Floral Upholstered Settee
A floral upholstered settee brings warmth and pattern to a room, offering comfortable seating dressed in textile and fabric.
Floral Upholstered Settee
A floral upholstered settee is a seat designed for multiple people, upholstered in patterned fabric and seen across various historic periods. The versions encountered most often on this page date from the nineteenth century and the Edwardian era, taking forms such as the Chesterfield, the drop-arm sofa, or the chaise longue.
Makers and workshops constructed these pieces in styles ranging from plain Victorian frames to revival designs like Louis XV, Georgian, and Sheraton. Buyers will also find French canapés and larger salon settees alongside English country house pieces.
Materials and Construction
Carpeneters built the exposed frames of these settees from hardwoods such as mahogany, walnut, satinwood, and timber, sometimes applying paint, ebonising, or parcel gilt finish. Brass often appears on castors or decorative hardware.
Upholstery relies on traditional textile fabrics, original ticking, and feather cushions, secured over webbed and sprung foundations within nineteenth and early twentieth-century workshops.
Floral Upholstered Settee Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for floral upholstered settee among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Certain nineteenth century library study sofas feature hand carved mahogany hawk claw and ball feet to anchor the beast.
Judging Quality
Quality rests in the crispness of the hand-carved woodwork, the integrity of the timber frame, and the retention of original upholstery materials like ticking and traditional stuffing. Finer examples show superior joinery and proportional balance in revival styles.
The distinction between standard production and exceptional work lies in the detail of decorative elements, such as carved mahogany hawk claw and ball feet or fine satinwood decoration, rather than superficial condition.
Howard and Sons·Gillows·H Goodall and Sons
The Floral Upholstered Settee Glossary
- Chesterfield
- A deep-buttoned upholstered sofa with arms and back of the same height. This form provides traditional upright seating.
- Chaise Longue
- An upholstered sofa in the manner of a chair with a long seat for reclining. It functions as a day bed.
- Bergere
- A closed-arm armchair or settee with an upholstered seat and cane or upholstered back. It originates from French furniture design.
- Canapé
- An ornamental French sofa featuring an exposed wooden frame. It typically dates from the eighteenth or nineteenth century.
Floral Upholstered Settee: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I date a Victorian settee?
Dating relies on timber choice, carved motifs, and the transition from heavy mahogany to lighter walnut or satinwood in later decades.
Makers' stamps and structural joinery also indicate the specific period of manufacture.
What is a Knowle sofa?
A Knowle sofa is a traditional British settee design characterised by high, adjustable or hinged arms tied to the back with cords or braids.
It provides an enclosed seating arrangement often paired with matching armchairs.
Can I use an antique settee daily?
These settees served as functional seating in nineteenth and early twentieth century homes and handle normal domestic use.
Proper care for the antique fabric and underlying frame preserves the piece.