After an introduction to the sources of evidence and the different materials used in making Roman furniture, there follow individual chapters on the different categories of furniture, such as couches and beds, tables, chairs and stools, cupboards, storage boxes and shelving. Examples will be taken from all over the Empire, but there will be special emphasis on furniture used in the north-west provinces. The final part of the book discusses the types of furniture found in rich and poor houses, including farms and military barracks, as well as the types of furniture to be found in specific rooms. This is the first general book on Roman furniture to be published in English.

The Running of the Roman Household explores the real 'every-day' life of the Romans and the effort required to run a Roman household. It considers the three elements of housework - supply, maintenance and disposal. It is divided into sections on how the Romans collected water and fuel, milled flour and produced thread; how they cleaned the house, illuminated it, did the washing up, cleaned their clothes, got rid of waste water and sewage, and threw out their rubbish. The evidence is taken from literary, archaeological and artistic sources, and often compared to historical or modern parallels from communities using the same methods.