Screens

The meuble of a room, is the similar fabric shared between all objects that can receive fabric or are made of fabric such as chairs, armchairs, settees, curtains, portières (curtains hung over doors), but also screens or fire screens. Oftentimes, in the grand houses of the upper aristocracy of the Ancien Régime, you had to have a summer meuble and a winter meuble. That is to say, you would have the fabric on all your matching furniture changed generally twice a year according to the season. The fabric covering your bed, chairs, etc. would usually be of lighter colours in summer (white with a flower pattern for example) and a little bit darker and richer in winter (such as a rich red velvet). 

If possessing two entirely different set of furniture was beyond your means or too cumbersome, you could maybe have your chairs reupholstered (which doesn't sound very practical), or, more conveniently, you could own a set of what are called fauteuils à châssis (frame chairs), that is to say armchairs the upholstery of which was conceived to be removable in an instant to be cleaned or changed.

On the new screens I just ordered to complete the furniture of my office, the panels are removable according to the the above mentioned principle, which means I could easily replace them to match the fabric of another set of chairs, and keep the gilded frames. Not that I intend to do so!

A red and gold screen matching the furniture recently delivered for my personal office.

The frame of the same screen before gilding was applied.

Though those screens are relatively short to be usable in rooms with low ceiling such as the entresol room where my curent office is, I sent both of them to the storage room because my office is really too small and full already.

At last, you have to know that during the Ancien Régime and the following regimes abiding by the same etiquette rules, not any idiot could use gilded furniture, certainly not in the King's Palace. You had to belong to the royal family or at least be a very important prince. Please, note that the same principle will apply today, and that gilded furniture will be exclusively reserved to a select few (very few), and in general delivered only to apartments by special permission of His Grace the Duke.

The set of furniture with matching fabric delivered to my office so far.