Furniture dates back to prehistoric times. Early man would use wooden tools and other objects to construct shelters and dwellings, such as huts and arks. As people built their homes, they would make the most of the available materials, including furniture, to make their home comfortable and functional. Throughout human history, people have used and invented furniture to add function and beauty to their homes.
Furniture generally refers to movable, lightweight objects designed to support various human actions for dining, sleeping, and seating (e.g. tables, chairs, and sofas). The earliest forms of furniture were simple, consisting of two or more chairs and a table. These early tables and chairs were made of wood or rock hard stone.
In the Early Dynastic Period, the art of making chairs and tables became more refined. The metals used to make these materials were bronze and iron. In the Early Dynastic Period, ivory was used in the creation of tables and seating, but it was not until the later Middle Ages that furniture made of ivory became widespread. During the Early Dynastic Period, leather was used in the construction of chairs. Towards the end of the Early Dynastic Period, metal alloys were used for making the most popular furniture pieces of the time: chairs, tables, drawers, and chests.
Throughout the Early Dynastic Period, the use of wood as a material for making furniture began to fade away. People instead turned to metals for the construction of their dwellings and for the making of tables and chairs. As time passed, the popularity of wood-made furniture slowly diminished. Furniture design progressed and the styles changed during the Industrial Age.
The Industrial Age brought about new changes in the styles and shapes of chairs and tables. The use of steel and iron increased along with the development of better production techniques for furniture design. New materials such as steel were used to strengthen the frame of chairs and tables as well as other pieces of furniture. People’s tastes also changed during this time. People began to decorate their living rooms with more decorative furniture and used intricate artwork on their chairs and tables.
The Modern Era of office furniture design included the use of steel and iron along with other metals for the frame of tables and chairs. Consumers and interior designers flocked to the stores and the showrooms to select the best pieces of furniture available for their homes. Today, you can find many types of office furniture that are made of various types of materials.