare.net/samoraelamoora/research-about-furniture-design
  • http://mpanjiafrica.com/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_furniture_types
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_%28furniture%29
  • https://blog.gotable.com/restaurant-tables-and-chairs-for-6-restaurant-types/
  • https://www.bassettfurniture.com/content/different-types-of-furniture.asp
  • https://www.homedit.com/built-in-furniture-advantages-and-things-to-consider/
  • https://en.over-blog.com/The_pros_and_cons_of_builtin_cabinets-1228321774-art238841.html
  • http://furniture-future.blogspot.in/2013/06/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of.html http://www.bestairmattressguide.com/more/inflatable-furniture-worth-money/
  • http://www.inhabitblog.com/furniture/home-furniture/advantages-of-using-multifunctional-furniture.html
  • http://ezinearticles.com/?Advantages-And-Disadvantages-Of-Aluminum-Folding-Chairs&id=5827965
  • https://medium.com/@clearchoiceos/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cubicles-and-open-plan-office-space-59bb556d215b
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed
  • http://virginiabeachfurniturestores.org/advantages-disadvantages-plastic-furniture/
  • http://www.asktfurniture.com/news/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-tempered-glass-7062150.html
  • http://exteriortrends.com/advantages-disadvantages-wicker-furniture/

Suggested References

 

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