Canapé (furniture) Canapé (furniture) A canapé is a piece of furniture similar to a couch, and is meant to describe an elegant sofa made out of elaborately carved wood with wooden legs, and upholstered seats, back, and armrests that seats three, that emerged from France in the 18th century. A style created during the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods, similar yet different from designs used by Thomas Chippendale, it later became popular in the United States during the 19th century. Its shape is distinct from other sofas of the period, including the divan and chaise longue, but does include several forms.
Peter McLean (cabinet maker) Peter McLean (cabinet maker) Peter McLean, a cabinet maker of Dumfries, Scotland, arrived in Port Phillip, Australia in February 1853 with his family during the gold rush. He crafted one of the finest and most remarkable examples of Victorian colonial cabinetmaking, no doubt with the post gold rush market in mind. Described as a tour de force of precision joinery, wooden inlay and detailed, high-relief carving, McLean's pièce de résistance was a remarkable sideboard, or 'buffet', which has carved scenes depicting the early days of the then Colony of Victoria, including a native chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe and