A
couch, also called a
sofa, is an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the
family room,
living room,
den or the
lounge. They consist of a
wooden or
metal structure supplemented by padding and are covered in a variety of
textiles,
leather, or sometimes a combination of both. They will also be found in
hotels and parts of
commercial offices,
waiting rooms,
furniture stores, etc.
Other couch variants include the
divan, the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed), the chaise longue (long with one armrest), the canapé (an ornamental 3-seater), and the ottoman (generally considered a type of footstool). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds in the form of
sofa-beds,
daybeds, or
futons. There are also couches known by genericized trademarked names, such as a davenport or Chesterfield.
In the United Kingdom a Chesterfield is a deep buttoned sofa, with arms and back of the same height. It is usually made from leather and the term Chesterfield in British English is only applied to this type of sofa.
The term "chesterfield" is a Canadian term equivalent to couch or sofa. The use of the term has been found to be widespread among older Canadians. In the United Kingdom, the word refers to a particular style of sofa featuring a low rolled back and deep buttoning.
The term "three-piece suite" is used to describe a furniture set consisting of a two or three-seater couch and two armchairs. Other less specific terms for sets with at least one sofa include "chesterfield suite", "lounge suite", "living-room suite" and "sofa suite".
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