The bedsteads, often richly carved, were of oak, walnut or _sacredaan_, and were always hung with curtains. A deep valance often decorated the base. The centre of the canopy was ornamented with the family coat-of-arms, and each corner with a bouquet of many coloured plumes. Sometimes the bedstead was on a platform, and the rich hangings were supported by caryatides and the festoons of the canopy by carved cupids. The bedsteads were high, and a ladder or steps was required to climb into them. Little steps or foot benches stood in front of the bedstead and were sometimes used for seats or tables, somewhat like the old _escarbeau_ of Mediaeval days.
One species of bedstead was known as the “coach,” or “rolling coach.” This was intended for children, and the name “coach” was extended to include the children’s sleeping-place. Mention is made in a treasurer’s account of Dordrecht (1586) of “three bedsteads with a coach underneath,” which shows that the coach is the trundle or truckle bed.
Tables and chairs were found in every room. About 1640, the “drop-leaf” or “hang-ear” tables came into use. They were usually made of solid walnut- or _sacredaan_ wood.
The chairs had high curved, or leather, backs and low seats of leather, on top of which were placed loose cushions or pillows, which were often piled up so high on the seat that a child standing on tiptoe could not see over the pillow on the seat of the chair. Chairs were also covered with rich damask, serge and other woollen goods. In the old inventories mention is made of “Prussia leather table chairs,” ebony carved chairs, red cloth covered _sacredaan_ wood chairs with pillows of different shapes, and of high-backed carved walnut table chairs.
Typical chairs are shown in Plates XXXIII and XXXIV from the Rijks Museum. In the first there is a caned armchair on the left, an upholstered armchair on the right, with turned legs and rails; and in the middle a chair in the Marot style, with a mirror-shaped back, cane panel, straight legs and crossed straining-rails. The example on the extreme left of Plate XXXIV is an armchair of carved oak, with scrolled arms and cane seat and back. It is similar to the one without arms from Cluny in Plate XLV. A cane chair without arms appears in the centre, and on the right an armchair with turned legs, carved top rail, and leather back and seat. The Flemish chair on Plate XLV is constantly seen in the rooms of the seventeenth century.