A sofa is a long upholstered seat with a back and arms, designed to accommodate two or more people. The word is generally used for larger and more comfortable pieces than the settee, although in practice the two terms are often interchangeable.
The sofa developed in France in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and reached England soon after, becoming a standard piece of drawing-room furniture during the Georgian period. Eighteenth-century examples typically have carved mahogany or giltwood frames with cabriole or tapered legs, while Regency sofas often show scrolled ends, sabre legs and brass inlay. The Victorian era brought deep-sprung, buttoned designs, including the enduring Chesterfield, and coil springing transformed comfort from the early nineteenth century onwards. When buying, it is worth checking the frame for breaks and later repairs, looking under the upholstery for evidence of original webbing and stuffing, and establishing whether legs and feet are original. A good antique frame can be reupholstered many times, and traditional methods using horsehair, hessian and hand-tied springs give a shape and feel that modern foam cannot match. Antique sofas remain the anchor of many country-house drawing rooms.
