Couches are for relaxing.
Most contemporary homes have at least one couch in them. A couch is a comfortable place for more than one person to sit, or for a single person to lay down and have an afternoon nap. Couches have become synonymous with relaxation and even laziness, resulting in such terms as "couch potato" to describe people with little ambition. Does this Spark an idea?
Sizes
Couches range in size from love seats, designed for two people, all the way up to sectional couches that can fill half a room and seat up to a dozen people. Some couches are designed to be placed in limited spaces such as a studio apartment, while others are enormous and imposing and meant to be part of a very large living room. Couches with removable pillows on their backs can have the pillows taken off to provide a larger horizontal surface for more comfortable resting and sleeping.
Styles
Virtually every style of furniture has included a couch or sofa of some kind. Mission style couches feature exposed side panels and feet made of quartersawn oak, with brown leather cushions and backs. Modernist couches are made of black leather with polished chrome feet. Victorian couches often featured rich, patterned materials, overstuffed cushions and fringes that hid the legs. Colonial style couches, popular in the 1970s, were made with knotty pine stained a dark brown, and cushions that were livened up with plaid or flowered patterns.
Materials
Most couches feature cushions that are covered with either leather or some kind of woven material. Some couches have exposed wood or metal arms and legs, while others hide their framework beneath the upholstery. Antique couches were stuffed with everything from bird feathers to straw ticking to wool, but most modern couches are padded with foam rubber. The best and most expensive couches are upholstered in durable cowhide, and last far longer than less expensive couches made with cheaper materials.
Uses
Couches are used for any activity that involves sitting for an extended period, something that would become uncomfortable on a hard wooden chair. Many people use their couch to watch television for hours every day. Couches can also be used to seat guests for entertaining. Guests can also sleep on the couch if it's big enough; some couches are designed for this and fold out into a bed. In households where it's allowed, dogs love to take over the couch for their bed.
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