Tuesday, 10 September 2013

The Story Of The Ottoman

By Mark Slately


In the field of furniture , the humble ottoman may not look like a specifically engaging product. Small and but a ancillary item within the classic three piece suite, you'd be forgiven for believing that ottoman stools would be an exceedingly unexciting piece of furniture with little to say about itself within the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, the historical past of the ottoman stool is both rich and esteemed on its own. To find out precisely what I mean, here is a swift guide to the topic for the uninitiated.

Ottomans, as the name may very well hint, originate from the Turkish region. In their original form, they were employed as seating for family rooms as an alternative to sofas and would be wrapped about the walls of the space as a fitted piece of furniture enabling a sizable number of people to sit with each other making a communal, casual atmosphere in the home. In Turkish culture, where most do not drink alcoholic beverages, ottomans quickly became popular as the furniture of choice for large social get togethers and banquet events which centered about good food, companionship and conviviality.

Brought across to mainland Europe in the 18th century, Ottomans ended up being refashioned by European designers into elaborate centrepieces supplying a touch of sophistication to the living room. Downsized and stripped back from the Turkish original, Ottomans became petite and ornamental in style taking on the timeless round, hexagonal and cuboid designs that we're more familiar with nowadays. Such was their attraction that they quickly became immensely popular with the average person, taking on the name ottomane which both denoted Turkish roots and added an aspect of orientalism and mystery to the piece.

As the interior design industry developed and residential dcor designs became more stripped back inside the 19th and 20th centuries, ottomans were once again reshaped from firmly decorative pieces into much more functional forms incorporating storage for magazines, books and newspapers within their hollow interior. Due to their simplicity of design, this is most often achieved using a straightforward lift top which doubles as a seat when you need to support an extra guest in your household living room. A lot more usually than not, you will see this kind of style incorporated into cubes though occasionally bigger ottomans will also provide storage facilities.

Normally speaking, furniture manufacturers offer ottomans in a array of designs, as complementary pieces to larger items including armchairs and sofas. If you are trying to add an ottoman to your existing living space, be sure to consider whether a vintage, contemporary or modern style is best suited for your home atmosphere as well as to the other products of furniture currently positioned within the same space.

To achieve the best effect, an ottoman should blend in flawlessly with the look and feel of the space instead of stand out as a showpiece item. If you do want to draw additional interest to the piece, it's usually best to think about the positioning of the item as large central units will tend to receive much more interest tha smaller cubes in similar styles, fabrics and designs.




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