A fainting couch by any other name……is still a fainting couch! This beautiful sofa is sometimes called a Récamier, sometimes a daybed, sometimes a chaise, but my mother called it a fainting couch. She explained that its purpose was to provide a lady wearing those tightly bound corsets a place to fain a lady-like fainting spell. Whether these were real from the lack of blood flow due to those pesky undergarments, or whether an act to portray the lady as the weaker sex, we will never know! It is a handsome piece of furniture done in the Eastlake Victorian style popular in the late 1800s and made famous by its namesake Charles Lock Eastlake the British trend-setting architect, author, and lecturer. The Eastlake design was created as a response to his dislike of the over-the-top Rococo Revival and Renaissance Revival styles of the early Victorian Era. Marvin D. Schwartz in his book American Furniture: Tables, Chairs, Sofas, and Beds states that he believes the Eastlake style to be “our first glimpses of modernism”. I tend to believe this myself and reading that has answered my question of why I so often think an Eastlake piece looks right at home in a mid-century modern house or mixed with a modern design edict. So, feel free to make this piece your own no matter your design style and call it whatever name you desire. Just make sure you can call it yours.
NOTE: We will include the round animal print pillow if you so desire, just let us know.
