Why are sofas called chesterfields

There are many opinions about the origin of the word "Chesterfield" as a description of the element that we now know as such. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the use of the word Chesterfield was already used in England in the nineteenth century to describe a leather sofa. The name Chesterfield was a non-specific name considered for sofas throughout the nineteenth century, especially in England, Canada, and the United States.

The origin of this name has always been debated. A number of people say that the Chesterfield was named by the 4th Earl of Chesterfield, Phillip Stanhope, who placed an order for an elegant and comfortable piece of furniture sometime during the 18th century.

Stanhope's requirements actually then turned towards the manufacture of a sofa with its characteristic upholstery of deep buttons, rolled arms, low back and nailhead ornaments. Another hypothesis is that this elegant sofa was named to represent a city of Derbyshire in England.

While other people believe that this term refers to its deep buttons, the contour of the back, and the height of the sofa seat. Since this denomination originated, it had wide use in America and Canada until the last decade of the 20th century.

While leather was probably considered the standard material of Chesterfield sofas, in the Victorian era the Chesterfield sofa became very popular, however, leather was not always desirable. Because of that, it was the first sofa that was furnished in upholstery and in a wide variety of fabrics. Rolled arms were used mainly on Chesterfield sofas at the age of My Grandmother had a davenport and a chesterfield with buttons with high back and arms. I use the term chesterfield today.

Chesterfield sofa originated in the 17th century in the city of Chesterfield. This sofa is also known as the king of sofas and has a few distinctive features: its rolled arms, the back and arms of the same height, diamond tufting etc. We called them chesterfields in BC where I grew up. These days, we tend to call them all 3 names. Grew up in Louisiana. There was no other word that I can remember using. After reading all the comments here, I can only assume that the terms couch, sofa and setee are personal choices for the same thing; and that Davenport and Chesterfield are brand names.

I was brought up in London uk we always called what we had a chesterfield. The term sofa and settee also couch were used. I grew up in Portland, Oregon in the s and I only heard a davenport called a davenport. In other areas occasionally heard it called a sofa. Well, I call it a settee……. My dog calls it BED. Thank you. I grew up in YVR and we called the sofa a chesterfield. I also heard settee once in a while. Now though we use both sofa and couch. It would be nice to try to bring back Canadianisms like chesterfield.

Aife N — And I thought Canada was supposed to be bilingual! Cheaper duvets are stuffed with feathers, and the cheapest of all are stuffed with synthetic fibres. Duvets are now the most common form of bed covering, especially in northern Europe. They became popular throughout the world in the late 20th century.

In Britain, a duvet was originally called a continental quilt. It is believed that Lord Phillip Stanhope, the 4th Earl of Chesterfield , commissioned the first leather chesterfield settee with its distinctive deep buttoned, quilted leather upholstery and low seat base. Aside from being a much-admired politician and writer, patron of Voltaire, the Earl was a known trendsetter.

Apparently the Earl requested a local craftsman to construct a piece of furniture that would allow a gentleman to sit upright in the utmost of comfort allowing sitting without wrinkling the garment. This was the original purpose of the chesterfield sofa with its characteristic deep buttoned upholstery, rolled arms, equal back and arm height and nail head trim.

The original Chesterfield settees did not recline because the purpose of the settee was to allow a gentleman to sit upright. They are and always have been English. Chesterfields are still made in Manchester today and are very high quality and very expensive. Is m British now living in Canada.

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Modern Chesterfield Sofa. Kettleby Sofa. Calila Chesterfield Sofa.