Glossary of Furniture Terms
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- Apron - part connecting legs; directly under table tops, chair seats, cabinet bases. Also called "skirt."
- Armoire - from the French, a cabinet originally used for storage of armor; now a tall wardrobe, often painted or carved.
- Bachelor's Chest - small scale chest with drawers or doors.
- Bail - reverse arch handle or drawer pull hanging downward from pins attached to a backplate.
- Bamboo Turning - a wood turning to simulate natural bamboo that originated during the 18th Century.
- Beading - classic ornamentation using small, half-round molding.
- Bentwood - wood softened by steam for bending into curved shapes.
- Bergére - a French armchair with closed upholstered sides and back.
- Bombé - a surface that swells outward; typical of French chests and commodes of Louis XV.
- Bouile - a French cabinetmaker who developed a special inlay technique called Boulle Work, utilizing tortoise shell, silver, brass or pewter. A sheet of metal and a sheet of tortoise were glued together, and a design was cut out of both at the same time. The cut-out piece of one material was then reinserted into a corresponding opening in the other material.
- Bracket Foot - right angled foot, with each inner end curved.
- Buffet - French term that refers to a sideboard for china, silver, linens, with a top surface used as serving counter.
- Bunching - Furniture pieces that fit flush with each other to create unified wall arrangements.
- Bun Foot - a foot that resembles a slightly flattened ball.
- Bureau - low chest of drawers usually for a bedroom, often with a mirror, originally a desk or table with drawers.
- Burl - beautiful mottled veneer, produced by slicing cross-sections of abnormal tree growths.
- Cabinet Wood - fine quality wood that is used for exterior surfaces.
- Cabriole Leg - an S-shaped curve, bowing out at the knee and in at the ankle.
- Campaign Chair - from British chairs used by officers, a sling seat supported by a collapsible scissor structure.
- Campaign Chest - from originals used on fields of battle, a fairly low, small chest with metal corners and flush hardware.
- Canted - a piece with an oblique surface, slanting backward at the sides from the central section.
- Casegoods - non-upholstered furniture such as tables, dressers and bookcases.
- Chest-on-Chest - a chest of drawers in two sections, usually a smaller one on top.
- Cheval Mirror - free-standing mirror swung between footed posts.
- Claw-and-Ball Foot - a bird or dragon claw grasping a ball.
- Club Foot - a flat, round pad, usually at the bottom of a cabriole leg; also known as a spoon or pad foot.
- Cocktail Table - a short-legged table usually positioned in front of a sofa or within an arrangement of chairs and a sofa or loveseat.
- Commode - a low, small chest, usually with drawers or doors.
- Corestock (or Core) - the center layer of a veneered wood.
- Credenza - in the home office, a long piece used behind the desk with a knee hole space; often used for a computer and monitor.
- Crossband - layer of wood between the core and the face ply of a veneer. Its grain is at right angles to the grain of the face ply in order to strengthen the veneer.
- Deck - the surface directly under the cushions of an upholstered chair or sofa.
- Director's Chair - named for its long use by Hollywood directors, a folding armchair with sling seat and back.
- Distressing - a treatment sometimes called antiquing, designed to make new woods look old by means of markings.
- Drape - the way a fabric hangs; this influences its ability to shape well, particularly in an upholstery skirt.
- Drawer Guide - strip of wood, plastic or metal under a drawer that serves as a guiding track for opening and closing.
- Dresser - from the French term, dressoir, originally a table used to dress meats that evolved into a cupboard for utensils and dishes. in the United States , the word describes a chest of drawers with a mirror.
- Dry Sink - a low, Early American two-door cupboard with a sink or with an open top lined with zinc or copper.
- Etagére - from the French, a series of open shelves for displaying books or objects.
- Egg-and-Dart - a classic carving motif of ornamental molding in which an egg shape alternates with a dart
- Figure - the pattern or design in wood created by the growth of the tree; abnormal growths produce unusual figures.
- Finial - terminal decoration used on upright posts, often of metal.
- Flitch - any part of the log which is sliced into veneer.
- Fluting - parallel channels, usually cut vertically; used for columns and legs.
- Gesso - a plaster-like material used to make a raised design on furniture; it is often painted or gilded.
- Gilding - ornamenting with gold leaf or gold dust.
- Grain - the fiber arrangement in wood, giving the appearance of markings.
- Hand - the way a fabric feels, refers to its resilience, drapability and flexibility.
- Hardwood - a general term for wood from broadleafed trees.
- Highboy - very high chest of drawers, taking its name from "haut bois" meaning "high wood" in French.
- Inlay - a design is cut out of the surface and a piece of another material cut exactly the same size is inserted.
- Ladder Back - back posts joined by horizontal cross-rails in ladder effect. Also called Slat Back.
- Laminate - the process of bonding or gluing together layers; the final product may also be referred to as a laminate.
- Linenfold - a carved motif that looks like a scroll of linen.
- Low Relief - a form of decoration in which the design is only slightly raised from the surface.
- Man-Made fibers - this term refers to all synthetic fibers.
- Marquetry - a decorative pattern made by inlaying unusual woods, mother of pearl, etc., into a veneered surface.
- Modulars or Modular System - a collection of multi-purpose units.
- Molded Components - sections of furniture such as decorative panels or legs that have been molded of plastic.
- Molding or Moulding - a narrow, decorative strip, recessed into or projecting from, a flat surface.
- Motive or Motif - the theme or dominant feature of a design.
- Natural Fibers - all fibers that occur in fiber form in nature.
- Nesting Tables - set of occasional tables, in graduating sizes so that one slides under another.
- Overlay - decorative veneer that is appliqued rather than inlaid.
- Patina - soft, mellow color and texture of a wood surface resulting from age, wear or rubbing.
- Pedestal Table - top supported by one or more heavy, wide-based columns.
- Pie Crust Table - a small table with carved or molded scalloped edges.
- Pile - a fabric with a surface of upright ends, cut or looped, like velvet.
- Reeding - close, parallel rows of convex moldings. The opposite of fluting.
- Scroll - spiral-shaped ornamentation.
- Secretary - combination slant front desk and bookcase.
- Serpentine Front - chest, dresser, etc., with undulating front surfaces.
- Settee - the forerunner of today's sofa, a long seat with side arms and back, sometimes upholstered.
- Slub - a thick, uneven nub in yarn for a textured effect.
- Sofa Table - a long table as tall as the sofa to place behind it.
- Softwood - a general term for the wood of trees that remain green all year.
- Spade Foot - rectangular, tapered Foot separated from the rest of the leg by a slight projection.
- Stacking Furniture - pieces designed so they work together and can be super-imposed on each other for unified wall systems.
- Stretcher - crosspiece connecting and bracing legs of tables, chairs, chests, etc.
- StriZ - a streaked or striped effect produced with yarns of varying tones.
- Synthetic Fibers - manufactured fibers resulting from chemical synthesis.
- Texture - the feel and appearance of a surface; also refers to the grain of wood.
- Turning - an ornamental or structural part of furniture made by rotating a cylindrical piece of wood on a lathe and shaping it with cutting tools.
- Veneer - a thin slice of decorative wood applied to another wood surface.
- Welt - a strip of fabric, resembling a cord, sewn between two pieces of upholstery fabric to give a more finished appearance to the seam; usually made by covering a cord with a tube of fabric.
- Windsor Chair - a country-style chair with a solid, shaped seat connected to the legs and chair back with round or flat shaped spindles.