This document summarizes key aspects of chairs, including their history, materials, structure, and textures. It notes that chairs have been in existence since ancient Egypt and were originally lower to the ground and covered in cloth or leather. In Europe, chairs became more common furniture for all social classes during the Renaissance. Chairs can be made from various materials like wood, metal, plastic, or combinations. They typically have four legs for stability and load distribution, though three or more legs are also possible. The document concludes by describing characteristics of cypress wood, noting its durability and suitability for finishing.
4. Introduction
• A chair is a piece of furniture with a raised surface, commonly
used to seat a single person. Chairs are supported most often
by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three
legs or can have a different shape. Chairs are made of a wide
variety of materials, ranging from wood to metal to synthetic
material (e.g., plastic), and they may be padded or
upholstered in various colors and fabrics, either just on the
seat (as with some dining room chairs) or on the entire chair.
Chairs are used in a number of rooms in homes (e.g., in living
rooms, dining rooms and dens), in schools and offices (with
desks), and in various other workplaces.
5. History
• Chairs were in existence since at least the Early
Dynastic Period of Egypt. They were covered
with cloth or leather, were made of carved wood,
and were much lower than today’s chair seats
were sometimes only 25 cm high.
• In Europe, it owed in great measure to the
Renaissance that the chair ceased to be a
privilege of state and became a standard item of
furniture for anyone who could afford to buy it.
Once the idea of privilege faded the chair
speedily came into general use. We find almost
at once that the chair began to change every few
years to reflect the fashions of the day.
6. Material
• Chairs can be made from wood, metal, or other
strong materials, like stone or acrylic. In some cases,
multiple materials are used to construct a chair; for
example, the legs and frame may be made from
metal and the seat and back may be made from
plastic. Chairs may have hard surfaces of wood,
metal, plastic, or other materials, or some or all of
these hard surfaces may be covered with upholstery
and/or padding. The design may be made of porous
materials, or be drilled with holes for decoration.
7. Structure
• Four-legged chairs are by far the most common form of
chair. However, only three legs are necessary to maintain
stability whilst sitting on the chair. If the chair were to tilt,
then with both a four-legged and three-legged chair, there is
only one direction in which the chair can tilt whilst retaining
two legs on the ground. So why not go for the simpler,
cheaper, three-legged chair? Or how about a more robust,
five-legged chair? What is so special about the four-legged
case?
• One suggestion is that the load supported by each leg is
lower in a four-legged chair, and so the legs themselves can
be weaker and cheaper. But then why not 5 or 6 legs?
Another suggestion is that four-legged chairs just look the
best aesthetically, due to the symmetry. Finally, perhaps it is
just simpler to manufacture a four-legged chair, again due to
this symmetry.
8.
9. Texture
• Cypress
• Characteristics:
• Cypress wood, which is found along the
Atlantic Coastal Plain from Delaware to
Florida, is noted for color consistency, density,
hardness, and relative lack of knots. It has a
predominantly yellow tone with reddish,
chocolate, or olive hues. Cypress has oils in
the heartwood that make it very durable.
•
• Recommendations:
• Cypress is virtually indestructible and offers a
great finishing surface for a variety of finishes.