Let's have a poll

[wellinghall]

[Poll #1741857]

Comments

[inamac.livejournal.com]

It tends to depend on the style of the furniture. I'd call a chaise a chaise, and a settle a settle (and a Chesterfield a Chesterfield). I tend to use sofa for our current two-seaters (though I understand that two-seaters are called 'loveseats' in the US), but used 'settee' for our old three-seater bench settee.

[camillofan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we (American here) called our two-seater a "love seat" when there was also a three-seater in the room to distinguish it from. Otherwise, either's just a couch.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Whereas in the UK this is a 'loveseat' (http://julianinterior.com/2008/07/rosita-loveseat-by-taylor-llorente/).

Most British sitting rooms aren't large enough to have a three-seater and a two-seater so the question of distinguishing them doesn't arise.

[camillofan.livejournal.com]

Really nice piece of furniture, but I'm not sure how conducive to, er, love it would be... :-)

My sitting room was too small for multiple couches, too, but when we added a family room we got the matching set. Plus ottoman-- is that term the same everywhere?

[inamac.livejournal.com]

The other name for loveseat is 'conversation chair' (it's most usually a piece of garden furniture rather than interior upholstery).

If, by ottoman, you mean a box with a hinged padded lid, then yes.

[camillofan.livejournal.com]

But not as a generic term for an upholstered foot-rest?

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Er, no. That would be a footstool or a pouffe. I think of an ottoman as more of a bedroom piece of furniture.

OTOH note that (a)I am ancient and behind the times and (b) as more furniture is physically imported from the US the terms are beginning to come with them.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

(pardon late reply) Indeed, in the UK an Ottoman is a hinged-lid upholstered box of a size large enough to sit on, rather than footstool-sized. Agreed with the more likely to be bedroom furniture point - it would be likely to be used as a blanket chest.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

Family rooms are also not really a UK concept (I've only heard the term from American friends) again due to space constraints. I gather that on average UK houses are considerably smaller than the corresponding US houses (while being considerably more expensive :-( ) though of course this will vary depending on area, high-density cities not lending themselves to expansive housing either side of the pond.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

PS I meant to say, I do find discussion of these sorts of differences and similarities very interesting!

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Mm, me too!