Often the interior of a room is created not only by large furniture and the color of the walls, but also complemented by various small things and accessories. An ottoman is a small item that provides additional seating. It takes up little space in the apartment, it is also functional and is produced in various original designs.
History of Appearance
An ottoman is a low stool covered with fabric, fur or leather. The first upholstered seats without backs appeared in ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt. They were in rich houses and royal palaces. Ottomans had expensive finishes and were covered with noble fabrics. In the Middle Ages, when strictness, modesty and simplicity were revered, products lost their sophistication, turning into heavy, massive and hard stools. Only in the 18th century, soft ottomans, along with couches, began to be exhibited in the halls and boudoirs of the families of the tribal nobility. Thanks to rounded shapes, the ladies of the aristocracy did not wrinkle their dresses while sitting.
Today, ottomans are comfortable seats produced in various ways. They are wovenfrom rods, sew in the form of bags, decorate with accessories, make them plastic and use expensive materials. Also created in the form of animals, soft balls and other forms that are often placed in children's rooms.
Purpose of modern models
According to their functionality and scope, they are divided into several types:
- Puffs as an accessory in the interior. This type of furniture is not used for its intended purpose, but is installed near large-sized items in the room. They can be quite tall and serve as decorative elements. They can be used as a comfortable foot rest.
- Puffs are seats with a soft surface and inner filler. In the manufacture of durable and high-quality fabrics are used in order to avoid tears and damage to the seat. Some models have two or more seating areas and resemble elegant sofas.
- There are models of seats that have special mechanisms that allow you to turn the pouffe into a small table or a comfortable sofa. In addition, there are very convenient products that have additional capacious shelves at the base, where books and magazines can be placed. Ottomans with a drawer under the fold-down seat can store shoes or linens.
Shape and design of puffs
In addition to standard models, manufacturers create products of original and extravagant forms. Design designs can be round, square and rectangular. It is preferable to purchasemultifunctional and lightweight products that do not take up much space, they can be easily moved to another room.
An ottoman in the hallway can serve not only as a decorative element, but also be used as a comfortable seat for taking off shoes, as well as for storing things. There are models with an open base with 4 legs. There are also inflatable, soft, without a frame. For easy movement, many massive puffs are equipped with wheels. If it is difficult to allocate space for standard seat shapes, you can purchase a corner version.
For a luxurious environment, models are made from expensive wood and genuine leather. Decorate such products with exquisite carvings and gold jewelry.
Modern high-tech style uses wrought-iron pouffes and faux-material seats. Models in the form of a cube with no legs are often used for ethno-style interiors.
Washed rattan products look fragile, yet they are highly durable and have a long service life.
Bright colors, prints and original texture of materials - this is a fresh approach of designers, perfectly introducing products into modern interiors.
How to choose an ottoman
The main criterion for choosing are the dimensions of the furniture element. It is also important to consider the type of floor covering. The ottoman in the hallway is used constantly, so you should pay attention to the seat with a removable cover. It is important to evaluate the quality of the construction and the capacity of the boxes, which, in turn, determine the timeservices. For the hallway, a product with a bench and an additional chest of drawers with shelves will serve as a practical seat. Also, in a small room, an elongated pouffe can be built into a furniture set.
Extraordinary models can be found for any idea. When using the pouffe for decorative purposes, you can purchase such types of models as soft cacti, space balls, stones, buckets, baskets, heart-shaped seats, flowers, insects.
