Confidante

confidante, type of sofa that has a seat at each end separated from the main seat by an upholstered arm. This form was first used in France in the mid-18th century and was subsequently introduced into England. George Hepplewhite illustrated one in Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide (1788).

The name was revived in the second half of the 19th century for various types of seats accommodating two or more couples side by side, each couple facing a different direction. A common form was an S-shape for two couples, the couples seated side by side but facing in the opposite direction.