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Glossary

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APPLIQUÉ: A French term for a design or motif that is cut out and applied to another surface as decoration.

APRON: The horizontal support below a tabletop or the seat rail of a chair, often carved or otherwise ornamented.

ARMOIRE: The French version of the wardrobe. A freestanding closet, usually with shelves and/or a hanging rod. Differs from a wardrobe in that a wardrobe often has drawers beneath the closet section.

ART DECO: A streamlined, geometric style of architecture and home furnishings popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Characterized by rounded or "waterfall" fronts, chrome hardware and glass tops. Originated in 1925, at the Paris Exhibition of Decorative and Industrial Arts (hence "Art Deco").

ARTS AND CRAFTS: A British furniture style emphasizing traditional, handmade wood crafting. Simple lines, minimal decoration. Featuring wooden joinery and rustic hammered hardware. Widely influential, giving rise to Mission style in the United States.

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BACHELOR'S CHEST: A small chest of drawers, usually 24" to 36" wide by 30" to 36" tall, sometimes used in pairs.

BAIL PULL: A decorative hardware piece consisting of an elongated oval handle attached to a back plate on two sides.

BAKER'S RACK: A dining piece including an open top section with display space for dishes, cookware and glassware, numerous shelves and an often-enclosed bottom storage section.

BALL-AND-CLAW FOOT: The carved shape of a bird's or animal's claw grasping a ball. Popularized in the first half of the 18th Century, it is believed to be a symbol of world power, adapted from the Chinese motif of a dragon's claw holding a pearl.

BANDING: A narrow strip of inlaid veneer often used as a border on tabletops and drawer fronts and usually of a contrasting color to the rest of the piece.

BERGÈRE: An upholstered low arm chair with an exposed wooden frame and a wide cushioned seat. Made popular in the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods.

BLOCK FRONT: A design used on chests and other case pieces in which the front is divided vertically into three panels, with the center recessed between the outer panels. Associated with John Goddard and the Newport School of the 18th Century.

BOMBÉ: Having outward swells and curves. Used to describe a surface, such as the sides of a case piece.

BONNET TOP: A rounded, bonnet-shaped crown on a highboy, secretary, china cabinet, etc., prevalent in 17th and 18th Century English and American furniture.

BROKEN PEDIMENT: An architectural crown treatment on furniture such as china cabinets, highboys and headboards, consisting of a triangular or heart-shaped pediment with an open center and decorative finial.

BUFFET: Originally, any table or cupboard used for serving meals. Today it may have cabinet or drawer storage and is often paired with a hutch to create a china cabinet.

BUN FOOT: A round foot flattened at the top and bottom. It may be wooden or upholstered. Also known as an onion foot.

BURL VENEER: Decorative veneer made from a burl, a knot-like tree growth. When cut, a burl shows an intricately figured grain and is prized for its distinctive look.

BUTTON TUFTING: An upholstery technique in which fabric is stitched down through the padding in tufted knots, often in a pattern, and then decorated with covered buttons.

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CABRIOLE LEG: A carved, S-curved furniture leg prevalent in the 18th Century. Also referred to as a Queen Anne leg.

CAMELBACK SOFA: An 18th Century English and American design featuring a serpentine back that sweeps up from the arms to a curve in the center. Is sometimes reversed to curve downward in the center.

CASE PIECES: Furniture, including chests, dressers, china cabinets, desks and bookcases, designed to store clothes or other objects.

CEDAR CHEST: A rectangular chest built of or lined with cedar in order to keep blankets and linens protected from moths and other insects. Sometimes referred to as a hope chest.

CHEVAL MIRROR: A full-length, free-standing mirror mounted within a rectangular frame and designed to tilt for optimum viewing angles.

CHIPPENDALE: Named for Thomas Chippendale, this furniture style features delicately carved ornamentation on cabriole legs and chair backs, as well as on secretaries and other case pieces.

CONSOLE TABLE: Originally a shelf-like table fixed to a wall and supported by one or two front legs, or an S-shaped ogee bracket. Today, it generally refers to any table intended to be placed against a wall or behind a sofa.

CREDENZA: A serving table with doors below, much like a buffet. Has evolved to be used in offices, providing a work surface and storage.

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DAMASK: A heavy, lustrous-sheen fabric, woven with elaborate patterns and commonly used for traditional upholstery pieces. Named after the city of Damascus and introduced to Europe by Marco Polo.

DENTIL MOLDING: Molding with a pattern of projecting blocks, used in architecture and in furniture design.

DISTRESSED FINISH: An artificially produced finish that simulates the character marks of aging and use, such as small scratches or holes. Also known as an antique finish.

DRESSMAKER SKIRT: A tall, uninterrupted skirt resembling a dress in its craftsmanship, located on the bottom of a sofa or similar piece.

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EMPIRE: A French style of the early 19th Century, characterized by majestic scale and mahogany wood with carved motifs such as swans, chimeras or foliage. Upholstery is overstuffed and features strong shades of red, green, blue, yellow and deep brown.

ÉTAGÈRE: A storage and display piece with open shelves to showcase collectibles and other small items.

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FEDERAL: Often associated with neoclassicism, Federal style is composed of refined rectilinear framing with an emphasis on surface inlay rather than carving. Distinguishing features include square or turned tapered legs that are reeded rather than fluted, spaded and flared bracket feet, and the use of straight, oval or serpentine lines in the formation of inlay patterns.

FILIGREE: Pierced ornamentation, usually of metal, but also used to refer to wood fretwork and elements of cast iron furniture.

FLUTING: Shallow vertical channels or grooves, usually with rounded sections, carved on a column, pilaster or any other vertical surface.

FRETWORK: Carved wood ornamentation consisting of short intersecting lines in geometric patterns resembling a lattice. A favored accent of Chippendale style.

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GALLERY: A raised rim or railing around the top of a table or other furniture to prevent small items from falling off the surface.

GRILLE: A lattice of wood or metal used to protect glass doors on secretaries, bookcases, china cabinets and entertainment armoires.

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HIGHBOY: A tall 18th Century American case piece with four or five drawers, a cornice or pediment crown and a legged base.

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INLAY: A decorative design created by embedding pieces of one material into another, usually forming a flat plane, such as a tabletop.

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JACQUARD: Reversible fabric with a woven pattern, named after Joseph Jacquard, inventor of the punch-card loom used to weave it in the 1700s.

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KEYHOLE ARMS: Rectangular arms with a box-style upper section, resembling the shape of a keyhole.

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LAWSON ARM: A rolled arm design that sits at mid-height between the seat and the top of the sofa back.

LOWBOY: A dressing or serving table or a low chest of drawers, set on legs, originating in 18th Century America.

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MARQUETRY: A technique in which various types of wood are applied to a surface to produce a picture with a natural theme, such as flowers and birds.

MISSION: An American furniture style of the early 20th Century and an offshoot of the Arts and Crafts movement. Furniture is simple and rectilinear in form, usually of oak with exposed wooden joints.

MODERNE: A style of design, inspired by the bold geometry of Art Deco design, popular in Europe and the United States between 1920 and 1940.

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NEOCLASSICISM: A European furniture design characterized by forms from ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture and often using light wood, ebony and gold.

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OGEE FOOT: A bracket foot with an S-shaped profile, concave above and convex below.

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PARQUETRY: Similar to marquetry, parquetry is a veneer technique used to create geometric patterns and designs. Most often appears in hardwood floors and ornate chessboards or tabletops.

PARSONS: A 20th Century furniture style associated with a small, square occasional table. Also refers to upholstered armless dining chairs and skirtless, rounded sofa rails. Named for the Parsons School of Design in New York.

PATINA: A natural color and/or finish produced in wood and leather through age, wear and repeated polishing. The effect can also be created artificially.

PEDESTAL TABLE: A tabletop supported by a single or double pedestal base.

PEDIMENT: An arched, heart-shaped or triangular ornamental element usually placed atop a tall case piece. Simulates the gable of a classic Greek or Roman temple.

PILASTER: A long section of a pillar or column set into or against furniture or a wall.

PILLOW TOP: A separate or semi-attached extra layer of cushioning added to the top of a seat cushion, arm or mattress.

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QUEEN ANNE: Name given to furniture styles popularized during the reign of England's Queen Anne (1702-1714), including the cabriole leg with spoon foot, shell carvings and splat-back chairs.

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RATTAN: A strong vine-like palm native to Asia used to make caning and wicker.

REEDING: A series of semicircular, ornamental grooves, either flush with or raised above the surface they decorate, which run the length of the surface. Commonly seen on chair and table legs and poster beds during the later 18th Century. The reverse of fluting.

REGENCY: A 19th Century style of furniture known for its combination of small-scaled, well-proportioned curves and straight lines. Named for the regency of George IV, Prince of Wales.

ROPE MOLDING: Convex molding designed with a series of indentations to resemble a length of rope.

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SABER LEG: A concave curved leg that resembles a cavalry sword.

SECRETARY: A slant-top desk with a chest base and door hutch developed in the late 17th and 18th Centuries in England and America. Also known as secrétaire.

SEMAINIER: From the French word semaine, meaning week, a tall, narrow chest with seven drawers, one for each day of the week.

SERPENTINE: Furniture or trim treatment formed by alternating convex and concave curves.

SETTEE: The predecessor of the sofa, developed as an elongated arm chair. May be wooden or upholstered.

SHAKER: A 19th Century design form developed by the American religious group of the same name and based on the belief that "beauty rests on utility." Furniture has clean, simple lines with no ornamentation.

SHERATON: Named for Thomas Sheraton, this style favors light, rectilinear forms with flat inlay and painted accents, as well as geometric veneer patterns. The sheaf-back chair is a popular example.

SHIELD-BACK CHAIR: An American and British design with an open-framed back shaped like a shield.

SIDEBOARD: An auxiliary dining room case piece used for serving with drawers and cupboards for storage.

SPLAT-BACK CHAIR: A chair with a single central support on the back, generally shaped, pierced or otherwise decorated. Also called a fiddle-back chair.

SPOON FOOT: The foot on a turned leg that resembles an 18th Century spoon.

STRETCHER: One or more crossbars connecting the legs of a piece of furniture, in order to strengthen and stabilize the construction.

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TORCHIERE: The French name for "candle stand," a stand originally used to hold a candle or lamp. Today it refers to a lamp with a tall central column supported by a small platform, or four legs, that directs light upward.

TRANSITIONAL: Defined by understated, restrained approach to line and material and refined shapes of the modern era with established references to the past, this style is versatile in that it can easily adapt to different décors.

TRESTLE TABLE: A table supported by centered legs connected by a horizontal beam. Originally designed for easy disassembly and movement.

TUXEDO ARMS: Arms designed at, or close to, the same height as the sofa or chair back.

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VENEER: Thin slices of wood cut through the cross or vertical section of a log, then glued together at right angles over a thick central core to create a pattern.

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WINDSOR CHAIR: A wooden chair design featuring a curved back with thin spindles and a saddle seat.

WING CHAIR: A high-back, upholstered easy chair with panels or wings projecting forward from the sides of the back and curving downward to meet the rolled arms. The wings were originally designed to protect a sitter from drafts, and the style has remained popular since the late 17th Century.