BH | Studio Arles Bouclé Storage Bench

The bench with a hidden store beneath its seat descends from the chest, the oldest piece of household furniture there is. For centuries a lidded chest stood at the foot of the bed or beside the door, holding linens and doubling as the seat where you sat to pull on your boots.

Its long seat rests on a softly rounded body, each end curving up into a plump arm, and the whole piece is wrapped in bouclé, a cloth woven from looped yarn that gives a soft, nubbly surface you want to run a hand across. Dense foam under the top makes it a proper seat, and a cushioned perch for feet when you stretch out on the sofa. Lift the hinged seat and it swings back to 80 degrees, uncovering a storage well about three feet long, with room for a folded throw, the remotes, magazines and paperbacks.

Put it in an entry hall with scarves and gloves stored inside and a place to sit while you lace up shoes, or across the end of a guest bed with fresh towels tucked away for visitors. In a study it hides the paperwork. Cream bouclé catches a little shadow in every loop, so it suits quiet, textured rooms: limewashed walls, pale wooden floors, a sheepskin, a woven basket and a single branch of eucalyptus in a stoneware jug.