A stool placed at the end of a chair, or in front of a sofa; unless for medical reasons, it is commonly no higher than the chair seat, allowing one’s feet to be raised so that the lower legs are level with the upper.
* Probably originally designed to help the gout ridden, footstools are excellent for quick naps, or tucked away under a console, beside chairs at the end of sofas, etc., ready to be pulled out for extra seating.
* Sometimes pretty winged armchairs have long footstools that are shaped to match the front edge exactly; when they are set together they make up into a chaise-type relaxing sofa. These come in many different shapes and sizes, fully fabric covered or with decorative legs or framework and upholstered tops.
* Since there are no antique coffee tables, and these are essential to our more casual seating arrangements, we often use large footstools. Upholstered stools are very practical options- providing the fabric chosen to cover them is either easy to clean or tough and resilient and the upholstery itself is firm, flat enough to hold coffee cups without fear of them tipping over.
* We use tapestry or carpet to upholster and linen or cotton to slip-cover if required.
* Coffee table stools make good supplementary seating, especially for children, and if the house is full they bridge the gaps between sofas, creating more intimate conversation areas.
* We’ve recently planned to make small hand-bag holding footstools to sit by the side of each seat for a busy country house hotel…