BH | Studio Troon Upholstered Bouclé Bench

For most of history the bench, not the chair, was how a household sat. In the medieval hall, family and servants alike took their places on benches and forms, and the single chair with arms was kept for the head of the house.

This one is a long, clean band of upholstery: the seat rolls over at each end and drops straight to the floor, so top and sides read as one continuous piece, like a ribbon folded twice. A plywood frame and dense foam padding give a firm, even seat. The cover is bouclé, a cloth woven from looped yarn with a soft, nubbly surface, in Cream or Jet. Adjustable foot caps let it settle level on old or uneven floors without marking them, and it is rated to hold 662 lbs. Some assembly is required.

Set it in an entryway under a row of coat hooks, where everyone has somewhere to sit and pull on boots, or at the end of a bed with a folded quilt and the next day's clothes laid out. It earns its keep in a living room or a lounge too, as extra seating when the house fills up. The bouclé is soft against limewashed walls, pale oak and woven baskets, and in a sunny room it has the relaxed ease of a seaside house.