It’s an ottoman empire

How a small piece of furniture can rule a room

By Leah A. Zeldes, Tribune Brand Publishing

If you're old enough to remember the “Dick Van Dyke Show,” you'll recall the running gag in which Van Dyke, as Rob Petrie, kept falling over an ottoman. But an ottoman is more than just something to trip over.

Just as there are many terms for this versatile piece of furniture — “hassock,” “footstool,” “tuffet” — it has many uses. Not only can you sit on it, like Little Miss Muffet, and rest your feet up on it, you can also use an ottoman as a coffee table, says Syril Lebbad, a designer with Baer's, a collection of fine furniture stores with locations throughout Florida. Large “cocktail ottomans” are made so you can put a tray on top to hold drinks and snacks. Some types, Lebbad says are hybrids that come with a padded edge for seating and footrest purposes and a solid tabletop in the center.

“Some lines have storage,” Lebadd says, in a hidden compartment inside, useful for stashing magazines and whatever other items you might want to get out of sight.

She recommends ottomans for casual rooms, “where you want to kick back and put your feet up.”

An ottoman can make a room seem more inviting and encourage congregating, says Prof. Jill Pable of the Department of Interior Design at Florida State University's College of Visual Arts, Theatre & Dance. Pable, who teaches the university's advanced residential studio design class, says that, in design theory, seating arrangements can be “sociopetal” or “sociofugal.” Both terms relate to people who share the same space, whether they’re members of a family sharing the same home or coworkers sharing the same workspace. Sociopetal arrangements encourage people to gather around certain areas while sociofugal spaces are designed to create areas of privacy. When furnishings are arrayed in a sociopetal way, which is what most homeowners should strive for, Pable says, “they encourage people to gather around.”

To get the sociopetal effect, she says, an ottoman should not block the path into other seating, and its edge should be between 12 and 24 inches from the front edge of adjoining seats.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the term “ottomane,” first referred to banquette-like seating introduced to Europe from the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century. Typically piled with pillows, these low sofas wrapped around the walls of a room. In the West, the Turkish-style furnishing ultimately shrank into a version that fit into a corner, and, by the 19th century, moved away from the walls and became circular or octagonal. Ottomans sometimes had backs, arms or central backrests, but today the word is usually reserved for a backless, armless, upholstered item.

Thomas Jefferson bought a velvet “ottoman” in 1789. His memorandum recording the purchase has been called one of the first known uses of the term in English.

Today, ottomans come in every shape, size and upholstery, says Lebbad. You can have the ottoman match other furnishings or cover it in an accent color. A square or rectangular ottoman can be butted up against a chair or sofa to stand in for a chaise longue or recliner, or moved away to provide extra seating.

“It's more flexible,” Lebbad says, and makes it easier to rearrange a room or use the same furniture in a different-sized room.

Although Baer’s showrooms are filled with a wonderful assortment of ottomans in various shapes and sizes, you won’t feel overwhelmed by your numerous options. That’s because Baer’s designers will always be on hand to help offer up their expertise in selecting the ultimate ottoman for your home.