Humans have been building and using furniture since the development of non-nomadic cultures before recorded history. As a result, the history of furniture building materials, furniture material types and more is long, rich and filled with interesting facts that reflect trends and events throughout world history. Furniture can be more interesting than you think!
Here are five interesting facts about furniture that may surprise you:
1. Archaeologists have found furniture made from stone in prehistoric villages around the world. One example is the Neolithic village of Skara Brae, located in Orkney, Scotland. The excavation has been dated to 3100…2500 BC. There was a shortage of trees for wood furniture material types in Orkney, so the people of Skara Brae made their furniture with stone.
2. Early English furniture styles consisted of furniture material types like heavy wood and iron, along with ornate designs. Members of the nobility were often the only ones who could afford dining and bedroom furniture during the medieval period.
3. The first colonial Americans mostly brought their furniture with them from England, and they didn’t have to look for furniture material types when they first stepped on American shores. When they did make their own furniture, the colonists opted for simple, functional and rustic styles.
4. The office chair you sit in every day has its own interesting history. Otto von Bismarck, the famed 19th-century Prussian statesman, made the office chair popular when he distributed them throughout Parliament during his time in office. Office chairs of the time consisted of furniture material types like wood and leather.
5. Plastic was first incorporated into our range of furniture material types in the 1950s and 60s, when the material became more widely available. In 1960, R.G. Reineman patented the first 1-piece plastic chair.
