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.
Gordon Russell (designer) by C. R. Ashbee from east London to Chipping Campden. Following service as an officer in World War I, for which he was awarded the Military Cross in 1918, he became a furniture maker and designer. In 1925 Russell won a Gold Medal at the Paris Exhibition with a cabinet, with internal drawers lined with boxwood, ebony and laburnum, and valued in 2013 at £50,000 to £60,000. He designed the "Stow" range of furniture in the mid 1920s. During World War II he was instrumental in developing utility furniture as Chairman of the government's Utility Furniture Design Panel. In 1943