Love our footstool animals? Here’s a short but tasty footstool history for you, just to get you in the mood.
Footstool history – What inspired footstool animals?
Sometimes called at ottoman, the footstool was designed for convenience and comfort, used to elevate the feet, which some say can help support a good blood flow and reduce pressure. Usually wide and short with a padded seat, they keep your legs mostly horizontal. Some of them, created for extra comfort, were adjustable up and down. It was also popular in times past for small children, to help them climb aboard adult-sized chairs.
Looking down upon the common people
Footstools first turn up in Ancient Egypt, by the royals whose thrones were set high off the ground, often on a plinth looking down upon the commoners. They’ve been used to climb on board camels and horses, into horse-drawn carriages, and into early motor cars.
Crickets – And we have no idea why!
Weirdly, in the 1600s they were also called crickets. We have no idea why. In the 1700s there was a trend for something called a fender stool, long and low, set in front of a roaring fire so the whole family could keep their feet warm by angling them comfortably towards the flames. For some reason footstools made their way to the USA with the early settlers, becoming a valued item of furniture that was both useful, especially in cramped temporary homes and tents, and easy to transport.
A footstool or cricket used to be defined by its height, no more than 30cm high. A sitting stool was higher and came with a host of interesting old names including the charming ‘misses stools’. A high stool was the tallest of all, used at writing desks and bars and tables.
Footstool fashions through the ages
Made by master craftsmen, footstools for the wealthy followed fashion through the centuries. So did the cabinetmaking process itself, using everything from mortise and tenon joints to dovetails. By the late 1700s Americans were flocking to buy what they called ‘crickets covered with carpeting’, effectively footstools made from luxury woods like maple and mahogany then upholstered in oriental-style carpet fabric. They turn up in the portraiture of the time, a clear sign of luxurious and comfortable living. But they also turn up in etchings if pub brawls, thrown around by rowdy drunken drinkers during bar fights and a relatively cheap ‘n’ cheerful way to provide seating in pubs.
Victorian footstool frippery
By Victorian times footstools were everywhere, in every room, often tiny and frequently finely decorated. Intricate carved wooden stands and legs give way to wonderfully complex hand-embroidery, beading, real metal thread and glass bugle beads. The designs incorporate vivid sprays of plants and flowers, ferns, flowers, birds and butterflies, people’s names, and rural scenes.
And here we are in the 2020s…
Footstools have gone in and out of fashion throughout the past 150 years. Theyw ere the ultimate in 1970s style, a must with your mustard coloured nubbly-fabric Scandinavian settee with wooden arms. As we mentioned, vintage ‘70s footstools are a popular buy these days, back again to delight retro interiors fans. They can cost a fortune. And the lovely Victorian embroidered ones are coming back into style in line with over-the-top maximalist interior decor.
Modern footstools take a simple, time-honoured idea and make it fun. Pouffs come in every colour and material, rounded and plump. Animals feature strongly, partly simply because footstools have four legs and a soft fabric top, a shape and design that’s tailor-made for turning into an animal design.
The materials make them a fire-safe choice, they’re rugged and practical, and they’re just as useful today as they were six thousand years ago when the Egyptian kings and queens used them to climb on board their glittering golden thrones.
Fantastic footstool animals for your home
Have you taken a tour of our footstool animals collection yet? Have a look, see which you like best.
Footstool animal styling – A short history of the footstool
Love our footstool animals? Here’s a short but tasty footstool history for you, just to get you in the mood.
Footstool history – What inspired footstool animals?
Sometimes called at ottoman, the footstool was designed for convenience and comfort, used to elevate the feet, which some say can help support a good blood flow and reduce pressure. Usually wide and short with a padded seat, they keep your legs mostly horizontal. Some of them, created for extra comfort, were adjustable up and down. It was also popular in times past for small children, to help them climb aboard adult-sized chairs.
Looking down upon the common people
Footstools first turn up in Ancient Egypt, by the royals whose thrones were set high off the ground, often on a plinth looking down upon the commoners. They’ve been used to climb on board camels and horses, into horse-drawn carriages, and into early motor cars.
Crickets – And we have no idea why!
Weirdly, in the 1600s they were also called crickets. We have no idea why. In the 1700s there was a trend for something called a fender stool, long and low, set in front of a roaring fire so the whole family could keep their feet warm by angling them comfortably towards the flames. For some reason footstools made their way to the USA with the early settlers, becoming a valued item of furniture that was both useful, especially in cramped temporary homes and tents, and easy to transport.
A footstool or cricket used to be defined by its height, no more than 30cm high. A sitting stool was higher and came with a host of interesting old names including the charming ‘misses stools’. A high stool was the tallest of all, used at writing desks and bars and tables.
Footstool fashions through the ages
Made by master craftsmen, footstools for the wealthy followed fashion through the centuries. So did the cabinetmaking process itself, using everything from mortise and tenon joints to dovetails. By the late 1700s Americans were flocking to buy what they called ‘crickets covered with carpeting’, effectively footstools made from luxury woods like maple and mahogany then upholstered in oriental-style carpet fabric. They turn up in the portraiture of the time, a clear sign of luxurious and comfortable living. But they also turn up in etchings if pub brawls, thrown around by rowdy drunken drinkers during bar fights and a relatively cheap ‘n’ cheerful way to provide seating in pubs.
Victorian footstool frippery
By Victorian times footstools were everywhere, in every room, often tiny and frequently finely decorated. Intricate carved wooden stands and legs give way to wonderfully complex hand-embroidery, beading, real metal thread and glass bugle beads. The designs incorporate vivid sprays of plants and flowers, ferns, flowers, birds and butterflies, people’s names, and rural scenes.
And here we are in the 2020s…
Footstools have gone in and out of fashion throughout the past 150 years. Theyw ere the ultimate in 1970s style, a must with your mustard coloured nubbly-fabric Scandinavian settee with wooden arms. As we mentioned, vintage ‘70s footstools are a popular buy these days, back again to delight retro interiors fans. They can cost a fortune. And the lovely Victorian embroidered ones are coming back into style in line with over-the-top maximalist interior decor.
Modern footstools take a simple, time-honoured idea and make it fun. Pouffs come in every colour and material, rounded and plump. Animals feature strongly, partly simply because footstools have four legs and a soft fabric top, a shape and design that’s tailor-made for turning into an animal design.
The materials make them a fire-safe choice, they’re rugged and practical, and they’re just as useful today as they were six thousand years ago when the Egyptian kings and queens used them to climb on board their glittering golden thrones.
Fantastic footstool animals for your home
Have you taken a tour of our footstool animals collection yet? Have a look, see which you like best.