Welton USA - Furniture Glossary

Furniture Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W

Adaptation: Furniture capturing the flavor of the original design or period, but differing in some details. (see Reproduction)

Acanthus Leaf: A decorative wood carving based on the acanthus leaf, used in 18th century design.

Apothecary Chest: A low chest with small drawers originally used to store herbs for medicinal and cooking purposes.

Apron: The wooden panel connecting the surface and legs of a table or chair.

Armoire: A tall wardrobe with doors and shelves for clothing, more recently adapted for use as an entertainment center or at-home computer work station.

Art Deco: A streamlined, geometric style of architecture and home furnishings popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Characteristics include rounded or "waterfall" fronts, wood furniture with chrome hardware and/or glass tops.

Art Nouveau: A decorative style developed in France between 1890 and 1910. Although the style was not as popular in America as in Europe, Tiffany lamps are an outstanding example of its ornate, flowing lines. In recent years, some American manufacturers have designed new lines using Art Noveau's simple, yet sinuous lines with a minimum of ornamentation.

Arts and Crafts: A term often used interchangeably with Mission style, popular from the late 1800s through the 1920s. The Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction against mass-produced, ornate Victorian furniture, and sought to replace it with simple but genuine craftsmanship. Furniture is blocky and rectangular, made of prominently grained oak. William Morris in England and America's Gustav Stickley are the best known proponents of the movement.

A.S.I.D.: American Society of Interior Designers, an association of designers who have passed stringent examinations to qualify for membership.

Bachelor's Chest: A small low chest originating in the 18th century.

Backsplat: A slat of wood in the middle of a chair back.

Ball and Claw foot: A carved chair or table foot that resembles a ball held in a bird's claw.

Balloon Chair: A rounded-back Hepplewhite chair modeled in the shape of a hot-air balloon.

Banquette: Long upholstered seat or bench, often built-in.

Baroque: A highly ornate European design style of the early 18th century, characterized by flowing and irregular lines.

Bauhaus: A style of 20th-century design taking its name from the German school of architecture founded by Walter Gropius early in the century. The minimalist and functional style has had a profound effect on modern architecture and furniture design.

Beading: Decorative detail resembling a row of flattened beads.

Beidermeier: A German design style from the first half of the 19th century. Identifying features are based on Empire style, simple lines and light woods accented with black enamel or lacquer accents.

Bentwood: A process of steaming wood for shaping into furniture parts.

Bergère: An upholstered French arm chair with closed arms, exposed wood frame, wide proportions and a loose seat cushion.

Block Foot: A square vertical foot at the base of a straight leg.

Block Front: An 18th century American furniture form, used primarily in chests. The front is divided into three vertical segments: a concave panel in the center and convex panels on either side.

Bombe: A low, baroque-style chest with bulging, convex sides.

Bonnet Top: An enclosed, hooded top, usually on a secretary or china cabinet.

Boss: A round or oval ornament applied to a surface.

Boston Rocker: A large wooden American rocker with spindle back and wide top rail, often is painted or stenciled.

Bow Back: A type of Windsor chair.

Bow Front: Rounded curve on the front of a piece of wooden furniture.

Bracket Foot:A low foot running both ways from the corner of case goods to form a right angle.

Breakfront: A china cabinet divided vertically into three segments, with the middle segment projecting forward.

Brewster Chair: American colonial style chair with large turned posts and spindles.

Broken Pediment: Ornamental crest running across the top of a tall 18th century piece such as a high boy or chest. The pediment is interrupted or "broken" by an opening that highlights a carved detail such as an urn or a flame.

Buffet: A sideboard with no hutch or storage cabinet on top.

Bun Foot: A round ball used as a foot on a chest or seating piece.

Burl: Wood cut from a large, rounded growth on a tree. Burl has strong, distinctive grain and is used as a special veneer.

Bureau: A dresser used to store clothing.

Butler's Tray Table: A tray with four, flip-up handholds that can be removed from the table legs on which it stands. An oval tabletop is created when the sides are down.

Butterfly Table: Small drop-leaf table with wing brackets to support the leaves; opens into a narrow oval shape.

Cable: A moulding design resembling twined rope.

Cabriole Leg: A decorative S-shaped chair or table leg that curves outward at the knee then tapers at the ankle. Found on Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture.

Camelback Sofa: An 18th-century style distinguished by a curve (or camel back) along its back.

Canopy: A fabric covering attached to a frame at the top of bed posts.

Captain's Chair: Windsor chair with a lower, rounded spindle back.

Casegoods: Furniture designed to provide storage space. The designation includes bedroom and dining room furniture, desks, bookcases and chests.

Chaise Lounge: An upholstered armchair with the back and seat lengthened for reclining. Styles ranges from 19th century formal to contemporary.

Channeling: A grooved or furrowed effect.

Chesterfield: Sofa style with deep button tufting and large rolled arms.

Chest on Chest: A tall chest with a larger chest of drawers supporting a slightly smaller chest.

Charles of London: A style of sofa or chair with a low, rolled arm.

Cheval Glass: Standing mirror in a freestanding vertical frame.

Chintz: Printed cotton fabric, often "polished" or glazed, frequently used in country or casual rooms.

Chinoiserie: Decoration inspired by Chinese art, painted or laquered on furniture or used as themes on wallpaper and fabric.

Chippendale: The elegant, formal late 18th century furniture style following Queen Anne. Its design is more rectangular and heavier than Queen Anne, features include cabriole legs, ball and claw feet, and highboys with broken pediment tops. Newport, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania were centers for some of the best American Chippendale design.

Classicism: (see Neo-classic)

Colonial: American furniture from roughly 1700 through the Revolutionary era. Formal styles are usually mahogany, cherry or walnut with simpler furniture in pine, oak and maple; ornamentation can be simple or rich. Queen Anne and early Chippendale are sometimes included in the category, although the term is sometimes used for furniture that is high-backed, bulky and casual.

Colonial Revival (also known as Revival): Reproductions of classic 18th century American styles, although not always accurate in detail. Revival pieces were popular from the 1870s through the period following World War I.

Commode: Small, low chest with doors or drawers.

Contemporary: A term covering several styles of furniture that developed in the latter half of the 20th century; an updated look that softened and rounded the lines of stark modern design.

Cornice: Molding that crowns or runs along the top of a cabinet.

Credenza: A sideboard or buffet. In office furniture, a horizontal filing cabinet often placed decoratively behind a desk.

Daybed: A seating piece that also can serve as a bed.

Dentils or Dentil Molding: Rectangular, tooth-like blocks spaced at equal intervals along a cornice molding. Found in 18th century architecture and design.

Directoire: Furniture designed during the era of the French Revolution, it bridges the more formal Louis XVI and the more restrained Empire style.

Dowel: A headless wooden pin used in furniture construction.

Dresser: A chest of drawers used to store clothes.

Drop Front: The hinged front of an upright desk which drops down to provide a writing surface.

Drop Leaf: A dining or occasional table with hinged leaves that can be lowered when not in use.

Dustboard (Dust Panel): A board placed between drawers in a chest or dresser to eliminate dust.

Duncan Phyfe: A furniture style popular in the American Federal period (late 18th to mid-19th century), characterized by feet with a graceful outward curve on both tables and sofas. Seating pieces often have lyre-shaped backs, rolled top rails and arms.

Dutch Foot: A type of pad foot used on the legs of chairs.

Early American: American furniture design of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, adapted from such heavy European styles as Jacobean or William and Mary. The look is characterized by straight lines and minimal decoration. Tables are gateleg and trestle styles, chairs include ladder and slat backs. The style merged into what is now called Colonial, featuring Queen Anne and Chippendale design.

Eclectic: A decorating style harmoniously combining furniture and accessories of various styles and periods.

Egg and Dart: A classic design of alternating oval and dart shapes, applied to cornices.

Empire: A design style inspired by the Napoleonic Empire, it includes heavy looking designs, classical design elements and combines straight lines and curves, as in sleigh beds.

Escutcheon: The shaped metal fitting behind a drawer pull or surrounding a keyhole.

Etagere: A freestanding open cabinet with shelves for displaying accessories.

Fauteuil: Upholstered French armchair with open sides.

Faux: A simulation of something else. Faux marble, for example, is a marble-like surface painted onto walls, furniture or other surfaces (see trompe l'oeil).

Federal: The design period following the American Revolution and running roughly through the 1820s. Federal style incorporates the neo-classic influences of Hepplewhite and Sheraton including straight and delicate lines, tapered legs, inlay and contrasting veneers.

Fiddleback: A backsplat in the shape of a violin or fiddle seen on Queen Anne chairs.

Finial: A carved or shaped decorative detail used to ornament the top of an upright such as a bedpost, in the opening of a broken pediment or topping a lamp. Motifs include flames, urns, pineapples and other vertical motifs.

Four Poster: A bed with posts tall enough to hold a canopy.

French Provincial: Rustic versions of formal French furnishings of the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly the Louis XIV and Louis XV styles.

Fretwork: Open or pierced wood carving with an oriental influence, used as a decorative element in Chippendale and Chippendale-style furnishings.

Futon: A Japanese-style mattress placed on the floor or a folding wooden frame.

Gallery Rail: A small, slender railing, usually brass, bordering a table or sideboard.

Gateleg table: A type of drop-leaf table with leaves supported by extra legs that swing out like gates.

Georgian: Elegant 18th century design, generally heavier and more ornate than Queen Anne. Features include highly carved cabriole legs, ball and claw feet, ornate carvings and pierced backsplats.

Gesso: Gilded or painted bas-relief plaster decoration.

Gothic Revival: A style influenced by medieval and Gothic influences popular in the mid-1800s, characterized by lines flowing up to a pointed arch and other Gothic architectural features.

Harvest Table: A narrow rectangular table with hinged drop leaves, this colonial design takes up very little space but offers a good deal of surface area when the leaves are up.

Hassock: Upholstered footstool large enough to be used as seating.

Hepplewhite: Related to the Federal style in the United States, a neo-classic furniture style that followed Chippendale from the late 1700s to roughly 1820. It overlapped with Sheraton style and shares restrained design, tapered legs and classical ornamentation like urns and shields (including shield back chairs) or American carved eagles and stars.

Highboy: A tall chest of drawers, developed in 18th century. Usually composed of a base and a top section with drawers, often topped with a decorative broken pediment crown.

Hitchcock Chair: A black-painted chair with a stenciled design on the backrest, named after its American designer.

Hoop Back Chair: Queen Anne or Hepplewhite chair with a top rail curving directly into the arms.

Huntboard: A type of sideboard used for serving food and drinks after a hunt. Designed to be light and portable so it could be moved outdoors.

Hutch: Enclosed cupboard with shelves resting on a solid base.

Hutch top: A storage unit with shelves, often sitting on a desk or chest.

Inlay: Wood ornamentation using exotic woods or ivory, set into the surface of wood furniture.

Intaglio: A design or illustration cut into a surface.

Intarsia: A decorative technique of sinking a design across an entire surface.

Jacobean: Early 17th century English furniture with a medieval appearance and dark finish. Furniture from this period can be extremely simple or covered with carvings.

Japanning: A painting technique requiring several coats of heat-hardened lacquer, used in creating chinoiserie designs.

Knock down (or KD): Furniture sold unassembled or partially assembled.

Lacquer: A hard varnish applied in several layers, then polished to a high sheen.

Ladder-back: A country style of chair with a back resembling a ladder.

Lawson: A sofa or chair with a trim, lowered arm accented with a slight roll.

Lifestyle: A broad description for sophisticated contemporary home furnishings with a relaxed and personal look. Soft fabrics and deep, comfortable upholstery frames predominate, but the style is purposely neutral so it can be accessorized to reflect individual taste and interests.

Lincoln Rocker: An upholstered rocker with an exposed wood frame, high back and padded armrest.

Louis XIV, XV and XVI: Classic French furniture design, roughly from the mid-17th century to the late 18th century. The styles grew progressively simpler and more refined: Louis XIV style is large and ornate; Louis XV is simpler but with curved lines and some ornamentation; Louis XVI has straight lines, geometric shapes and minimal ornamentation.

Love Seat: A smaller, two-seat version of a sofa.

Lowboy: A low or short chest or table with drawers, often on short legs.

Marquetry: Decorative patterns made of inlays, usually applied on veneered surfaces.

Mission: A heavy, dark-oak style with spare, rectangular lines popular in the early 20th century. The style grew out of the English Arts and Crafts movement and was a reaction to the excesses of Victorian furniture.

Modern: Clean, architectural and streamlined 20th century furniture with roots in the German Bauhaus School of architecture and Scandinavian design. Sometimes known as International Style.

Modular: Units of furniture that can be stacked or rearranged in different configurations.

Molding: Shaped ornamental strips applied to and projecting from a surface.

Motif: A decorative theme, element or component.

Motion furniture: Reclining chairs or sofas with mechanisms allowing the user to extend their legs and/or lean back.

Neo-classic: Design featuring elegance and simplicity, with motifs borrowed from ancient Greece and Rome. The look was seen throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries and relates to the Empire, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and Federal periods as well as the later Beidermeier style.

Occasional table: A generic term for small pieces like end and coffee tables.

Ottoman: A low upholstered seat used as a footstool.

Papier (or Paper) Mache: A material made from paper pulp and molded into various products, suitable for painting and varnishing when dry.

Parquetry: Furniture inlaid with geometrical designs similar to parquet floors.

Parsons table: A simple, squared-off table with legs and apron of equal widths. The name is taken from the Parsons School of Design, where the table was developed during the 1950s.

Patina: The softening effect which age, use and care impart.

Pedestal table: A table supported by a single, center base.

Pediment: An ornamental crest running across the top of tall 18th century piece such as high boy or chests.

Pembroke Table: A drop leaf table with leaves that drop almost to the floor.

Pencil-post Bed: A bed with four slim posts rising six to eight feet. Design is generally simple with straight lines; the beds can be used alone or with a canopy.

Piecrust Table: A round occasional table set on a three-legged pedestal base, ornamented with a edging resembling a crimped pie crust.

Pier Glass: A large, window-height mirror suspended above a table.

Piercing: Carved or cutout decorative detail seen in chair splats and other 18th century furniture.

Pilaster: A flattened column-like detail applied to furniture, bookcases, etc. for decorative purposes.

Plinth: The base of a chest of column that rests solidly on the floor, as opposed to sitting on legs.

Queen Anne: A major furniture style of the 18th century, a period rich in innovative design. Graceful and elegant, the style (named after the 18th century English monarch) is characterized by curved lines such as cabriole legs, broken scroll pediments and rounded aprons in tables and lowboys.

Rail: The horizontal member running across the top of a chair back.

Recamier: An elegant sofa or chaise popular in the Empire and Victorian eras. Sometimes called fainting couches, Recamiers have a sloping back not much higher than the seat at one end, with the other end rising to meet a high and often rolled, arm.

Refectory Table: A long narrow table, originally used in the dining rooms of religious orders.

Relief: Raised, sculptural ornamentation.

Reproduction: New furniture that is an authentic copy of an antique.

Restorations: Antiques or collectibles that have been brought back to original condition through reconstruction and/or replacement of missing parts and refinishing.

Return: The element of an L-shaped desk that is perpendicular to the main desk, providing extra working surface.

Revival: (see Colonial Revival)

Rice Carved Posters: Tall, heavy bedposts carved with decorative details such as rice and tobacco plants, symbolic of the wealth of plantation owners in the Carolinas and northern Georgia, where the style originated.

Rococo: Very elaborate European design style, originating in early 18th century France.

Rococo Revival: An especially florid Victorian style popular from the 1850s-70s, best known for elaborately carved rosewood parlor furniture, triple-crested sofas and balloon-backed chairs.

Roll Top Desk: A desk with a curved, slatted panel that rolls down to hide its writing surface.

Runner: The curved rocker of a rocking chair.

Rush Seat Chair: A rustic French or American chair with seats woven of rushes.

Rustic: Simple style typical of country life.

Sabre Leg: A leg with a sabre-like curve.

Secretary: A drop-leaf desk sitting on a base of drawers, usually with cubbyholes and slots for organizing papers and bonnet tops reflecting their 18th century origins.

Semenier: A tall, narrow, seven-drawer chest.

Serpentine Front: A waving curve on the front of a chest or desk.

Serving Table: A long narrow table with drawers for silver, linens, etc.

Settee: A long seat or bench with a back and arms seating two or more people.

Settle: A wooden bench with high back and solid arms, often with drawers or a hinged seat covering storage space, brought to this country from England by the pilgrims.

Shaker: American religious sect in the 18th and 19th centuries that practiced simple living and fostered a genius for excellent design combining functionality and beauty. Design features include straight, tapered legs, and woven-strap chair seats.

Sheraton: A formal style that developed from Hepplewhite, Sheraton features delicate straight lines, tapered legs (usually turned rather than square) and expert veneer and inlay. The period is known for handsome sideboards and neo-classical decorative elements including small urns and fluted columns.

Shield Back: A chair with a back in the shape of shield.

Sideboard: A serving piece with drawers and/or open shelves for displaying plates and silver.

Slat-back: An early American chair form incorporating horizontal slats.

Sleigh bed: A 19th-century American adaptation of a popular French Empire design. The sleigh bed has a high, scrolled headboard and footboard resembling the front of a sleigh.

Slipper chair: A low, armless upholstered chair, often with a skirt.

Slip seat: A removable, upholstered chair seat.

Splat: A flat, vertical support piece in the middle of an open chair back, often carved or ornamented.

Stretcher: A horizontal brace in an H or X shape, often decorative, connecting the legs of a table or chair.

Tea Table: A small portable table, frequently used in place of a coffee table. Table top often has raised edges resembling a tray and side pullouts for candles.

Tester: Wooden frame supporting a canopy or draperies at the top of a poster bed.

Tilt Top: A small table with a hinged top that can stand vertically when not in use.

Torchiere: A floor lamp that directs light upward with a flared shade.

Transitional: Design that blends influences from various style categories.

Trestle Table: A long, narrow table with two T-shaped uprights that are joined by a single stretcher; usually used in country-style schemes.

Trompe l'oeil: French for "fool the eye"; a two-dimensional painting designed to look like a three-dimensional object.

Turning: The shaping of legs or trim on a lathe.

Tuxedo: A style of sofa or chair with a square frame created by arm and back rests of equal height.

Upholstery: Fabric-covered sofas and chairs, with most wood construction features hidden under layers of padding and fabric.

Uprights: The outer vertical posts of a chair.

Veneer: A thin layer of wood permanently bonded to a thicker core. The most beautiful grain patterns are used for the outermost layer (or face veneer) of furniture piece, greater strength is achieved by bonding woods at right angles to each other.

Victorian: A furniture style popular from the middle to end of the 19th century, named for England's Queen Victoria. Furniture is usually walnut, mahogany and rosewood in dark finishes, often highlighted with elaborate, carved floral designs. Oval chair backs are common, as are marble tops on tables and dressers.

Vitrine: China or curio cabinet with glass doors.

William and Mary: This style, named for the 17th century English King and Queen, came to America in the early 1700s. Innovations included high-backed, upholstered armchairs, highboys and lowboys. Design elements include curved lines, bun or ball feet, marquetry, inlay and oriental lacquer work.

Windsor Chair: A popular 19th century wooden chair with spindle backs shaped in fans, hoops or combs.

Wing chair: A high-backed upholstered lounge chair with wings on either side of the chair back.

Home | Will Call Information | Warranty | Service Centers | Accessories | Manuals | How to papers | Events | Contact Us

©Copyright 2002-2008 Welton USA, Ltd., all rights reserved.