I've come across a lot of reclining furniture, I've worked with them a lot, but I've never really written about them in detail. Their history goes back to millions of years, and although in later times they did have a lot of comfort functions in terms of their importance, at the beginning they also had some importance in evolutionary processes.
One important part of the evolution was the prehistoric choice of the ground for resting places, rather than the branches of trees, and of less secure flat areas close to the ground. This proved very useful later on, as it meant greater comfort and the possibility of quality sleep, which also improved brain functions, such as memory and thinking, which was an undoubted advantage comparing to earlier life. Their very rudimentary beds, made of natural materials, were filled with straw, plant leaves or animal hair, which unfortunately were not without insects. So to combat this, they began to use larger leaves to cover the lower layers.
Men's beds were often larger than women's, assuming that their physiques were more robust and that they needed more time to rest from the hard, daily physical work. In the beginning, they used larger stones to enclose their sleeping places, and later they made rudimentary pallets of wood. With the advent of metals, beds were made with much more purpose, wealth disparities emerged in communities, and this was reflected in the furnishings of homes. Ivory was used by the upper echelons of society, and animal-skin blankets and the first mattresses appeared.The bed frame has its own history as well, but it became really popular in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Bed frames were first made of wood or metal and were often decorated with different motifs. Cast iron bed frames became fashionable in the 18th century because of their durability and resistance to rust. And slowly, headboards and footrests, which were now a real source of comfort, and canopies and privacy curtains, which hung from the raised frames of the bed and shielded the sleepers from curious eyes, were introduced.
Such beds are now almost exclusively found in museums. A modern bed has to meet the needs of today's modern man in a thousand ways: it has to be practical, nice, in tune with the atmosphere of the home, pleasant to the touch of upholstery, and last, but not least, very, very comfortable.When I am asked to make furniture based on a custom design, we assess the exact requirements, agree on the size, choose the shape, material and colour, in short, we design precisely. The bed shown in the picture is completely custom made, with the cutting of wood, the headboard, the frame, the linen holder and the springs.
