Confidante
Encyclopedia
A confidante is a type of sofa
, originally characterized by a triangular seat at each end, so that people could sit at either end of the sofa and be close to the person(s) sitting in the middle. The ends were sometimes detachable, and could be removed and used on their own as Burjair chairs. The name Confidante was coined by cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite
, who described it in his Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide
as being "of French origin, and is in pretty general request for large and spacious suits of apartments. An elegant drawing-room, with modern furniture, is scarce complete without a Confidante, […]".
Sofa
Sofa may refer to:In general:* A piece of furniture also called a couch* Sofa slave-soldiers in the Mali Empire and its successor states.* Russian Hypocoristic for the name SofiyaIn music:* Any of four bands of overlapping eras:...
, originally characterized by a triangular seat at each end, so that people could sit at either end of the sofa and be close to the person(s) sitting in the middle. The ends were sometimes detachable, and could be removed and used on their own as Burjair chairs. The name Confidante was coined by cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite
George Hepplewhite
George Hepplewhite was a cabinetmaker. He is regarded as having been one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Sheraton and Thomas Chippendale...
, who described it in his Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide
Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide
The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterers Guide is a famous antiquarian book, reference book, and non-fiction work all in one. Many cabinetmakers and furniture designers still use it as a ready reference for making period furniture or designs inspired by this era. Historians of domestic life or the...
as being "of French origin, and is in pretty general request for large and spacious suits of apartments. An elegant drawing-room, with modern furniture, is scarce complete without a Confidante, […]".