Style 1 - TIGHT BACK AND SEAT
Tight back and seat describes a style of chair or sofa that has neither seat nor back cushions. This form of construction provides a firm and supportive upholstery that was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when chairs were used for activities such as reading, embroidery, and engaging in conversation. Tight back and seat furniture is firm but generally well padded, so that it is supportive without being too hard.
Style 2 - LOOSE AND ATTACHED CUSHIONS
The addition of seat and back cushions was a development from the tight back and seat style. Furniture with loose seat and back cushions has been around since the mid 19th century, but the invention of the radio followed by television in the 20th century heralded a change in people's attitude toward their seating arrangements. There was a move away from formal, firm seating and toward softer and more relaxing sofas and chairs. Furniture makers sprung seats and backs with shorter springs and used less padding to accommodate deep box cushions so that the sitter could sink into furniture, rather than sit upright on it. Loose cushion furniture remains the prevailing style of most modern furniture.
Style 3 - SPLIT BACK STYLE
During the Art Deco period, the fashion was for sofas with backs that looked as if they had loose cushions but were incorporated into the upholstery. This style, known as split back, was again popular in the 1970s and still remains a common shape. Split back sofas combine the best elements of the tight back and box cushion seat style, so that the seats are soft and comfortable, and the backs provide more stable support.
Style 4 - EXPOSED FRAME
From ornate, colonial bergere furniture with its woven cane infilling, to the common dining chair with a drop-in seat, many styles of sofas and chairs have elements of an exposed frame. You can tell what color and type of wood is in fashion at any given point in time by looking at the exposed frame furniture being produced. For example, dark, carved woods were popular in the late 19th century and plain, pale, bleached woods are often seen in modern Scandinavian styles.
Style 5 - TUFTED FRAME
Tufting, also known as buttoning, is a traditional style of upholstery that gained popularity in the mid 19th century when leather hide became a popular furniture covering. The irregular shape and size of hide, and the fact that it is difficult to stitch together, necessitated the development of an upholstery style that incorporated hidden joins. The solution was the "Chesterfield' style of sofa with its low back, distinctive deep buttons, and diamond pattern folds. Tufting remains an essential technique for large area of leather upholstery. Using either a shallow or deep tufting pattern, furniture makers incorporate its decorative effect in many different styles.
Style 6 - MODULAR OR SECTIONAL FURNITURE
Modular or sectional sofas comprises separate units, usually including a corner unit, which can be combined according to individual requirements. It ends with one arm and also includes a table or tables. The design only became possible with the advent of modern upholstery construction methods. It became very popular in the minimalist era of the 1970s, and is still popular today as a practical solution to long seating areas in waiting rooms and offices.
Sofa styles are also affected by cushion shapes. Here we illustrate most popular kinds of cushions that have used since late 19th century to the present.
T-CUSHIONS
These seat or back cushions are shaped to fit around the front or over the tops of arms. "T" describes the shape of a seat cushion on a chair that fills the area of the seat, and the recesses in front of the arms. On a sofa with recessed arms and three seat cushions, the central cushion will be square and the two outer cushions will be "L" shaped. T-cushions come in two types: square ended and round shouldered.
TURKISH CUSHIONS
Turkish cushions are large floor cushions that traditionally have one or both sides covered in carpet.
BOLSTER CUSHIONS
Long, with flat ends and a round profile, bolster cushions are used predominantly as decoration on sofas and chaises with recessed or ornately shaped inner arms. They were very popular with furniture makers of the 19th century, but are not so common in modern times.
ARM SHAPES
Arm shape is one of major factors determining a style of a sofa. The four main arm types are roll arm, bridge-water arm, tuxedo (straight or square) arm, and no-arm at all. Consider the arm shapes and make sure how that will match your decorating style.
ROLLED ARM
The rolled arm is the most common and enduring shape for upholstered arms. Describing an arm with a rounded top, the term is used for both plain and elegant styles, with either flat or recessed fronts. The distinguishing feature of the rolled arm is that the front of the arm forms the shape of a scroll. A variation on the rolled arm is the inset panel, which was developed in line with modern upholstery methods to do away with the need to hand-stitch scrolls. It comprises a separate upholstered panel, which is applied to the front of the arm to neatly finish and cover the fabric ends.
BRIDGE-WATER ARM
With a padded inside face and flat outside, the Bridge-water is a simpler style of arm.
TUXEDO ARM
With its thin, squared-off style, the Tuxedo arm is found predominantly on modern styles of furniture including modular furniture from the 1970s onward. A Tuxedo arm is the same height as the back of the piece of furniture.
Skirts, Legs, Feet
Last but not least, you should pay attention to the skirts, legs and feet of a sofa. Many interior designers prefer dressmaker style skirts that start just below the cushion. If there are not many sofa or chair legs in your living room, you can also choose showing the foot of the sofa.
Legs are often the only wood exposed, and you can tell a lot from the legs about quality. This is particularly true of older furniture, indicating that a piece is an original or a reproduction. The twist turned legs and stretcher were popular in the early 19th century.
TURNED LEGS
Popular from the earliest times, turned legs get their name and distinctive shape from being turned on a lathe. Traditionally terminating with a brass castor, they can be long and elegant or short and stocky, and can be found on all styles of furniture to the modern day. Good quality turned legs are a sign of a well-made, expensive piece of furniture.
PYRAMID LEGS
Pyramid-style legs became popular as an alternative to turned legs when fashion began to favor geometric designs during the Art Deco period of the early 20th century. Shaped like inverted pyramids, their popularity did not endure for long, though modern examples can still occasionally be seen.
CABRIOLE LEGS
A distinctive style of leg popular for many centuries, cabriole legs are also known as Queen Anne and can be plain or ornately carved. Cabriole legs from the Gothic Revival period were commonly curved with the foot in the shape of a claw holding a ball.
BUN FEET
This type of leg is alto turned, but is distinctively short and plain, like a squashed ball. Bun feet can be flat bottomed or sometimes recessed so as to partly conceal a castor. This Is another popular and enduring style that was prominent in the late 19th and early part of the 20th century and is still used today.
SKIRTS
Skirts are a way of extending the fabric of a chair or sofa down to the ground so that all legs and castors are covered. Good quality legs and castors are expensive and poor quality ones are better not seen, so modern styles have tended to incorporate skirts.
Simon Tao is partner of Washingtonian Furniture LLC, a leading furniture store based in Maryland. The store offers modern sofas and leather couch [http://www.washingtonianfurniture.com/retail/living-room/sofas-&-sofa-sets/52/leather-couch-&-sofa-sets.html] furniture nationwide.
Tao, Simon "Six Most Popular Sofa Styles From 19th Century Through Modern Times." Six Most Popular Sofa Styles From 19th Century Through Modern Times EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?Six-Most-Popular-Sofa-Styles-From-19th-Century-Through-Modern-Times&id=7236450