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A footstool (foot stool, footrest, foot rest) is a piece of furniture or a support used to elevate the foot. There are two main types of footstool, which can be loosely categorized into those designed for comfort and those designed for function. [1]
This type of footstool is used to provide comfort to a person seated, for example, in a chair or sofa. It is typically a short, wide, four-legged stool. The top is upholstered and padded in a fabric or animal hide, such as leather. This type of footstool is also a type of ottoman. It allows the seated person to rest their feet upon it, supporting the legs at a mostly horizontal level, thus giving rise to the alternate term footrest. High quality footstools are height–adjustable.
This type of footstool supports a person's (usually a child's) feet that do not reach the floor when seated. The footstool is placed under the feet of a sitting person so that the person's feet may rest comfortably on it. An example is the type of piano footstool used in conjunction with a piano bench. It is also used to make the blood circulation of the body flow more freely when sitting down.
A barber chair and a shoeshiner have foot rests. An automobile typically has a "dummy pedal" that acts as a foot rest to discourage "riding the clutch" or "riding the brake". A foot peg is another type of foot rest usually on BMX bicycles, motorcycles, the Ford N-Series tractor, some kayaks, the Impossible wheel, and other transportation devices.
Footstools have been known for many years, and have evolved throughout history. The footstool is attested in ancient Egypt, where it was utilized to ascend chairs perched high off the ground. It was also used to rest a person's feet when he or she was seated.
In the 18th century a low, long footstool called a fender stool was popular. It was placed in front of the fireplace, and long enough for all of the family members to place their feet and warm them up.
Footstools were generally interchangeable in everyday life from the 17th through the early 19th century. In early American homes the footstool was very valuable, and took precious space although the living quarters were cramped. [2] [3]
In line with this, the exhibition 'A History of the World' at Mevagissey Museum in Cornwall showed an emigrant's footstool which was made by an emigrant from Cornwall in North America sometime around 1850s. [4]
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating, eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping. Furniture is also used to hold objects at a convenient height for work, or to store things. Furniture can be a product of design and can be considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. It can be made from a vast multitude of materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflects the local culture.
Sitting is a basic action and resting position in which the body weight is supported primarily by the bony ischial tuberosities with the buttocks in contact with the ground or a horizontal surface such as a chair seat, instead of by the lower limbs as in standing, squatting or kneeling. When sitting, the torso is more or less upright, although sometimes it can lean against other objects for a more relaxed posture.
A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the throne".
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in various colors and fabrics.
Seiza is the formal, traditional way of sitting in Japan. It involves a specific positioning and posture in a kneeled position so as to convey respect, particularly toward elders. It developed among samurai during the Edo period and was widely adopted by the public during the Muromachi period.
Sidesaddle riding is a form of equestrianism that uses a type of saddle which allows female riders to sit aside rather than astride an equine. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ages as a way for women in skirts to ride a horse in a modest fashion while also wearing fine clothing. It has retained a specialty niche even in the modern world.
An ottoman is a piece of furniture. Generally ottomans have neither backs nor arms. They may be an upholstered low couch or a smaller cushioned seat used as a table, stool or footstool. The seat may have hinges and form a lid for the inside hollow, which can be used for storage of linen, magazines or other items, making it a form of storage furniture. The smaller version is usually placed near to an armchair or sofa as part of living room decor or may be used as a fireside seat.
A deckchair is a folding chair, usually with a frame of treated wood or other material. The term now usually denotes a portable folding chair, with a single strip of fabric or vinyl forming the backrest and seat. It is meant for leisure, originally on the deck of an ocean liner or cruise ship. It is easily transportable and stackable, although some styles are notoriously difficult to fold and unfold. Different versions may have an extended seat, meant to be used as a leg rest, whose height may be adjustable; and may also have arm rests.
A folding chair is a type of folding furniture, a light, portable chair that folds flat or to a smaller size, and can be stored in a stack, in a row, or on a cart.
Bar stools are a type of tall stool, often with a foot rest to support the feet. The height and narrowness of bar stools make them suitable for use at bars and high tables in pubs or bars.
A recliner is an armchair or sofa that reclines when the occupant lowers the chair's back and raises its front. It has a backrest that can be tilted back, and often a footrest that may be extended by means of a lever on the side of the chair, or may extend automatically when the back is reclined.
A close stool was an early type of portable toilet, made in the shape of a cabinet or box at sitting height with an opening in the top. The external structure contained a pewter or earthenware chamberpot to receive the user's excrement and urine when they sat on it; this was normally covered (closed) by a folding lid. "Stool" has two relevant meanings: as a type of seat and as human feces. Close stools were used from the Middle Ages until the introduction of the indoor flush toilet.
Facesitting, also known as queening or kinging, is a sexual practice with one partner sitting over the other's face, sometimes allowing for oral–genital or oral–anal contact. The sitting partner may face in either direction.
A stool is a raised seat commonly supported by three or four legs, but with neither armrests nor a backrest, and typically built to accommodate one occupant. As some of the earliest forms of seat, stools are sometimes called backless chairs despite how some modern stools have backrests. Folding stools can be collapsed into a flat, compact form typically by rotating the seat in parallel with fold-up legs.
Ancient furniture was made of many different materials, including reeds, wood, stone, metals, straws, and ivory. It could also be decorated in many different ways. Sometimes furniture would be covered with upholstery, upholstery being padding, springs, webbing, and leather. Features which would mark the top of furniture, called finials, were common. To decorate furniture, contrasting pieces would be inserted into depressions in the furniture. This practice is called inlaying.
A birthing chair, also known as a birth chair, is a device that is shaped to assist a woman in the physiological upright posture during childbirth. It is intended to provide balance and support. If backless, it is known as a birth stool.
A multifunctional furniture is a furniture with several functions combined. The functions combined may vary, but a common variant is to incorporate an extra storage function into chair, tables, and so forth, making them so-called storage furniture. Multifunctional furniture can accommodate more efficient use of living spaces. Lack of space can be an important reason for choosing such furniture, but combination furniture is also seen in larger homes for more space-efficient utilization. Historically, furniture with transforming mechanisms was called "mechanical furniture".
A piano stool is a stool especially designed for seating while playing a piano, and can provide more playing pleasure than a normal chair.
