Chesterfield sofa was a general name put on sofas throughout a lot of the 1900s especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. The origin of the name has always been debated. Some believed that the Chesterfield was named for the Fourth Earl of couch with led lights Chesterfield, Phillip Stanhope, who ordered a piece of elegant but comfortable furniture at some point in the 18th Century. Stanhope’s requirements apparently resulted in the production of a sofa upholstered in generously buttoned, quilted leather, and with arms and back equal in height. Another theory is that the sofa style was named for a town in Derbyshire, England. Others believe the definition of refers to the buttoning, the design of the trunk, or the height of the sofa seat. Wherever the name came from, it had been in wide used in the United States and Canada before later part of the 20th Century.
While leather might be viewed as the typical for the Chesterfield, in the Victorian era the Chesterfield sofa became popular but leather did not always suit their taste. Because of this, it had been the first sofa to be completed covered in upholstery and in a wide variety of fabrics. Metal coiled springs were first applied to the Chesterfield in the 1830s. Comfort remained important so the springs were padded with horsehair topped with wadding.
Whilst the Chesterfield sofa has remained a desirable kind of furniture for more than 200 years, its price often managed to get out of reach of all people. It’s changed in recent years. Currently, Chesterfield sofas are available at many price levels and in a vast array of covers. Fortunately the high-end epitome of luxury, the leather Chesterfield, still remains. People will always want quality and luxurious materials in their furniture so the Chesterfield sofa will more than likely continue for many years to come.