Many people relate Davenport sofas to large sectional couches, as both are bigger and provide a platform to put your legs and lie down.
However, couches are more fluffy and bouncy and contours around body shape, while Davenports maintain their shape and support body.
What is a Davenport Sofa? Davenport sofa is a sleeper sofa that looks like a sofa bed and futon, but it has a collapsible mattress and under-seat cushions with storage space. Moreover, this is old-fashioned furniture, available at antique stores, and easily convertible to a bed. Furthermore, it is a traditional piece of furniture, providing more comfort and quick conversion to a sleeping platform.
These were popular in the late 19th century and became a part of almost every royal house to make them appealing and eye-catching.
Still, many older people use this term for sofas similar in appearance and functionality to traditional and formal davenports.
What makes the Davenport sofa different?
Davenport or a sleeper sofa differs from a regular sofa displayed in the living room and bedroom, as they have varying usage, purpose, and structure.
Convertible to bed
These are readily convertible to beds, unlike sofas that can only attain a single sitting position. Therefore, it is also known as a sleeper sofa, which can get converted into a sleeping platform.
It looks like a sofa due to its similar structure and appearance, as both are made of wooden material and contain a set of cushions.
However, its lower body can be stretched out on the front side to extend the seating platform. It adds more practicality and functionality to sleeper sofas as it provides more seat space.
It has a metal or wooden frame under the seating area that can be easily opened up and folded inside according to requirements, showing its multi-functionality.
You can easily convert it from sitting to a sleeping position and put your legs on the extended surface for relaxing and sleeping.
Old-fashioned furniture
Davenport is an old term used for a specific series of sofas having designs like modern sleepers that can be stretched outward to get more space.
It refers to old-fashioned furniture as it was introduced in the 19th century. These were introduced in 1900 by a furniture manufacturing company in Massachusetts.
Currently, you can ask for these products in antique stores because only older people know about this term and related products.
Modern high-end stores are not familiar with davenports and call them by different names, like sofa beds or a couch.
So, you can get these traditional pieces of furniture at antique stores because stores dealing in contemporary-style items can provide you with other suitable alternative platforms.
More Accessories
They have more space than regular sofa seats, providing a margin for placing more accessories. You can only put a few pillows on the seats when there is less space.
However, it can be opened up to increase the platform and allows you to put in various accessories like pillows, cushions, and blankets.
It provides plenty of storage space inside the seat frame to put blankets, cushions, and reading materials like books to spend free time.
Accordingly, you can pull the folded frame outwards to put cushions and add more accessories.
Placing multiple cushions on the sides, pillows along the backrest, and a blanket on the foot side can make it cozy and comfortable, like a bed, and allows you to enjoy a sound sleep.
Furthermore, there is plenty of space to keep your books, and even you can sleep with your pet, as it is primarily suitable for two people.
Bigger upholstered seat
They have bigger upholstered seats, providing extreme comfort than typical sofas. A soft and bouncy mattress is placed on the frame, and cushions are arranged over it.
Its seats are usually higher than others, as the mattress and cushions are adjusted over each other to keep it soft and fluffy. Moreover, these cushions can be repurposed when changing their position.
Additionally, it allows you to remove cushions from the seat and backrest and place them on the extended frame to build a sleeping platform and make it feel cozy.
However, sofas have smaller space, upholstered backrests, and lower seats, as they only have seat cushions on the frame and lack mattresses.
A traditional piece of furniture
They are formal pieces of furniture with a boxy appearance, unlike couches that can be placed in the living room and reception rooms to give a formal feel.
The term couches are used with informal meanings in the young generation, while the old people call them davenports.
Many people get this type of furniture from antique stores when they want to give a formal and traditional touch to their place.
Placing a set of davenports in the living rooms shows your aesthetic sense and pleasant nature, and visitors get a formal feel for sure when they step inside.
Who introduced the Davenport sofa in furniture?
Davenports were introduced in 1900 by a furniture manufacturing company A.H Davenport in Massachusetts. This term was used for sofa series with a specific shape and appearance.
It is known to be the royal furniture company as it produced many products for the White House when it got renovated in 1902.
In addition, it provided furniture for the Court of Appeals room in NY and decorated the interior of George Eastman’s house with formal and functional pieces.
This company has produced a massive number of custom products by collaborating with two other companies in America.
Moreover, Stanford White and H.H Richardson are partners of this company that had made impressive interior products in the 20th century.
However, this company is not functional now as it was closed in 1973 and merged with Irving & Casson and Boston furniture, but this term Davenport is still used in the furniture industry.
Are Davenport sofas different from futons and sofa beds?
Many people are confused about the terms sofas, futon, and sofa beds, as they look alike, but there are minor differences in functionality and appearance.
Davenport is different from sofa beds as they have collapsible mattresses embedded within the frame with seat cushions over them that are not present in the latter one.
Moreover, it is fluffy, bigger, and more comfortable due to extra space. In addition, it differs slightly from futons, which have no storage space under the seat to put something inside.
Furthermore, its lower body can be folded inside and pulled outward to increase space, while futons have an adjustable backrest that is pushed backward to create a bed.
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