What is the difference between decorative furniture and auxiliary furniture? Many people aren’t sure about this, but does it really matter and what makes an item ‘casual’ or ‘accent’? the terms aren’t really definable, but they can be explained by giving examples or describing the function of each, so both forms are used here so you can understand the relative terms when you hear them.

Decorative or occasional furniture: does it matter?

Does terminology really matter? Not generally, but it can be useful if people use the term in conversation or even when you’re looking for new furniture for your home. Generally speaking though, it doesn’t matter at all whether your table is described as an accent table or a side table.

In some cases, occasional and accent furniture can be the same thing, but in order to say that, the definition of these terms must first be agreed upon. The term ‘accent’ should be easy to understand: just like an accent in language, furniture of this type should emphasize a certain style, such as a statue of the jackal-headed god Anubis in an Egyptian-themed room. not be furniture!

Examples of Auxiliary Furniture

Coffee tables and end tables are examples of occasional furniture. There are alternative definitions for this type of furniture, the two most common being furniture that is used ‘once’ and furniture that is used only ‘occasionally’.

Each of these definitions is so broad that they could practically be said to be fundamentally the same. The first definition would include coffee tables, used for the purpose of drinking coffee – or any other drink or drink. It would also include all the furniture that is used in a living room that is used only when visitors arrive, or even in a spare guest room. Definitions are a poor way of describing furniture.

The second definition used ‘occasionally’ would refer to the exact same furniture, but would also include rocking chairs, particularly the old-style hickory rocking chairs that you might use occasionally when you’re in the mood. Occasionally you can use an ottoman to sit on if the whole family comes to visit. Frankly, definitions are unnecessary when people know what an occasional piece of furniture is.

It is not a sofa or an armchair, and it is not a dining table or a bed. Fundamentally, auxiliary furniture includes the smaller pieces that support the main furniture in a room. The tables mentioned above are two examples, as are other functional pieces like the booster chair that is used only when an elderly relative visits or the chest, nightstands, and ottomans that are used occasionally.

Examples of accent furniture

Often referred to as “accent pieces,” accent furniture is used to add character to a room or to emphasize a theme, such as the aforementioned Anubis statue. A chess table used for decoration is an accent piece of furniture, as is a small decorative round table that holds a vase of flowers or a reed diffuser. An accent piece is generally smaller than the main piece of furniture in a room, and often has little practical use other than decorative.

A small table in an entry foyer is an accent piece of furniture, along with a chest in a hallway and a large freestanding globe in a home office. Set a theme or mood, emphasize a trend, or even complement a room’s purpose, like an ornate oriental footstool in a living room.

These are definitions of accent furniture and occasional furniture in many people’s eyes, but if you ask anyone for their own definition, they won’t be able to answer or will probably offer you a different one.

You can use accent furniture to complement a room’s decorative style, and this type of home furnishings is most commonly found in living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and hallways. It’s rare in a kitchen, as most kitchen cabinets are functional, and even rarer in bathrooms, though large bathrooms can be enhanced with accent furniture in the form of freestanding toiletries shelves or carousels for lotions. and decorative colored bath salts.

Many occasional pieces of furniture are fully functional and used regularly, such as ottomans used with recliners and coffee tables used daily. The terms are given, not to define the pieces, but to establish a compartment that separates the smaller items from the larger forms of furniture common to specific types of rooms, such as the jewelry box from the dresser and the side table from the sofa.

How you define the respective terms of occasional furniture and accent furniture is your choice – there is no rule, and in this case, the definitions don’t really matter.