A loveseat can be one of two styles of two-seat

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

. One form – also known as "British two-seaters" – is essentially synonymous with "two-seat

couch A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with uph ...

". It typically has two upholstered seats. Another form, variously also known as a tête-à-tête, courting bench, kissing bench, gossip's chair, or conversation bench, is any form of two-seat furniture where the two seats are arranged in an S shape, so that two persons can converse while looking at each other and being within arm's reach, while at the same time typically retaining a modest barrier between them.

History

While chairs wide enough to seat multiple people are not a novel concept, wide upholstered chairs intended for one person became popular towards the end of the 1700s to accommodate the wider dresses in fashion then, and these began to be marketed and sold as "loveseats" in the early 1800s. The tête-à-tête style loveseat became popular in the Victorian era, and the design may have initially arisen in France.

Straight fronted two-seaters or loveseats

File:Canapé executé pour Mr. le Comte de Bielenski, from 'Oeuvre de Juste Aurele Meissonnier' MET DP830899.jpg, French two-seater seettee, Paris, 1735, print, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Giles grendey, divanetto, londra 1740-50 ca.jpg, British two-seater, London, 1740/1750, Cincinnati Art Museum. File:Mobiliário artístico - Sophá causeuse (Zeferino José Pinto).jpg, ''Confidante'',confidante
in the Getty art & architecture Thesaurus. two-seater with triangular seats at either end, before 1897, rococo revival style, Portugal.

S-shaped two-seaters or tête-à-tête seats

Image:Love_seat - garden furniture cropped.jpg, Tête-à-tête garden seats. Image:Sofa dali.jpg, A contemporary tête-à-tête sofa.

References

Couches {{Furniture-stub