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activity and rest constitute the basic polarities of residence.
Traditionally, the dining table is the centre of an apartment.
As the focus of > gathering, the table brings a group of people
together. The arrangement of individual members of a fam-
ily or group around the table – whether spontaneously or in
accordance with fixed rules – expresses the relationships that
exist between them. At both dining and work tables, the ta-
bletop forms a field of attention and serves as the basis for the
performance of certain activities. As a doubling of the floor
level at a more comfortable height, it allows things to become
positioned for attention and arranged accessibly. It promotes
a clear overview, allows control, and the generation of order.
The format of the tabletop can be conceptualized as a tableau
for the arrangement of objects and as a stage for activities
involving hands.- As a rule, chairs are used in a way that complements
tables. The frame of the chair draws boundary lines, and in
relation to a table, shows an individual his or her place and
spatial zone. To be seated in an armchair is among those
postures through which one’s body is contained by furniture;
its frame provides stability and a degree of security. Built-in
seats at well-favoured places with good views facilitate in-
troversion. On the other hand, the purposeful positioning of
a chair or armchair allows strategic positions to be adopted
within a room and guides communicative functions. Certain
types of seating furniture, for example a sofa with two or
multiple seats, influence forms of contact between individu-
als or suggest mixed forms intermediate between sitting and
reclining. In the couch area, various seating options converge
to form a close unity composed of sitting room suite, carpet,
and a painting on the rear wall surrounded by the glow of a
floor lamp (Warnke 1979).
- Cabinets, shelves, dressers and chests are interiors
within interiors. Inside them, the nesting of spaces continues
in the form of drawers, caskets and boxes. Depending upon
whether the arrangement involves a closed cabinet or glazed