BH | Studio Corsham Tufted Bench

The cross-legged stool is one of the oldest seats of honour there is. Roman magistrates sat on the folding curule seat, and the X-frame came back into fashion in Regency drawing rooms as a small upholstered stool, light enough to carry from the fire to the window.

This one keeps the crossed legs and casts them in clear acrylic, braced by a single stretcher, so the seat seems to hover above the floor and the room shows through beneath it. The top is a thick cushion, about four and a half inches deep, buttoned down into soft, even pockets that hold the padding in place, and a fine trim finishes the edge. It is covered in a soft polyester with the hand of velvet, warm and pale in cream, like a fresh linen pillow.

Set it at the foot of a bed for laying out tomorrow's clothes, in front of a dressing table as a vanity seat, or in a living room as a perch beside the fireplace when the sofa is full. It is small enough for an apartment, where the clear legs keep a tight corner feeling open. Cream and crystal look lovely with a pale rug, a gilt mirror and a bunch of white tulips. This listing is for one bench.