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By the end of the 15th century, Bohemian furniture was made from planks with more or less complex construction. Oak, fir, walnut, linden, ash, larch, or spruce were used. The surface was coated with beeswax or linseed oil. Towards the end of the Gothic period, shellac polish was used. Colouring was done by smoking, water from fermented cabbage, and bleaching with lime water.
Tables and seating furniture had the same construction with flat sides or boards in the shape of an “X”. Chests varied in size and were used to store bulk materials, clothing, or other small possessions. City dwellers slept in beds with curtains, while in the countryside, the furnishings were very simple. Peasants made furniture from split and cleaned planks and posts. In a peasant’s hut, people slept on hay laid on the ground (a straw mattress).
Cabinetmakers and carvers decorated the furniture with ornaments. The most expensive furniture was adorned with metal elements, which not only enhanced its appearance but also served a reinforcing function.
In KCD, most of the furniture is made according to medieval examples from the 12th to 16th centuries.
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