The notion of furniture , which comes from the French word mobiliaire , refers to a piece of furniture : movable elements that fulfill various functions in a home , an office, etc. The term can also be used to name the set of objects of this type that are in a property.
For example: “When I moved, my parents gave me the furniture for the apartment,” “I love the antique furniture in this bar,” “We still have to buy office furniture before opening our business.”
The furniture facilitates the development of multiple actions and activities, from eating to sleeping. Beds , chairs , tables , armchairs , wardrobes , cupboards , brooms and desks are part of the furniture.
In the previous list we can distinguish two types of furniture, depending not only on their physical characteristics but especially on their functions : beds, chairs and tables, among other furniture, basically consist of a horizontal surface that is located at a certain distance from the ground and are used for rest or to place things on them; Wardrobes and cupboards, on the other hand, have closed or semi-closed structures that allow different objects to be stored.
The desk is a quite particular type of furniture, since we could say that it is halfway between a closet and a table: on the one hand, it meets the requirements of a horizontal surface on which to place study or work materials; but it also usually has drawers, doors and shelves designed specifically for the storage of books, notebooks and other items to facilitate their access when using them.
In addition to its functional purpose, furniture can be made to decorate indoor or outdoor spaces. People who love design usually invest a large part of their time and money in acquiring or creating the furniture in their homes to achieve a harmonious result. In this context we must mention the furniture collections, which include all the necessary pieces for each room in the house: they generally cost a lot of money, but they promise absolute stylistic consistency.
Currently, the most common option for those who do not have a large budget dedicated to furniture is to buy furniture to assemble at home . There are several stores specialized in this modality, which display all their assembled products but sell them disassembled, accompanied by the necessary instructions and tools so that consumers do not require help.
It is important to keep in mind that machines such as the television, computer , telephone, blender and coffee maker do not belong to the furniture. Nor utensils or instruments such as forks, spoons, knives, plates, glasses and cups.
You can distinguish between industrial furniture and artisanal furniture . Industrial furniture is manufactured on a large scale with the help of machinery. Handcrafted furniture, on the other hand, involves the creation of each piece by hand.
Furniture of one kind or another can be produced with different materials. There is furniture made of wood , plastic and metal , among other raw materials.
Street furniture , on the other hand, refers to the facilities that the State provides on public roads for use by residents. These are objects such as transport stops, benches and waste bins, to name a few, that are used by people in different ways depending on the circumstance.
Another name by which street furniture is known is urban elements . In the day-to-day life of the city, their presence is essential to maintain order and assist citizens. For example, without bins, the disposal of certain containers and wrappers between stores and homes would be complicated; Without public transport stops it would be difficult to know where to expect the bus.