Furniture is a category of household goods and fittings used to make an environment more comfortable for living or working in. It includes objects such as tables, chairs, beds, desks, and cupboards, but also other items like lamps. It can be categorized as either functional or decorative. Functional pieces tend to be sturdy and well designed for their purpose, while decorative ones often exhibit elaborate designs or are made from rare materials.
Furniture making has been a part of human culture since prehistoric times. Early stools and rocking chairs were simple enough for people to make themselves, but more advanced furniture designs developed in ancient Egypt including cabinets, dressers, and beds made of wood. In more modern times, industrialisation and Post-Modernism led to new types of furniture design, with many styles having roots in Classical, Modernist, and Post-Modernist architecture and art movements. The growth of Maker Culture in the Western sphere has encouraged greater participation and experimentation with furniture design, including those that use a wide range of materials.
Online furniture company Article was founded in 2013 with a mission to streamline the experience of buying large items of furniture without the need to give them a test drive in a store. The team sources furniture designs directly from manufacturers overseas, establishing relationships and shipping them to their warehouses in North America where they are assembled and shipped out to customers. This approach has enabled them to cut down delivery time to 2 weeks or less and achieve a damage rate of under 0.3% which is unheard of in the industry.