Perhaps the most notable and widespread use of the tester was in bed design. Sixteenth- and 17th-century testers were frequently massive in construction and featured elaborate carving of the canopy over the bed and of its supporting posts. In the 18th century, testers over beds became lighter and more purely decorative, in part because of the development of smaller, more intimate rooms in northern European residences. Popular in 19th-century England, the characteristic full tester bed featured detailed front posts on a vase-turned section resting on block supports. Also popular in America at the beginning of the 19th century was the closely related field bed, with an arched tester over a light, plain framework. A half tester is supported only at the head of the bed.