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A Brief History of the Desk: From Writing Slope to Standing Desk
September 13, 2026

A Brief History of the Desk: From Writing Slope to Standing Desk

The desk has changed shape every time the tool placed on it changed, and Furniture in Fashion traces that sequence from the sloped writing surface to the height adjustable frame. Our editorial history covers the portable writing slope and the fall front bureau that let unfinished work be shut away, the Victorian pedestal desk that fixed the proportions still in use, the typewriter that forced working heights down towards 65 cm, the post war systems thinking behind the Action Office developed for Herman Miller by Robert Propst in 1964, and the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 that made adjustability standard in British offices. It closes with practical dimensions for home desks: widths, depths, working heights and the chair clearance behind them, and with advice on placing a desk in bedrooms, landings and dining rooms....

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A Short History of the Sofa Bed: From 1899 Patents to Modern Click-Clacks
September 13, 2026

A Short History of the Sofa Bed: From 1899 Patents to Modern Click-Clacks

The sofa bed has solved one problem for more than a century, and every change since has been mechanical. This analysis by Furniture in Fashion traces the category through its four actions rather than through disputed firsts: the fold out with its hidden sprung frame and dedicated mattress, the pull out that trades comfort for weight and storage, the click clack that drops its backrest flat and needs no clearance in front, and the futon style frame. The report explains why clearance, not width, is the constraint that decides which action fits a British room, sets out the standard UK sleeping sizes a sofa bed converts to, and shows why open plan conversions have made these pieces be judged as sofas first. We could not verify a single founding 1899 patent or name an inventor with certainty, so no origin is attributed and the history is told through the engineering instead. The report ends with guidance on choosing an action by how often the bed is genuinely used....

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A Brief History of the Wall Clock: From Church Towers to Quartz Movements
September 13, 2026

A Brief History of the Wall Clock: From Church Towers to Quartz Movements

The wall clock survived the end of its own usefulness, and Furniture in Fashion traces how it got there. This editorial history follows the clock from fourteenth century tower mechanisms that struck the hour without a readable dial, through the accuracy revolution of Christiaan Huygens's pendulum in 1656 and the anchor escapement that gave the longcase clock its shape, to the Duties on Clocks and Watches Act of 1797, the imposition of railway standard time and the quartz oscillator developed at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1927. With accuracy now costing almost nothing, the clock has become a compositional object, and our report sets out how to size and hang one properly: dial diameters and centre heights by wall position, contrast against dark walls, sweep movements for quiet rooms, and fixings for plasterboard and lath....

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A Brief History of the Office Chair: From Darwin’s Castors to the Aeron
September 13, 2026

A Brief History of the Office Chair: From Darwin’s Castors to the Aeron

The office chair was designed to make workers mobile rather than comfortable, and every development since has been an argument about how much movement a chair should allow, according to a new editorial design history from UK furniture retailer Furniture in Fashion. Tracing the category from Charles Darwin's castor fitted study chair through the swivel bases of Victorian clerical work, the arrival of gas lift adjustment and the suspended mesh task chairs of the 1990s, the report argues that adjustability turned a piece of furniture into a fitted instrument. Its central observation concerns the present: office seating designed for corporate floor plates is now being bought for British spare bedrooms, dining rooms and living room corners, where footprint, floor type and appearance matter as much as lumbar support. The analysis sets out desk height, seat height and clearance guidance for homes choosing a chair for a multi purpose room....

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What Is Post Modern Furniture?
August 8, 2026

What Is Post Modern Furniture?

Post modern furniture is best understood as a reaction against modernist restraint, replacing pure function and neutral tones with bold colour, unexpected geometry, decoration and a distinct sense of humour. This guide sets out the traits that define the style, from literal circles, cylinders and arches used as structure through to mixed materials that place marble beside laminate without hierarchy. It explains clearly how post modern design differs from mid century modern in both appearance and intention, then moves to practical application in contemporary British homes, where one statement piece in an otherwise calm room is usually the most effective approach. You will find guidance on the materials that carry the aesthetic naturally, a structured way to handle bold colour combinations, and honest practical considerations covering comfort, footprint, cleaning and how strongly styled pieces age. The article finishes with the rooms that take this style most easily....

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