Bamboo Lift-Top Bench/Trunk

Early 20th century French bench trunk.

Rosewood barley twist lift top bench, with open fretwork on three sides, barley twist columns on all corners. Solid rosewood back, upholstered seat (fab...

Hepplewhite style inlaid lift top bench, with satinwood and floral designs on all four sides with boxwood line inlays.   

Turn of the 19th - 20th century Swedish lift top bench or bed in a light blue color. These were placed in farm house kitchens and typically the milkmaid's bed, thus the name "kökssof...

Beautiful antique French oak gothic revival bench or Settee with Lift-Top Seat and Storage~~HIGHLY CARVED ~~c. 1880s Spectacular design with cup and cover arms~~wonderful spoon carved...

The rectangular padded seat covered in brown leather, opening to reveal a set of library steps, over a solid inlaid seat-rail and ring-turned tapering legs ending in castors. 18in. high, 34 1/2in. wide and 16 1/2in. deep. Opened, 36in. high and 49in. wide. Rooms organized during the Regency period as libraries often had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The upper shelves were difficult to reach, so movable library stairs were invaluable. Further, libraries were one of the most important rooms in a stately house, symbol of its owner's wealth, culture and status. As a consequence, designers, architects and cabinet or chair makers devoted much attention to its architecture and decoration. Hence, the emrgence of innovative ideas such as our bench. Enter the Regency era metamorphic library chair/bench (chairs are more common than benches)! The tables, chairs and stools containing library steps were patented in Great Britain by Robert Campbell in 1774 but this innovative chair-based design did not become immediately popular. Once the Regency was established, a neo-classical interpretation of Campbell’s Metamorphic Library Chair concept started to become popular in London. Any early attributions rely heavily on two contemporary sketches...